The crew behind the credit-card sized computer Raspberry Pi introduced on Monday the Raspberry Pi B+. This device builds upon the two-year-old "B" model, using the same Broadcom BCM2835 application processor, the same 512 MB of memory, and running the same software. However, this "B+" edition provides more features for the same low price of $35 USD.
According to Raspberry Pi Trading CEO Eben Upton, this new release isn't a Raspberry Pi 2, but the "final revolution" of the popular board. "We think you're going to love Model B+, but to ensure continuity of supply for our industrial customers we'll be keeping Model B in production for as long as there's demand for it," Upton wrote.
So what's new? According to Upton, the GPIO header now has 40 pins instead of 26, but retains the same pinout for the first 26 provided on Model B. The team even crammed two more USB 2.0 ports onto the board, which now offers a total of four. The team also mentions better hotplug and overcurrent behavior.
"We've aligned the USB connectors with the board edge, moved composite video onto the 3.5 mm jack, and added four squarely-placed mounting holes," Upton writes.
The new specs show that the friction-fit full SD card socket was exchanged for a "nicer," smaller push-push microSD card reader. Changes were also made to the audio circuit, which now incorporates a dedicated low-noise power supply. The board's power consumption is now lower thanks to replacing linear regulators with switching versions.
Raspberry Pi B+ is available now at many resellers and online at Farnell/element14/Newark and at RS/Allied Components.
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