$5 Raspberry Pi "Zero" !

[tszaboo]

The fact they don't gain much, or most likely even lose on each sale. It was really just a promo tool IMO.

Sell it for 6 bucks then. Or 10. Probably people would buy it still by the dozen.

[Kilrah]

But then it's not the shocking "$5 computer" anymore, and that symbol is the one thing that has allowed them to get the attention (and created the demand).

From a marketing point of view they simply can't do that. Their only solution is to continue trickling those for the image, and if they actually want to do a "supercheap computer for the masses" for real this time they have to release yet a different product that offers a bit more to "justify" the price increase. Otherwise they'll be labeled as scammers within the minute. The line they're riding on is very thin, gotta do things right.

[m100]

So anyone knows if the Pi Zero can be bought from somewhere or this was just an expensive advertisement campaign for the raspberry pi? I mean EVERY single newspaper talked about the "5 dollar" computer.

No idea what is happening to future sales,  I'd maybe sell you one, still boxed and unused from November last year, but only at a few orders of magnitude more than $5, not a case of profiteering, just it would leave a hole in my Raspberry Pi  'first day' collection dating right back to February 29th 2012, that would, on the evidence so far, be near impossible to refill.   

[Sal Ammoniac]

Does this board (or any Pi for that matter) have a JTAG port for those of us who don't want to use Linux and want to program it at the bare metal level?

[retrolefty]

Does this board (or any Pi for that matter) have a JTAG port for those of us who don't want to use Linux and want to program it at the bare metal level?

 Your a pain fan apparently. 

[f4eru]

Yeah, probably they make a huge loss on the zero. but they needed it from the marketing side to counter the C.H.I.P.
They should admit that and just sell it with a higher price instead of fooling all the waiting people, what a shame....

[rolycat]

I believe the issue with the Pi Zero was that the companies (Farnell and RS) who usually manufacture and market boards for the Raspberry Pi Foundation weren't interested, since the profit margin was too thin.

As a result the manufacturing costs are being borne by the foundation directly, and they have limited resources. I think they do make a small profit, but can only afford to order a hundred thousand or so at a time. The foundation is of course a charity, so presumably profit is not their primary motivation.

[Rasz]

Yeah, probably they make a huge loss on the zero

 

so you think 10 year old small and obsolete ddr2 ram and also very small also obsolete soc cost more than ~$3?

[Sal Ammoniac]

Does this board (or any Pi for that matter) have a JTAG port for those of us who don't want to use Linux and want to program it at the bare metal level?

 Your a pain fan apparently. 

I'm not a fan of pain, but I do enjoy a challenge.

[michaeliv]

Anyone know or have theories on why it requires a powered USB hub ?
I assume it limits current on the USB output ... why not just directly connect THE charge-USB VCC/GND to the data-USB VCC/GND ?

[TonyD]

Interesting to read that a 150,000 order has been placed for the Raspberry Pi Zero. More Details here:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/raspberry-pi-zero-production-getting-on-track/

[Rasz]

Interesting to read that a 150,000 order has been placed for the Raspberry Pi Zero. More Details here:

a month ago
ther was an interview with eben after pee3 where he admitted they stopped zero production completely before the launch, and were planning to resume zeros after few months ...

[MT]

Does this board (or any Pi for that matter) have a JTAG port for those of us who don't want to use Linux and want to program it at the bare metal level?

BCM dont let you know internal details to do "proper" bare metal.....as far as i have heard...

[hamster_nz]

BCM dont let you know internal details to do "proper" bare metal.....as far as i have heard...

There are quite a few examples otherwise in around the web like https://github.com/dwelch67/raspberrypi - or is having control of the CPU the cycle that reset is release "improper" bare metal

[Kilrah]

You can play all you want with the CPU, but some of the "fancy" (i.e. interesting) peripherals like the VPU are only available through closed libs and thus obviously not documented publicly.

[dnwheeler]

If anyone is still looking for one in the U.S., Micro Center has Raspberry Pi Zeros in stock (and has almost continuously since they were released). The only catch is you can only get them as part of an accessory kit. The kit includes the Pi Zero, a Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable, a micro-USB On-The-Go cable, and a micro-USB power adapter.

The kit costs $24.99 (USD), so there is definitely some "extra" profit in there, but it's not a bad price and most people starting with a Pi Zero will need the cables anyway.

[Sal Ammoniac]

Does this board (or any Pi for that matter) have a JTAG port for those of us who don't want to use Linux and want to program it at the bare metal level?

BCM dont let you know internal details to do "proper" bare metal.....as far as i have heard...

I wonder if this is going to change now that Avago have acquired Broadcom? I doubt it...

[rsjsouza]

The kit costs $24.99 (USD), so there is definitely some "extra" profit in there, but it's not a bad price and most people starting with a Pi Zero will need the cables anyway.

This whole marketing fluff around the "Zero" is very similar to the CHIP computer: very limited boards for the bare price. As I see it the Zero "as-is" can mostly be used in a very limited way or, as Sal Ammoniac mentioned, as a powerful baremetal-programmed microcontroller.