The Raspberry Pi Model A+ is the perfect board for the minimalist Pi fan. This low-cost Pi uses the same processor as the model B+, but does away with the Ethernet jack and three of the USB Ports. This makes it lower power, less expensive and much lighter & smaller! It’s still compatible with all Pi operating systems and software, and has the exact same 40 pin GPIO connector and camera/display sockets, so any HATs or Pi Plates or other things that plug into the model B+ will work just the same.
It also has the same HDMI, sound/composite connector and microUSB connector for power
Unlike the Raspberry Model B+, there’s only one USB port and no ethernet jack but it’s also significantly smaller at 65mm x 56mm if you don’t include overhang from the connectors. Also, there is only 256 MB of RAM onboard instead of 512, so if you have a RAM-intensive application you may need to stick with the B+
Don’t forget, you’ll need a USB power supply with microUSB cable, and a microSD card with a Raspberry Pi OS on it (we suggest a Raspbian 4G card or NooBS 8G card)
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, or even use Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for MakeCode, CircuitPython, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell with Google Hangouts On-Air is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
