$25 Model A Raspberry Pi Microcomputer Goes On Sale In Europe — Available To Rest Of World “Very Soon”

The affordable Raspberry Pi microcomputer just got even more affordable: the slated $25 Model A Raspberry Pi board has now gone on sale in Europe. The Raspberry Pi Foundation, which created the Pi on a mission to get more kids learning to code, announced the Model A’s arrival and said sales are being restricted to Europe initially but will be opened up to the rest of the world “very soon”.

The Foundation’s Pi distributors, RS Components and Premier Farnell/element14, are both selling the board. All Model A Pis are being made in Wales — presumably at Sony’s Pencoed factory, which has been producing an average of 4,000 Model B Pis per day to-date.

The Model A pie is $10 cheaper than the $35 Model B, which has sold more than a million units to date (15,000 of which are being bought by Google to give away to U.K. schoolkids). Being cheaper, Model A is slightly stripped back — there’s no Ethernet, only one USB port and just 256MB RAM (rather than 512MB). Model A also consumes around a third less power than Model B — making it suited to projects powered by a battery or solar cells. The board will still run XBMC, according to the Foundation — so can also be used to make a $25 media centre.

The Foundation said RS customers outside Europe (Allied in the US) can order a Model A now but noted there will be “a short delay” in processing their order — owing to waiting for compliance paperwork. “Farnell customers outside Europe (Newark in the US) will see Model A appear on their local sites when this paperwork has been filled,” it added.

“We are very, very pleased to finally be able to offer you a computer for $25. It’s what we said we’d do all along, and we can’t wait to see what you do with it,” the Foundation added.