CHIP, the $9 computer

[Veho]

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1 GHz, 512 MB, 4GB, USB, microUSB, OTG, Bluetooth, WiFi, for $9.

On the other hand, only a composite out. A VGA out adapter will be an extra $10, and an HDMI adapter $15 (or was it the other way around? I forget).

On the other other hand, $49 will get you a complete portable computer thingy with the CHIP included.

On the other other other hand, I'm running out of hands.

Thoughts?

 

[endoverend]

I dunno. We keep seeing this idea of the cheap, tiny computer, and people start to say, "Hey, it costs virtually nothing, why not buy it?". But honestly how practical is this? The specs are great I guess for that price. But the lack of an HDMI port is huge; it's small size is diminished by the clunky adapter you'd need. Same goes for VGA.
Anyway, it's just hard to see how you would use this. Sure, pay $50 for the pocket chip, but at that point why not buy a crappy android phone for that price and maybe a little more? I have a Raspberry Pi, ad I always struggle to see how practical it is for things other than ridiculously expensive and time-consuming projects and maybe a media center.

 

[fatsquirrel]

I dont know what for...but I want it

 

[Black-Ice]

I love me some pointless inventions

 

[Nightwish]

Looks neat, how useful it could be is not apparent from the text. It depends on how stable are the wifi and usb, how open and hackable it is, how IO is done by the user, how easy it is to access and flash (no ethernet means no simple way to connect, you'll likely need a JTAG).

Anyway, regardless, it's cheap enough that it's easy to find many projects to use it. If you need video out, you probably should still go for a PI, though the VGA connection would be interesting to me for a particular case.

 

[Vengenceonu]

just backed it on kickstarter

 

[RevPokemon]

I don't see the use when the raspberry pi is around and doing well.

 

[XDel]

As soon as one of these has optimized video display that can pull off something far more complex than Quake III, then I'm going to jump on board.

 

[RevPokemon]

I looked it up some more and can say this makes no sense over say a raspberry pi. Sure its cheaper but when you add the HDMI its only 11 dollars less and it gets you quad core, double the ram, and what is a bigger community.

 

[yuyuyup]

Get to work you little bastard Chinese slave kids

 

[zoogie]

Both $9 and $35 are close enough to impulse purchase price that I really don't see Chip's savings as being worth the hassle it creates by being composite and having a smaller community than RPI. Trading off the wifi chip for HDMI would have been a good idea even if it increased the price a bit.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

It'd be a nice tool for areas in the world that don't have access to PCs or monitors with HDMI input, but otherwise I can't think of any other reason someone would pick this over a Raspberry Pi.

But then again, at $9 I'm sure devs who like dicking around with things like this will pick it up. The Pocket Chip version, for $50, is actually really interesting to me. If/whenever it's actually released and not just a Kickstarter, I might take a look at it. Otherwise, meh.

 

[RevPokemon]

It'd be a nice tool for areas in the world that don't have access to PCs or monitors with HDMI input, but otherwise I can't think of any other reason someone would pick this over a Raspberry Pi.

But then again, at $9 I'm sure devs who like dicking around with things like this will pick it up. The Pocket Chip version, for $50, is actually really interesting to me. If/whenever it's actually released and not just a Kickstarter, I might take a look at it. Otherwise, meh.

well the extra money could make a large difference if it is being bought in very large orders for schools or companies that need light computing. As for the portable system that is of a bit of interest since as it makes me think of the Pandora but actually priced reasonably but since I can just out arm Debian on my old phone is see no use.

 

[tbb043]

Is it Erik Estrada approved?

 

[Catastrophic]

This would be a very pocket friendly solution for displaying pictures on a standard definition TV, text processing and maybe emulation for low tier hardware like NES. I mean, it's 9$.

 

[RevPokemon]

This would be a very pocket friendly solution for displaying pictures on a standard definition TV, text processing and maybe emulation for low tier hardware like NES. I mean, it's 9$.

Heck you could probably get ps1 to work on it via emulation

 

[zoogie]

As soon as one of these has optimized video display that can pull off something far more complex than Quake III, then I'm going to jump on board.

It'd be interesting to know the graphics performance compared to the RPI2. (edit: It's a mali400,don't know how that compares to a videocore IV)

 

[FAST6191]

I am happy enough to have other minicomputers for projects, especially if it gobbles less power. Video out matters little for a lot of what I do (so many headless boxes managed by SSH or browser)

On the other hand the vendor spam informative updates on their offers the other morning had a Raspberry Pi 2 Model B for £12.49 + VAT (it was sold out as I checked my emails too late) so this offer is not as tempting.

 

[Doumekxkai]

I wan't to back the project but.
Don't you think 20$ of shipping is expensive? The shipping is more expensive than the chip(And isn't that big for need a 20$ Ship tax).

 

[Veho]

I wan't to back the project but.
Don't you think 20$ of shipping is expensive? The shipping is more expensive than the chip(And isn't that big for need a 20$ Ship tax).

Welcome to the wonderful world of trans-Atlantic shipping. The main reason why I don't order stuff from the US. $2 trinket, $35 shipping.


The Pocket CHIP appeals to me because that way you can get an Open Pandora without spending €500 and waiting five years Now if only it had a clamshell design.