RS Components Announces Launch of Raspberry Pi US$35 Computer
SINGAPORE, March 1, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ — RS Components, the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products, today announced that the revolutionary credit card sized single-board computer from the Raspberry Pi Foundation is now available to pre-order from RS websites around the world. Created for educators, programmers, developers and IT enthusiasts, the kits can be pre-ordered at www.rswww.com .
The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a charity established to promote the development of computer development skills in education across the globe. Its vision is for Raspberry Pi to provide budding IT developers and programmers with a base platform to exploit the full power and potential of computing within the Linux environment, at a remarkably low cost. As such, Raspberry Pi computers act as an enabler for the next generation of programmers to enter the IT industry.
RS Components was selected as a distribution partner for Raspberry Pi because, in the eyes of the Foundation, it connects with engineers across the globe throughout their careers. As such, the company is well positioned to provide Raspberry Pi adopters with support, advice and access to additional resources as they embark on new development activities. It was particularly impressed with the DesignSpark community and resources provided for new developers working on Open Source designs.
“RS Components has always been a trusted and reliable partner for engineers across the globe. The RS Components DesignSpark community and their free PCB design software connects with engineers throughout their career, and is being adopted by many universities around the world,” said Eben Upton, Founder and Trustee of Raspberry Pi. “This ethos of providing resources for engineers, along with the company’s support for open source design, makes RS Components the ideal distribution partner for Raspberry Pi.”
Glenn Jarrett, Head of Marketing, Electronics, at RS Components, added, “Raspberry Pi provides a revolutionary low cost platform, which opens up programming to a whole new audience. We are very honoured to have been chosen to work with the Foundation as a distribution partner at the launch of this exciting new tool.”
Further information on the Raspberry Pi Foundation can be found at www.raspberrypi.org. For more details on the RS Components DesignSpark community please visit www.designspark.com. Raspberry Pi can be pre-ordered from the RS website at rswww.com .
About RS Components
RS Components and Allied Electronics are the trading brands of Electrocomponents plc, the world’s leading high service distributor of electronics and maintenance products. Through operations in 32 countries and 17 warehouses, the Group serves 1.6 million customers worldwide and distributes 550,000 products ranging from semiconductors and optoelectronics to power tools and protective clothing. The product and service portfolio supports the entire product lifecycle from R&D through pre-production to maintenance and repair. The Group ships more than 46,000 parcels on the same day the orders are received.
Electrocomponents is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year to 31 March 2011 had revenues of GBP1.18bn.
For more information, please visit the website at www.rs-components.com.