As I write (February 2016), the Foundation has just launched their next update of the Pi—the Raspberry Pi 3—and just in time, as not only is it more powerful, with a 64-bit ARMv8 processor, it also includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity on the board, without requiring any additional dongles to be connected to the USB ports. They are also easier to get your hands on at this time compared to the Pi Zero.
This could be a game-changer for our sneaky activities, as it means we can build more discreet secret agent tools and devices. Incidentally, the Raspberry Pi 3 is available at the same benchmark cost of less than £30 from the main distributors, RS and Farnell element14:
As you have seen, in its short lifetime the Raspberry Pi already has several models available, each of which suits different application needs. To help us choose, the following table provides a comparison between the various models:
|
Model B+ |
Model 2 |
Model 3 |
Zero | |
|
Processor |
Broadcom BCM2835 SoC featuring ARM1176 32-bit dual-core CPU |
Broadcom BCM2836Soc featuring ARMv7 32-bit quad-core CPU |
Broadcom BCM2837 SoC featuring ARMv8 64-bit quad-core CPU |
Broadcom BCM2835 SoC featuring ARM1176 32-bit dual-core CPU |
|
GPU |
VideoCore IV | |||
|
Clock |
700MHz |
900MHz |
1.2GHz |
1GHz |
|
Memory |
512 MB |
1 GB |
1 GB |
512 MB |
|
USB Ports |
4 |
4 |
4 |
1 (Micro-USB) |
|
Ethernet |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
|
Wi-Fi |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Bluetooth |
No |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
GPIO Pins |
40 |
40 |
40 |
40 (unpop.) |
|
Storage |
MicroSD card |
MicroSD card |
MicroSD card |
MicroSD card |
In this latest edition of this book, we're going to focus on the current Raspberry Pi version 2 and new version 3 models, as well as the Raspberry Pi Zero for those projects that might require a computer board that's somewhat more discreet. Each of these versions has different features and advantages, so we'll chose the right version for the job for each of our secret agent tools.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation site has more detailed information about each model here: https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/.
The main distributors for the Raspberry Pi 2 and 3 are RS Components and Farnell element14, but you may need a trade account to buy from them. Alternatively, there are other vendors on the Internet that sell them, including CPC and Maplin Electronics, as well as a plethora of independent sellers on Amazon and eBay.
The Raspberry Pi Zero is currently manufactured by the Raspberry Pi Foundation and is distributed through their official partners: