'Build Your Own Laptop' Pi-Top Kit Now In Stock at RS Components
Poster: SySAdmin
Posted on May 19, 2016 at 5:14:01 AM
'Build Your Own Laptop' Pi-Top Kit Now In Stock at RS Components
Innovative pi-top development kit extends the functionality of the Raspberry Pi board to provide the ideal platform for makers and educators
BEIJING, May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the global distributor for engineers, has announced that it is extending its portfolio of high-quality processor board development kits with the addition of the competitively priced pi-top 'build your own laptop' kit, which offers opportunities in the maker and educational arena helping users to 'learn, play and create'. pi-top has now scaled up production of its crowd-funded kit, enabling RS to offer it for the first time.
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20160519/8521603245-a
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20160519/8521603245-b
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20150818/8521505364LOGO
The pi-top concept is essentially a Raspberry Pi powered laptop that is ideal for students to learn about programming, computing and hardware creation including electronics fabrication. It also teaches students transferable skills that will help them to create their own hacker and maker hardware projects. With no need for a soldering iron, the pi-top concept allows users to quickly start to experiment with electronics, create PCBs and produce 3D printing projects such as a pi-top case. This is facilitated through step-by-step online tutorials and lesson plans, and provides for collaborative learning and sharing with others in a cloud-based learning model.
The kit allows the building of a customised laptop with the addition of a Raspberry Pi board to provide the computing power. The kit comprises: a 13.3-inch HD LCD screen with eDP interface and 1366 x 768 resolution; a smart battery with more than 10 hours run time; a two-Wire SMBus V2.0 interface; a trackpad and fully programmable keyboard; an 8GB SD card with pre-installed pi-topOS; power supply; acrylic slice; and an image-based build manual.
The pi-top comes bundled with pi-topOS -- the pi-top maker-based operating system -- and other engaging educational software. The OS makes it easy to connect to Wi-Fi, monitor battery life and also personalise the OS. Also included on pi-topOS is CEEDUniverse, a game that teaches users how to code, build circuits and make hardware with their Raspberry Pi. Other features include: pi-topDASHBOARD - a real time code editor and lesson plan guide, which will have over 100 hours of tutorial content by summer 2016; kit component guide; plus all the features on Raspbian and other software including Python, Scratch, and Microsoft Office compatible software suite (Minecraft, Libre Writer, Libre Impress, and Libre Calc, Chromium, and 3D Slash).
The pi-top has been designed to be upgradeable and will work with all current and future versions of the Raspberry Pi. It is easy to swap out older boards for newer ones when released, meaning that users can upgrade their pi-top laptop for the price of a new Pi board. The pi-top laptop design was initially developed using the DesignSpark PCB and DesignSpark Mechanical design tools from RS. In particular, the use of DesignSpark PCB helped pi-top overcome the challenge of enabling the Raspberry Pi to use a 13.3inch high-definition laptop screen.
The pi-top is shipped from RS in grey and green variants with UK, EU and US power supply options available.
About RS Components
RS Components and Allied Electronics are the trading brands of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers. With operations in 32 countries, we offer more than 500,000 products through the internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over one million customers, shipping around 44,000 parcels a day. Our products, sourced from 2,500 leading suppliers, include electronic components, electrical, automation and control, and test and measurement equipment, and engineering tools and consumables.
Electrocomponents is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2015 had revenues of GBP1.27bn.
For more information, please visit the website at http://www.china.rs-online.com.
Editorial Contacts:
Vivian Zee
Public Relations & Advertising Manager
RS Components
vivian.zee@rs-components.com
+852 2610 6472
Matthew Keefe
Customer Marketing Manager
RS Components
matthew.keefe@rs-components.com
+852 2610 6476
Further information is available via these links:
Twitter: @RSComponents; @alliedelec; @designsparkRS
RS Components on Linkedin
http://www.linkedin.com/company/rs-components
Relevant Links:
Electrocomponents plc
http://www.electrocomponents.com
RS Components
http://www.rs-online.com
DesignSpark
http://www.designspark.com
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160519/8521603245-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160519/8521603245-b
Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150818/8521505364LOGO
SOURCE RS Components
RS Components
Innovative pi-top development kit extends the functionality of the Raspberry Pi board to provide the ideal platform for makers and educators
BEIJING, May 19, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc (LSE:ECM), the global distributor for engineers, has announced that it is extending its portfolio of high-quality processor board development kits with the addition of the competitively priced pi-top 'build your own laptop' kit, which offers opportunities in the maker and educational arena helping users to 'learn, play and create'. pi-top has now scaled up production of its crowd-funded kit, enabling RS to offer it for the first time.
