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| Raspberry Pi announces a tablet with wireless connectivity |
Last January, the Raspberry Pi Foundation introduced the Pico Board, a $4 development board that includes an RP2040 microcontroller.
Since the product was launched, nearly 2 million Pico enterprise cards have been sold, and the RP2040 has reached a large number of third-party products.
Although Pico products have fast cores, large memory, and flexible interfaces. But one of the main features that the Internet of Things lacks is the way you connect to the network.
The organization just released the Pico W product, which adds support for the 802.11n wireless networking standard for Pico products. This makes Pico W useful for IoT projects and more.
It's also more expensive than the Pico, at $6. Eben Upton, CEO of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, notes that adding a radio to a product is very expensive.
The original $4 Pico is still around. If cost is a factor and you can use it without a Wi-Fi connection, you can always get a cheaper Pico product.
The group claims to have added wireless connectivity to Pico cards using the CYW43439 chip. The chip also supports Bluetooth Low Energy and Bluetooth Low Energy. But the foundation said it has not yet been activated.
Accessories are available to connect the pico card to the network. But it is much more expensive than building a wireless network in the microcontroller itself. In addition, it uses pins that can be connected to other accessories.
Raspberry Pi launched the Pico W microcontroller
Pico W provides wireless connectivity. You can use it as an alternative to standard pico-based projects if you like.
In the era of Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11n Pico W connections seem outdated. However, it should be noted that the Pico W is not designed as a computer connected to the Internet, but is designed to control electronic devices or other devices.
The foundation also announced two other products, Pico H ($5) and Pico WH ($7). These are similar to the Pico and Pico W but cost more and come pre-installed with debug headers and connectors.
The Raspberry Pi means the RP2040 microcontroller is suitable for both commercial and industrial applications. But the global shortage of semiconductors has greatly accelerated their adoption.
While the foundation promised to make tens of millions of pico boards, it also ran into trouble when more complex computers, such as the Raspberry Pi 4, became difficult to purchase.