Meet CHIP: The Raspberry Pi Killer That Costs Just $9 Seeking Funding On Kickstarter

Raspberry Pi has been the darling of DIY enthusiasts around the world thanks to its versatility and dirt cheap price tag. Considering its popularity, it was inevitable someone else would try to replicate its success by bringing something that was even cheaper and could do all the things without adding bulk. Next Thing Co has introduced CHIP, a microcomputer that costs just $9 (570 INR) for its bare basic variant. The credit card sized CHIP houses a 1GHz AllWinner A13 CPU, Mali 400 GPU, 512 MB of DDR3 RAM and 4GB of NAND storage. The makers of CHIP have added a Realtek 2-in-1 Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi b/g/n so that you can attach wireless keyboards and mice and access the internet without adding additional hardware.


CHIP is powered by wired 5V DC input power or via microUSB. You can add a 3.7V 3000mAh battery to your CHIP by paying an additional $10. Addition of a VGA and a HDMI port individually will cost you $19 and $25 respectively. Keep in mind that a composite video port is included in the $9 variant that allows you to connect CHIP to any traditional TV. The pin list on CHIP consists of 8 digital GPIOs, one PWM pin, SPI, TWI (I2C), UART, USB, MIPI-CSI, Parallel LCD output, touch panel input, and a whole bunch of power rails in and out. The makers of CHIP say that they have preinstalled Linux on it but fail to specify the variant but since CHIP is entirely open-sourced there is a possibility that someone should be able to play around enough to install Ubuntu on it.

To make life easy for novice enthusiasts the team has included Scratch, an easy to learn language that teaches the basics of programming by making stories, games, and animations. The team has stocked CHIP with a plethora of apps that range from Libre Office to Chrome to games. The company has even managed to build a $49 pocket PC with the help of CHIP. The PocketCHIP has a rugged injection moulded body on which they have attached a CHIP micro-computer, a 4.3 inch 470 x 272 pixel resolution resistive touch display, a QWERTY keyboard, the aforementioned 3000mAh battery and GPIO breakouts. As you can see from the product images below, you can find a quirky pencil supported kickstand and a notch to attach strips for carrying.


The project has been an enormous success on Kickstarter by acquiring funds of up to $506,292 against its pledged goal of $50,000 as of this writing. The products however will be shipped to backers at the end of this year and if you have ordered a PocketCHIP you have to wait for an entire 365 days before you can play with it.

Source: #-Link-Snipped-# via Move over, Raspberry Pi. This startup is building a $9 computer | Ars Technica