The much talked about credit card-sized Raspberry Pi computer, developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is now available in SA with no further order backlogs, its local distributor has said.

RS Components SA says it is now accepting general orders for the Raspberry Pi, which is a fully functional computer board that costs R342 including VAT. Connected to a monitor or TV screen and keyboard, the Raspberry Pi was developed to provide budding IT developers and programmers with a basic solution to exploit the potential of computing. It’s aimed particularly at schools.

The tiny computers don’t come with their own storage but rather require the insertion of an SD card, onto which one of a number of Linux-based operating systems can be installed. They’re proving popular among enthusiasts as lounge-based media playback devices as they support full high-definition video.

The Raspberry Pi craze has spawned a separate industry of peripherals and specialised cases to house the boards.

The units have been in high demand since they were launched in February. According to a Raspberry Pi Foundation blog post published on 16 July, 4 000 of the computer boards are being manufactured daily. Until now, orders have been limited to one unit per customer, but that has now been lifted. This means businesses and schools can now place bulk orders for the machines.

According to RS Components SA, existing orders for Raspberry Pi will continue to be fulfilled through the next few months but the ramp-up in production has allowed the company to lift the restrictions on the number of units per customer. “Orders can now be placed for unlimited quantities of Raspberry Pi and the associated accessories without the requirement to register or to receive an invitation to order. These orders will start reaching customers by the end of September.” — (c) 2012 NewsCentral Media