Looks like the Easter Bunny delivered something even more delicious than eggs this year—the Raspberry Pi Model A is now available for purchase for $25 in the United States.
Allied Electronics, based in Texas, appears to be the first local retailer to sell the cheaper edition to the American market. Nearly two months ago, the Model A finally went on sale in Europe. Sales in Asia followed about a month later. However, for at least a week now, a German electronics shop has been selling the Model A to Americans on eBay for $38.50, and other British eBay sellers are selling combo editions, including a case.
The cost savings comes from skimping on an Ethernet port, and just a single USB port, which means the Model A needs just one-third the power that the Model B requires. (Conceivably, that means it's also better-suited for solar-powered hobbyist projects.)
On its website, Allied Electronics offers this notice:
“Due to limited supply of the Raspberry Pi Model A, we are not offering preorders or backorders on the product at this time. The Raspberry Pi Model A will only be available for purchase when we have inventory on hand to fill the order. We regret this inconvenience and sincerely thank you for your patience.”
As of this writing, Allied Electronics lists 49 remaining in stock, but we’re guessing that those are going to go pretty fast. (Disclosure: When I saw that early Sunday morning, I ordered two.) If you don’t manage to get a Model A, Amazon has the Model B Revision 2.0 (with the 512MB RAM bump) for $45.
We’ve reached out to Raspberry Pi and Allied Electronics to help explain the delay and limited stock and will update when we hear back.
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