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20160519/8521603245-a
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20160519/8521603245-b
http://photos.prnasia.com/prnvar/20150818/8521505364LOGO
The pi-top concept is essentially a Raspberry Pi powered laptop that is ideal for students to learn about programming, computing and hardware creation including electronics fabrication. It also teaches students transferable skills that will help them to create their own hacker and maker hardware projects. With no need for a soldering iron, the pi-top concept allows users to quickly start to experiment with electronics, create PCBs and produce 3D printing projects such as a pi-top case. This is facilitated through step-by-step online tutorials and lesson plans, and provides for collaborative learning and sharing with others in a cloud-based learning model.
The kit allows the building of a customised laptop with the addition of a Raspberry Pi board to provide the computing power. The kit comprises: a 13.3-inch HD LCD screen with eDP interface and 1366 x 768 resolution; a smart battery with more than 10 hours run time; a two-Wire SMBus V2.0 interface; a trackpad and fully programmable keyboard; an 8GB SD card with pre-installed pi-topOS; power supply; acrylic slice; and an image-based build manual.
The pi-top comes bundled with pi-topOS -- the pi-top maker-based operating system -- and other engaging educational software. The OS makes it easy to connect to Wi-Fi, monitor battery life and also personalise the OS. Also included on pi-topOS is CEEDUniverse, a game that teaches users how to code, build circuits and make hardware with their Raspberry Pi. Other features include: pi-topDASHBOARD - a real time code editor and lesson plan guide, which will have over 100 hours of tutorial content by summer 2016; kit component guide; plus all the features on Raspbian and other software including Python, Scratch, and Microsoft Office compatible software suite (Minecraft, Libre Writer, Libre Impress, and Libre Calc, Chromium, and 3D Slash).
The pi-top has been designed to be upgradeable and will work with all current and future versions of the Raspberry Pi. It is easy to swap out older boards for newer ones when released, meaning that users can upgrade their pi-top laptop for the price of a new Pi board. The pi-top laptop design was initially developed using the DesignSpark PCB and DesignSpark Mechanical design tools from RS. In particular, the use of DesignSpark PCB helped pi-top overcome the challenge of enabling the Raspberry Pi to use a 13.3inch high-definition laptop screen.
The pi-top is shipped from RS in grey and green variants with UK, EU and US power supply options available.
About RS Components
RS Components and Allied Electronics are the trading brands of Electrocomponents plc, the global distributor for engineers. With operations in 32 countries, we offer more than 500,000 products through the internet, catalogues and at trade counters to over one million customers, shipping around 44,000 parcels a day. Our products, sourced from 2,500 leading suppliers, include electronic components, electrical, automation and control, and test and measurement equipment, and engineering tools and consumables.
Electrocomponents is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the last financial year ended 31 March 2015 had revenues of GBP1.27bn.
For more information, please visit the website at http://www.china.rs-online.com.
Editorial Contacts:
Vivian Zee
Public Relations & Advertising Manager
RS Components
vivian.zee@rs-components.com
+852 2610 6472
Matthew Keefe
Customer Marketing Manager
RS Components
matthew.keefe@rs-components.com
+852 2610 6476
Further information is available via these links:
Twitter: @RSComponents; @alliedelec; @designsparkRS
RS Components on Linkedin
http://www.linkedin.com/company/rs-components
Relevant Links:
Electrocomponents plc
http://www.electrocomponents.com
RS Components
http://www.rs-online.com
DesignSpark
http://www.designspark.com
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160519/8521603245-a
Photo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160519/8521603245-b
Logo - http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20150818/8521505364LOGO
SOURCE RS Components
RS Components