{"id":17811,"date":"2017-11-15T22:09:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-15T21:09:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=17811"},"modified":"2017-11-15T22:46:57","modified_gmt":"2017-11-15T21:46:57","slug":"new-portable-learninggaming-device-on-kickstarter-uses-the-raspberry-pi-compute-module","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.recantha.co.uk\/blog\/?p=17811","title":{"rendered":"New portable learning\/gaming device on Kickstarter uses the Raspberry Pi Compute Module"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Just recently launched on Kickstarter<\/a>, Pip is a portable “digital creation” device based around the Raspberry Pi Compute Module. Let’s take a look at the product, and I’ll give you my opinion at the end.<\/p>\n

Hardware<\/h2>\n

The Pip is based around the Compute Module, as I’ve said, and features a custom host board which adds several significant features as you can see below:<\/p>\n

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It’s an ingenious design that comes wrapped in a custom-moulded plastic case (pictured at the top of the post). You can see the driver board and other components below:<\/p>\n

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The screen is surrounded by two plug-in controllers which turn it into a gaming platform. In terms of physical computing, there are two parts which are fed off the 40-pin header on the side of the Pip: a ‘HAT’ (which looks a bit too small to be called a HAT, but let’s gloss over that for a moment) which is a touch-capacitive board with crocodile clips (making it a bit like a Makey Makey); and a breadboard module which is linked to the Pip via a ribbon cable.<\/p>\n

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Software<\/h2>\n

The Kickstarter talks of a custom operating system, or set of software, that will allow a gamified learning experience.\u00a0This custom software starts you off on drag-and-drop programming before moving onto “proper” coding. Of course, the SD card containing the custom software can be replaced with a standard Raspbian if you want to, so the full suite of ‘normal’ Raspberry Pi software is also available to the user.<\/p>\n

Pledging<\/h2>\n

The Pip starts at \u00a3150 (Earlybird, rising to \u00a3175) for just the Pip, without the physical computing parts. \u00a3200 (Earlybird, rising to \u00a3225) for the Pip, physical computing parts and a Pi Camera. There are other, larger pledges too for different packs.\u00a0Take a look at the Kickstarter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opinion<\/h2>\n

This looks like a\u00a0very<\/em> nice device. It’s colourful, without being over the top, has lovely hardware and the software system sounds nice too.<\/p>\n

However, I’m a little concerned that the pricing will prove its downfall. When you compare it to something like the pi-topCEED<\/a>, with its much larger screen and mature software, \u00a3200-\u00a3225 for the full kit sounds a little excessive, especially with the tiny screen. When you consider that you’ll need another device to program it with if you want to really<\/em> get into coding (because the screen is tiny), it’s difficult to justify the price. To find something similar in price and concept, you’d need to look at the\u00a0Kano Complete Kit<\/a>\u00a0and perhaps that’s where it’s aimed – the high end.<\/p>\n

If you can afford it, and you’re after something small and perfect for kids, I recommend taking a look at the Kickstarter<\/a>. Go for the full Pip kit (with the physical computer parts) to really take advantage of what makes the Pi so special (apart from it being cheap as chips, of course!).<\/p>\n