Gooseberry Launches Android-based Raspberry Pi Rival

New submitter masternerdguy writes with this snippet from Tom's Hardware about yet another tiny, Linux-capable single-board computer: "The manufacturer claims that the Gooseberry is 'roughly 3 x more powerful in processing power,' and twice the RAM (512 MB) [compared to] the Raspberry Pi. The Gooseberry does not come with analog video and lacks a LAN port, but supports Wi-Fi. At this time, the board only supports Android 4 ICS and Ubuntu without graphics acceleration. However, Gooseberry is offering premade images for Ubuntu. Support for Arch Linux is 'expected in the future.'"

So, unless it's cheap, what is the point?

[undefinedreference]

Even the Raspberry Pi is nothing special. I've been working with cheap tiny COTS SBCs that run Linux for many years... Clearly the average person working in IT/software development/etc has absolutely no awareness of this market.

The More Competitors the Better

[shione]

Good to see more manufacturers jumping on the pcb computer craze. So long as these can't run windows (which microsoft wouldnt do since it would eat into their profits), Linux marketshare will only grow. (I'm counting Android as Linux too).

It looks very probable that these pcb computers will be the starting point towards building smart automated appliances in the home.

*Yawn*

[WildTangent]

This is nothing more than a tablet PCB some guys sourced from a manufacturer in Asia that they're selling as some sort of development kit when it lacks even the most basic of facilities for hardware development such as JTAG headers, or GPIO pins. Call me when somebody actually tries to compete with the Raspberry Pi instead of pulling this jump-on-the-bandwagon crap.

Maybe...

[Lord Kano]

they'll make enough of these fucking things that I can actually buy one!

LK

Re:*Yawn*

[Anonymous Coward]

Most Raspberry Pis are bought by people who will never do any hardware development at all. They're bought as servers and media players. For that purpose, this alternative should be quite suitable, as it has more RAM and a much more capable CPU than the Raspberry PI.

LOL

[ArchieBunker]

Every mention of the Raspberry Pi has comments to this glorious Allwinner chip the chinese seem to be pedaling. Sounds like Kim Jong Ill himself cast the silicon with his very fingerprint! The goal of the Pi is low cost, not performance.

Re:So, unless it's cheap, what is the point?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, you are clearly much more aware the the average bear. Where is the appropriate place that we may worship your knowledge? I just want all of us to know.

Funny that's not how I interpreted that at all.

Then I'm not the sort of douchebag who looks for the worst in everyone so he can condemn it. "What's that? Did he stick his neck out 0.001 inches so now I can cut it verbally? Did he say something I can use against him even if that means twisting it around? Hah! Gotch, biatch!" Nah I don't want to live like that.

If that makes you happy then you go and have fun with that. Tell me how fun the end of that path is. Don't worry. It's popular so you will have the company of like-minded people. Just think about if that's what you really want.

raspberry pi is special because of value

[Chirs]

Yes, there are many little COTS SBCs that run linux. However, they don't give the mix of capabilities that the Raspberry Pi does for the price that it sells at.

Fuck android

[thetoadwarrior]

Why use something weak like Android when you can have a real Linux distro?

Re:So, unless it's cheap, what is the point?

[JohnnyMindcrime]

As a fellow Linux user, I must say that you are missing the point entirely.

The whole concept of the Raspberry Pi is not to be the smallest, fastest or most powerful, it is simply designed to be extremely cheap to buy but with enough processing power to make it a reasonably good programming platform, especially for kids and students.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a UK charity, it has been set up to further IT skills in schools, and the reason it was introduced and sold the way it was a few months ago was specifically to get the units out to those people who are keen on doing interesting things with them, and to feed back what they've done into the Foundation to get the schoolkids even more interested in programming on one.

Your comments about it being "nothing special" would be entirely valid were it being sold for profit and you were comparing specifications to similar items - but that is not the case.

Incidentally, I have no personal connection with the Raspberry Pi Foundation, but I support any efforts done altruistically, especially in IT education where it might get kids learning proper skills that they can build careers on and make a living from.

Re:So, unless it's cheap, what is the point?

[asdf7890]

I think what the person you are replying to was pointing out, perhaps too flippantly, is that the previous poster's post was the very definition of unhelpful in that it pointed out help could be given then failed to do so in any way shape or form. A couple of links to devices that already exist at good prices (for the home user buying one or two, not the commercial user buying by the thousand) that could be used for the projects people are planning to play with the Pis on, would have been the ideal way to help educate those of us who are missing the clue that is, in his estimation, obvious.

Of course the less charitable interpretation of what Aeros said is "prove you know something or I'm going to assume you are a blabbler mouth who really knows nothing and is just trying to look important", but if that is the case then the very same little bits of info in the original post would also render such a response irrelevant.

In either case the post by undefinedreference basically amounts to "I know something you don't know". Whether that is simply a matter-of-fact-statement, in invitation to politely ask for enlightenment, or something that in the playground would be followed by "ner ner n' ner ner", is a matter for individual interpretation until more information becomes apparent.

I've just (well, yesterday) taken delivery of an rPi and if my playing goes well might well buy more of the same or similar devices, so I for one would be most interested in hearing some detail of what undefinedreference says he knows and I don't (yet).

Re:raspberry pi is special because of value

[kenh]

The RaspberryPI board suits a small number of applications, none of which will be the K-12 education market.

Precious few teachers would opt for the RaspberryPI in their classroom over an Apple Mac or a Windows PC - no matter the age:

A) The system is incomplete (no display, keyboard, mouse, power supply), and completing it quickly triples or quadruples the price per system.

B) The operating system and applications are lacking curricullum support, it is non-trivial for the average non-computer science teacher to simply integrate this computer into their class plans beyond as a simple web browser activity.

C) Many parents will oblect to a perceived 'sub-standard' computer is being foisted on their kids - teaching children to use an operating system (Linux) embraced by less than 1% of the worlds users will not be seen as preparing them for high tech careers.

Re:raspberry pi is special because of value

[Xenna]

Incomplete? OK, I'll give you the power supply, but my Raspi is never going to have a screen/keyboard or mouse. We you planning to replace your PC with it or something?

The whole 'teaching' idea is quite absurd. You can program on a standard PC just as wel or even better.

The main point of the Pi for me is that it's incredibly cheap. It has GPIO ports that no other PC's have (to my knowledge).

Also, you can change its personality completely by just swapping the SD card. I can't remember the last device I could do that with so easily.