The Raspberry Pi was one of the most popular single-board computers ever made and there were many imitators that appeared over the years, each one adding their own twists to the formula. Today, we’re going to cover four alternatives to the Pi that are just as exciting, though in different ways. The goal of this article isn’t to say that these boards are better than the Pi, but instead just to provide you with more choices when choosing your next computer project! Let’s get started!
The Intel Edison
The Intel Edison is a mini-computer that can be used for a variety of projects. It’s about the size of an SD card, making it much smaller than the Raspberry Pi. Plus, it has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, so you don’t need to worry about adding those features yourself. While it’s not as widely supported as the Raspberry Pi, there are still a lot of resources available for Edison users. If you’re looking for more power or some extra I/O options, then the Arduino Mega 2560 might be what you’re looking for.
The Mega 2560 is basically just like a regular Arduino but with more pins! If your project needs a touchscreen display, then why not give the Waveshare 3.5 TFT Touchscreen LCD (resistive) module a try? You can connect this touchscreen display directly to your board and make programming even easier. And if all you want is a small monitor for playing games on, then the Adafruit 4.3 HDMI screen might be perfect for you.
And lastly, we have the Compute Module Development Kit from Broadcom which is designed specifically for hardware engineers who want to design their own hardware using Broadcom’s BCM2835 SoC processor.
The Intel Curie
If you’re looking for an alternative to the Raspberry Pi that’s a little more powerful, try the Intel Curie. This tiny computer is just 36mm square and houses a 32-bit Intel Atom processor, which means it can handle more complex tasks than the RPi. Plus, with built-in Bluetooth and WiFi, it’s perfect for IoT projects. And, since there are no fans inside, it’s much quieter than other alternatives. The Arduino 101:
There are plenty of boards out there that have tried to emulate the Arduino design but few have been as successful as this one from Intel. The smaller size (about 2×5 inches) means you could potentially get away with using it on a drone without sacrificing too much space . It also has some improvements over the Arduino Uno like support for C++ in addition to C/C++. The BBC Micro Bit: Originally created by Microsoft and BBC News, the Micro Bit is meant to help teach kids about programming through its fun approachable design.
Udoo Neo
The Udoo Neo is a great alternative to the Raspberry Pi if you’re looking for something with a bit more power. It’s a bit more expensive, but it comes with an Intel quad-core processor and an Arduino-compatible co-processor. Plus, it has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, making it ideal for internet of things projects. If you want to get into hardware design and prototyping, the Udoo Neo might be a better choice than the Raspberry Pi. And since it supports Linux distributions like Ubuntu Mate, Debian and Fedora, there are plenty of different operating systems that can run on this device.
Samsung Artik
If you’re looking for an alternative to the Raspberry Pi, consider the Samsung Artik. It’s a powerful little computer that can run a full Linux operating system. Plus, it has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, so you can easily connect it to the internet and other devices. Best of all, it’s relatively inexpensive, making it a great option for anyone on a budget. You can buy one right now for $89.
Samsung Artik is available at Samsung or Amazon . Find out more here.