This week marks the 9th anniversary of the launch of the first Raspberry Pi computer. In the following years, this tiny computer has had a huge impact on the computing industry. That could explain why the company has sold over 38 million units. As one might expect, demand increases every year, with 2020 being the biggest year on record. The company sold 9 million units during the last year, accounting for nearly a quarter of ann units ever sold.
The new Pico had a large impact on those numbers, with nearly 1 million of the new Arduino-like boards being ordered already. In fact, it could quickly become the best-selling unit, stealing the crown from the current king - the Raspberry Pi 3B. With 12.2 million units in the wild, it will take some time to get close. During the life of the 3B, the organization really hit its stride, attracting additional attention from publications, and an ever-growing maker community. Plus, the 3B had a long life, making it easy to be the top model.
That long-life availability is another big part of the brand's charm. The organization tries not to end of life older models. This is because there are thousands of products out in the world that might depend on the shape, features, or other aspects of an older model. If one breaks, they want the manufacturer to be able to swap it out without concern over compatibility.
But, all of this was not originally intended to be. Originally, the plan was to produce and make available only 1,000 units in total in a bid to increase applications for the computer science department at Cambridge University. Of course, a tiny $35, fully functional computer drew a lot of attention, and the organization as we know it today was born.
To learn more about the Raspberry Pi and find some creative uses for them, you can find a ton of resources at Tom's Hardware.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW.