I really want to finish slamming this thing, I really do… It is just pointless going on and on and on and on about it, but to try and draw it to a close….
http://betanews.com/2015/12/17/the-5-dollar-raspberry-pi-zero-is-too-damn-expensive/
When I found out that there was a $5 Raspberry Pi Zero being sold, I rushed to buy one. I did no research as to what it was, but for such a paltry amount of money, I couldn’t resist. For whatever reason, I even bought a case for it, which is arguably silly — why protect such an inexpensive piece of tech?
When it finally arrived, I was impressed with the small size, but very disappointed overall. This may sound incredible, but the $5 Raspberry Pi Zero is just too damn expensive. Quite frankly, it is ridiculous that such a useless computer is being sold. Do you agree?
In order to add the same ports as the $35 Raspberry Pi 2, you will need to buy the following. I have added approximate pricing and links.
USB OTG Cable — $4
4 port Powered USB Hub — $11
USB Ethernet Adapter — $10
mini-HDMI to HDMI adapter — $2Total plus the $5 Pi Zero is $33. Yes, you are reading that correctly. The $5 computer, after buying essential accessories, is almost the same price as the Raspberry Pi 2. Plus, it is now a Frankenstein-like mess of wires and adapters. The $35 Raspberry Pi 2, with all of these things integrated, is clearly the smarter buy. Heck, you even get double the RAM and a more powerful processor!
That about wraps it up.
To make the zero anything less than zero takes a good chunk of change, and as pointed out in previous blogs, you have a real rats nest of wires to make it talk with anything.
One thing I had missed when I first blogged about it is that the USB port on the Zero are not USB hosts, but slaves, so to get them to talk to an interface of any kind you need an OTG cable to convert it. Blah.
I am going to try and leave it there.
It’s dead. If we ever find a use for a Zero, I will be sure and let you know, but honestly, I would not be holding your breath.
