5 ms·

I find the lack of ethernet or wifi concerning. I get that they're trying to keep it small and low cost, but I can't immediately see any use for a Pi that can't

I find the lack of ethernet or wifi concerning. I get that they're trying to keep it small and low cost, but I can't immediately see any use for a Pi that can't run standalone.

neals 11y ago
media player with an external HDD for content.
- jgowans42 11y ago
  Yeah, that's basically all I could think of as well. I'd gladly swap the HDMI port for a wifi chip.
yuvadam 11y ago
So you're basically saying you're not getting enough value for $5?
- drcross 11y ago
  No, but like the Op, I would gladly pay double the price for some sort of onboard network connectivity.
  - andygates 11y ago
    There's nowhere to put it! And if you want bigger and more connected, just get the mainstream Pi.
  - Klathmon 11y ago
    There's a kickstarter I backed called C.H.I.P. that is exactly this. It's very similar in specs to the pi but comes with onboard wifi and bluetooth for $9 pre-shipping!
    - daveguy 11y ago
      Should probably include an asterisk there to explain the shipping with the C.H.I.P. $9 pre-shipping* * shipping is $10 to $20 depending on destination So, a "$9" computer that's actually $19-$29 due to sketchy shipping practices. I expect Raspberry Pi will not gouge customers on shipping to make up for their advertising gimmick.
      - Klathmon 11y ago
        I paid $5 for shipping[1], i'm not sure where you are getting $10-20 from. (I was charged $14 total) And i'd rather they try not to roll shipping price in with the actual component. [1]http://i.imgur.com/x5rQ73y.jpg http://i.imgur.com/x5rQ73y.jpg
- jgowans42 11y ago
  I'm saying that adding a few dollars worth of wifi would make it go from something that I can't think of many uses for to something excellent.
sklogic 11y ago
It's easy to imagine multiple simple designs. You can couple it with an ESP2866, for example, using a number of attinys to access their analog inputs, or with a CAN-SPI head collecting data from multiple sensors, processing and then reporting through an ESP2866.
- Tepix 11y ago
  The ESP8266 is quite slow, network wise. You could hook up the sensors to the Pi Zero directly using the GPIO ports and use a cheap USB WiFi adapter to upload the data.
  - jon-wood 11y ago
    In the context of the device the parent comment describes the ESP8266 being quite slow doesn't really matter that much, it just needs to be fast enough to push whatever telemetry its collecting on a regular basis, which an ancient modem could probably manage. Not everything requires the ability to push data at 10s of Mbps.
  - sklogic 11y ago
    I guess it would be harder to power an USB WiFi adapter. And it's not going to be cheaper than ESP2866.
    - Tepix 11y ago
      Actually a 802.11n USB adapter costs $1.55, that's cheaper than a ESP8266.
      - aswanson 11y ago
        Wow. Can you provide a link to that?
      - sklogic 11y ago
        The cheapest I could find was around £2.50. I could never run one with RPi without a powered USB hub, so add at least £5 more.
Tepix 11y ago
I can think of plenty of interesting projects¹ where the Zero is perfect as-is. However, you can just add WiFi or Ethernet via USB if you need it. Remember, on the first Raspberry Pi, the Ethernet port was connected via USB internally, too. ¹ One example https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985705009/piplay-deskcade https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985705009/piplay-deskc...
- geofft 11y ago
  This one has micro-USB ports, which mean the usual slim USB wifi interfaces will need a cable. Are there micro-USB wifi interfaces? (Is it even possible to make a similar form-factor interface that fits mostly inside a micro-USB plug?)
  - dankohn1 11y ago
    $3 for this is just crazy: http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Micro-Ethernet-Adapter-Tablet/dp/B00AKXE59E http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Micro-Ethernet-Adapter-Tablet/dp/...
    - yitchelle 11y ago
      Has anyone tried this adapter with any of the Pi variants?
  - pi-rat 11y ago
    Nano OTG adapters help a bit, but they're not perfect. :/ [1]: http://www.dx.com/p/multifunctional-micro-usb-male-to-usb-2-0-female-otg-adapter-black-silver-2pcs-412547#.VlcKG9-rTMU http://www.dx.com/p/multifunctional-micro-usb-male-to-usb-2-...
bhouston 11y ago
You are right, the next Raspberry Pi should have a AC or N wireless, it would be of huge value and those AC/N wireless chips are small or can even be incorporated into the SoC. I wonder how much cost there is for these AC/N wireless chips? It seems like a no brainer. Given that you can get a 150Mbps Wireless N usb dongle for $4, just buying the IC should be crazy cheap: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/150Mbps-USB-Wireless-Adapter-WiFi-802-11n-150M-Network-Lan-Card-for-PC-Laptop-Raspberry-Pi/32254902570.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/150Mbps-USB-Wireless-Adapter-...
- ZenoArrow 11y ago
  > "You are right, the next Raspberry Pi should have a AC or N wireless" There are other single board compuers with WiFi built in, you don't have to wait for a new Raspberry Pi. http://linuxgizmos.com/ringing-in-2015-with-40-linux-friendly-hacker-sbcs/ http://linuxgizmos.com/ringing-in-2015-with-40-linux-friendl...
sb057 11y ago
You may be interested in CHIP. 8 USD (this Monday only), and includes wi-fi as well as integrated flash storage. http://getchip.com/ http://getchip.com/
- ant6n 11y ago
  And it has an armv7. But no builtin display adapter?
  - sb057 11y ago
    It only supports RCA on-board, but adapters for VGA and HDMI are coming out a few months after launch. Unfortunately, due to licensing costs, they cost $15 (which is why they aren't on-board in the first place).
npongratz 11y ago
This is great for any application that benefits from being airgapped.
giarc 11y ago
Could powerline networking not work for this?

