First Raspberry Pi Systems Hit Leeds Schools

Schoolchildren in Leeds are to get the first Raspberry Pi computers, following delays to the rollout of the £16 computers.

Dr Eben Upton of the Raspberry Pi Foundation is presenting a batch of Raspberry Pi systems to the children today, at an event being held by one of the distributors Premier Farnell. Upton will also run a programming class to show what the children can do with the device, according to the BBC.

Premier Farnell has also confirmed it will be shipping the computers out today to various customers, who should receive their miniature machines within the next seven days.

‘Delighted’ with first batch

Another distributor RS Components said yesterday it was also ready to send out some Raspberry Pi gadgets.

“We are delighted to have the first batch of fully compliant products in our warehouse and to be able to invite the first wave of customers who registered for a Raspberry Pi to place their orders from this initial stock,” said Glenn Jarrett, head of electronics marketing at RS.

“There has been a great deal of anticipation for Raspberry Pi since its launch at the end of February, and it is important that we provide a delivery guarantee to customers when they place their order.”

The Raspberry Pi initiative, which is designed to get people interested in programming, has been hit by two delays. The gadgets were due to be released in January, but distributors were reluctant to hand them out until they were handed the European Community certification mark – CE. The devices passed quality control tests last week, however.

The release was previously delayed after the wrong component was soldered on to circuit boards.

Raspberry Pi machines run on the same ARM-designed chips that feature in numerous smartphones.

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