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'Growing demand' for Raspberry Pi in SA

Cape Town – Demand for the credit card sized Raspberry Pi customisable computer - which was originally developed for education - is growing in South Africa, says a company.

Official distributors of the Raspberry Pi in South Africa, RS Components, on Monday announced the launch of the third generation gadget in South Africa. The starting price for the Raspberry Pi 3 in South Africa is R642.

“Between 2012 to 2015, RS sold around 30 000 Raspberry Pis in SA and have already received 217 orders for the Pi 3 which launched on 29 February 2016,” an RS Components SA spokesperson told Fin24.

READ: Local pricing revealed for Raspberry Pi 3

The computer - which features a Linux operating system - was developed to mitigate against the declining numbers of students entering the computer science fields.

The computer has seen application in robotics, electronics and environment monitoring. And RS said that even smartphones may be customised based on the principles of the Pi.

“Yes, we are already seeing such products. There is an example of what is being called the PiPhone.”

Worldwide, take-up of the Raspberry Pi has also been strong.

“Initially only 10 000 units were produced as a once-off project but the demand was so great that over eight million units have been sold globally as of 2012, when the first Pi was launched,” said the RS representative.

Watch this online video on a Raspberry Pi phone:

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