Adafruit Holiday Gift Guide 2015: Raspberry Pi Projects

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This holiday season consider giving the gift of a Raspberry Pi!  The Pi is a fantastic small-board computer that can run Linux and Windows 10 IoT operating systems.  This means the Pi is perfect for all kinds of projects where you need a little more computing power compared to an Arduino or other microcontroller.  Check out the Raspberry Pi projects below for some inspiration and great gift ideas.


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The new Raspberry Pi Zero is one of the most exciting products this holiday season.  For just $5 you can get a tiny little Raspberry Pi that’s great for all kinds of projects.   Don’t forget you’ll want to pick up accessories like HDMI and USB adapters that let you access the tiny ports on the Zero board.  Pick up a Pi Zero budget pack for all the parts you need to get started, or get the full starter kit that has other great accessories like a Pi Cobbler and serial cable.  Be sure to sign up on the product pages to be notified when new Zeros are in stock and available!


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Build an internet-connected security camera with the Raspberry Pi Cloud Cam project!  This camera can watch a room and upload photos to a cloud service like Dropbox when it detects motion.  This is great for monitoring your home while on vacation, or even keeping track of what your pet is up to while you’re gone.


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Learn about computer security by running Kali Linux on a Raspberry Pi and PiTFT display!  Kali is a Linux distribution that’s tailored for security research like investigating wireless networks, performing penetration testing, and much more.  With a Raspberry Pi and PiTFT you can build a little computer to experiment and learn about computer security from anywhere.


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If you’re interested in giving Windows 10 IoT core a spin consider the Raspberry Pi 2 Windows 10 IoT Core starter pack as the perfect gift!  This special version of Windows 10 can run on the Raspberry Pi 2 and gives you an awesome .NET application development environment.  You can write code in Visual Studio in C# and other .NET languages and push it directly to the Pi running Windows 10.  This is great for people familiar with Microsoft’s .NET programming languages and tools and who want to get started with fun hardware projects.


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Build your own Linux-powered cell phone with this awesome Raspberry Pi phone project!  Make and receive calls from a Raspberry Pi using the FONA GSM cell phone module and a PiTFT display.  The best part of this phone is that you can customize it just how you desire since you build it yourself!


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Build a 10″ Raspberry Pi desktop computer to use the Pi as a handy little spare computer.  Inside the 3D printed enclosure is a Raspberry Pi and all the components to make it into a tiny ‘laptop’ computer you can use anywhere.  You can use it to hack on a programming project, monitor a 3D printer, or just browse the web.  Be sure to check out the similar 5″ Raspberry Pi desktop project that you can build for an even smaller Pi computer.


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The Pocket PiGRRL is an update to the classic PiGRRL Raspberry Pi portable game console.  This pocket version uses the smaller Raspberry Pi A+ board to shrink down the size of the project into something that fits in a pocket.  You can play emulated classic games anywhere with this fun Raspberry Pi project!


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We’re excited for the Holiday Season here at Adafruit, and we can’t wait to share that excitement with you! Stay tuned into the blog where you will find new, handpicked gift guides five days a week from November 9th through December 24th, 2015 alongside holiday themed tutorials and builds!


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Adafruit Holiday Deadlines 2015

Here are your 2015 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.

The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control.

Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays over the last few years.

So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!

UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 11, 2015 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive by December 24.

UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 17, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.

UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 18, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.

UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 21, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.

Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for UPS or USPS.

Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.

Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.

United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday– December 11, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2015 or sooner.

USPS First class mail international (International orders)): Place orders by Friday – November 20, 2015. Can take up to 30 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/25/2015 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/2015.

USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 5, 2015. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.

Gift Certificates are always available at any time.

When in doubt contact us!


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