I find the lack of ethernet or wifi concerning. I get that they're trying to keep it small and low cost, but I can't immediately see any use for a Pi that can't run standalone.

neals 11y ago

media player with an external HDD for content.

jgowans42 11y ago
Yeah, that's basically all I could think of as well. I'd gladly swap the HDMI port for a wifi chip.

yuvadam 11y ago

So you're basically saying you're not getting enough value for $5?

drcross 11y ago
No, but like the Op, I would gladly pay double the price for some sort of onboard network connectivity.
- andygates 11y ago
  There's nowhere to put it! And if you want bigger and more connected, just get the mainstream Pi.
- Klathmon 11y ago
  There's a kickstarter I backed called C.H.I.P. that is exactly this. It's very similar in specs to the pi but comes with onboard wifi and bluetooth for $9 pre-shipping!
  - daveguy 11y ago
    Should probably include an asterisk there to explain the shipping with the C.H.I.P. $9 pre-shipping* * shipping is $10 to $20 depending on destination So, a "$9" computer that's actually $19-$29 due to sketchy shipping practices. I expect Raspberry Pi will not gouge customers on shipping to make up for their advertising gimmick.
    - Klathmon 11y ago
      I paid $5 for shipping[1], i'm not sure where you are getting $10-20 from. (I was charged $14 total) And i'd rather they try not to roll shipping price in with the actual component. [1]http://i.imgur.com/x5rQ73y.jpg http://i.imgur.com/x5rQ73y.jpg
jgowans42 11y ago
I'm saying that adding a few dollars worth of wifi would make it go from something that I can't think of many uses for to something excellent.

sklogic 11y ago

It's easy to imagine multiple simple designs. You can couple it with an ESP2866, for example, using a number of attinys to access their analog inputs, or with a CAN-SPI head collecting data from multiple sensors, processing and then reporting through an ESP2866.

Tepix 11y ago
The ESP8266 is quite slow, network wise. You could hook up the sensors to the Pi Zero directly using the GPIO ports and use a cheap USB WiFi adapter to upload the data.
- jon-wood 11y ago
  In the context of the device the parent comment describes the ESP8266 being quite slow doesn't really matter that much, it just needs to be fast enough to push whatever telemetry its collecting on a regular basis, which an ancient modem could probably manage. Not everything requires the ability to push data at 10s of Mbps.
- sklogic 11y ago
  I guess it would be harder to power an USB WiFi adapter. And it's not going to be cheaper than ESP2866.
  - Tepix 11y ago
    Actually a 802.11n USB adapter costs $1.55, that's cheaper than a ESP8266.
    - aswanson 11y ago
      Wow. Can you provide a link to that?
    - sklogic 11y ago
      The cheapest I could find was around £2.50. I could never run one with RPi without a powered USB hub, so add at least £5 more.

Tepix 11y ago

I can think of plenty of interesting projects¹ where the Zero is perfect as-is. However, you can just add WiFi or Ethernet via USB if you need it. Remember, on the first Raspberry Pi, the Ethernet port was connected via USB internally, too. ¹ One example https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985705009/piplay-deskcade https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1985705009/piplay-deskc...

geofft 11y ago
This one has micro-USB ports, which mean the usual slim USB wifi interfaces will need a cable. Are there micro-USB wifi interfaces? (Is it even possible to make a similar form-factor interface that fits mostly inside a micro-USB plug?)
- dankohn1 11y ago
  $3 for this is just crazy: http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Micro-Ethernet-Adapter-Tablet/dp/B00AKXE59E http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Micro-Ethernet-Adapter-Tablet/dp/...
  - yitchelle 11y ago
    Has anyone tried this adapter with any of the Pi variants?
- pi-rat 11y ago
  Nano OTG adapters help a bit, but they're not perfect. :/ [1]: http://www.dx.com/p/multifunctional-micro-usb-male-to-usb-2-0-female-otg-adapter-black-silver-2pcs-412547#.VlcKG9-rTMU http://www.dx.com/p/multifunctional-micro-usb-male-to-usb-2-...

bhouston 11y ago

You are right, the next Raspberry Pi should have a AC or N wireless, it would be of huge value and those AC/N wireless chips are small or can even be incorporated into the SoC. I wonder how much cost there is for these AC/N wireless chips? It seems like a no brainer. Given that you can get a 150Mbps Wireless N usb dongle for $4, just buying the IC should be crazy cheap: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/150Mbps-USB-Wireless-Adapter-WiFi-802-11n-150M-Network-Lan-Card-for-PC-Laptop-Raspberry-Pi/32254902570.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/150Mbps-USB-Wireless-Adapter-...

ZenoArrow 11y ago
> "You are right, the next Raspberry Pi should have a AC or N wireless" There are other single board compuers with WiFi built in, you don't have to wait for a new Raspberry Pi. http://linuxgizmos.com/ringing-in-2015-with-40-linux-friendly-hacker-sbcs/ http://linuxgizmos.com/ringing-in-2015-with-40-linux-friendl...

sb057 11y ago

You may be interested in CHIP. 8 USD (this Monday only), and includes wi-fi as well as integrated flash storage. http://getchip.com/ http://getchip.com/

ant6n 11y ago
And it has an armv7. But no builtin display adapter?
- sb057 11y ago
  It only supports RCA on-board, but adapters for VGA and HDMI are coming out a few months after launch. Unfortunately, due to licensing costs, they cost $15 (which is why they aren't on-board in the first place).

npongratz 11y ago

This is great for any application that benefits from being airgapped.

giarc 11y ago

Could powerline networking not work for this?