What's the Raspberry Pi Zero?

At a cost of simply $5, it'south one of the cheapest computers available for tinkerers to hack themselves together a gadget or a uncomplicated PC.

Surely it tin can't do much at that price?

Actually information technology'southward a lilliputian flake more capable than the original Raspberry Pi Model B that launched dorsum in 2012 for $35.

Although it's got the same unmarried-cadre, ARM-based processor as the offset gen Model B, information technology's slightly faster, with the clock speed bumped up to 1GHz. The system memory remains the same, with 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM.

What does that mean in practice?

It means the Zero will run a desktop PC Os slightly better than the beginning generation Raspberry Pi boards.

That bump to the processor speed seems to make a deviation, with the new board reportedly nippier than the get-go generation Pi boards both on the Raspbian Os desktop and when booting up.

However performance is obviously below that of the more than expensive Pi 2 Model B, the recently released lath which has double the retentiveness and a newer quad-core processor.

Unsurprisingly benchmarks of the Nada have found it to exist several times slower than the Pi 2 Model B.

It's also worth begetting in mind that navigating the Raspbian OS on the Nix will likely feel slow to anyone used to the speed of a modern laptop – understandable given the gulf in price.

There've got to exist some drawbacks

Equally you lot would expect for a board that costs less than a burger and fries, the board is non every bit fully featured every bit its more expensive brothers and sisters.

The Nothing is just a lath with no case and because it's a fairly bare basic package, you'll probably need to shell out for a few extra $.25 to get upward and running.

The base board only has one Micro USB port for connecting USB devices like mouse and keyboard via an adapter. Information technology's also missing Ethernet and Wi-Fi back up for internet connectivity and the blended video / stereo audio connection, CSI Camera connector and DSI Display connector found on other Pi boards are gone.

My colleague J A Watson at ZDNet estimates the minimum needed to become a Raspberry Pi Zero up and running as a computer is probably a microSD card for storage, a mini-HDMI adapter (for connecting it to a Tv), a micro-USB adapter and USB hub for connecting a keyboard, mouse and Wi-Fi adapter, and a 5v micro-USB ability supply.

Of grade, there's a chance you may accept some of this kit to spare but if you don't these extras volition probable cost more than the board.

What can I run on it?

The Pi will run a plethora of operating systems. In the 3 years since the launch of the Raspberry Pi a wealth of software has been made available and at that place is an active online community willing to help fellow users.

The easiest option for new users is downloading the NOOBS (New Out-Of-Box Software) installer and using that to get an Os upward and running on the Pi Nada. The installer makes it simple to set various operating systems, including Raspbian, the media centers openElec and OSMC, and Risc OS.

The default choice for most who want to run the Pi equally a computer is Raspbian, the official operating system of the Pi. Raspbian is a custom-version of Debian that has been optimized to run on the Pi'southward hardware and includes an office suite, programming tools, educational offerings and other software.

The look and experience of Raspbian will be familiar to any desktop computer user and work is standing to improve the OS in order to brand the Pi "a great reckoner in its own correct".

Is it just a cut-toll desktop?

No, non at all, the better choice if y'all want to run a Pi as a desktop computer, and don't mind the minor additional expense, is probably the more powerful Raspberry Pi 2 Model B.

The Pi Zero is probably better suited to being packed into a standalone automated appliance, such as a weather station, where space is at a premium or low power consumption is needed.

The Null drains little free energy, with an average consumption of simply 2.7W compared to 3.5W for the Pi 2 co-ordinate to one benchmark. Information technology'southward as well tiny – one-half the size of the Raspberry Pi Model A+ – measuring only 65mm 10 30mm x 5mm and weighing just 9g.

Like other Pi boards, the Zero can control a range of hardware, nonetheless it requires a bit more attempt to get started. While the Zero doesn't include the twoscore general-purpose input output (GPIO) pins of the other Pi models, they tin can be added to board.

The latest release of the Raspbian Bone includes back up for IBM's NodeRED, which allows users to build Net of Things software using a drag and drop GUI. As mentioned however, the base board has no network connectivity.

Why brand the Raspberry Pi cheaper?

"Of all the things we practise at Raspberry Pi, driving downward the cost of computer hardware remains i of the well-nigh of import", said Raspberry Pi Foundation founder Eben Upton, on the release of the Pi Zero.

The Foundation's mission is to encourage children to learn about coding and by Upton's reckoning every dollar they can cut off the cost of a Raspberry Pi adds to the likelihood of another person getting involved with computing.

The $20 – $35 asking price for the original Raspberry Pi boards didn't exactly put people off however, with seven million of the boards selling since the launch in 2012.

Where can I go a Pi Zero?

That's a skillful question. Unfortunately the board is currently sold out at all online stockists. Although two,000 Zeros a twenty-four hours are being fabricated now they seem to be selling out as soon as stores are restocked.

Notwithstanding it's worth checking The Pi Hut and Pimoroni if yous're in the Uk, and Adafruit or in Micro Eye stores in the United states, to see if you tin nab one when they go back on auction.