For more than six years, the Raspberry Pi has conquered a large part of the DIY space, but that doesn't mean it's perfect. One of the most recurring criticisms among its users is the presence of some critical blobs for its proper operation. The community continues to work on freeing the Raspberry Pi, however, there is a more advanced alternative: building an open-source mini computer from scratch. That brings us to the Blueberry Pi, a platform based on the Allwinner V3s SoC that simplifies the design by integrating CPU and RAM on the same chip.
One of the advantages of the Raspberry Pi is its relative price stability. The standard B model of the Raspberry Pi 3 still floats around 35 euros, while the B+ variant requires five extra euros. Something similar happens with the wide range of Raspberry Pi modules, whose cost didn't skyrocket despite demand. Unfortunately, this is a detail not reflected in all regions, but that gives rise to a series of alternatives to Raspberry Pi very attractive on their own merits. Now, imagine for a moment that you want to take the DIY concept to the max. Is it possible to build a mini computer similar to the Raspberry Pi? The Blueberry Pi project goes in that direction.
Getting to Know the Blueberry Pi
The key word here is "similar". Instead of using Broadcom hardware, the Blueberry Pi adopts an Allwinner V3s SoC, an ARM Cortex-A7 SoC with 1.2 GHz frequency, very popular in action cameras, IP cameras, and other digital recording devices. The chip has 64 MB of integrated DDR2 RAM, a low amount compared to other mini computers, but more than enough to run a custom Linux environment. Furthermore, the integrated RAM makes the overall design of the Blueberry Pi simpler, with only two layers on the PCB. The images reveal an Ethernet connector, audio output, five buttons, a mini USB port, a drum-type power connector, and an LVDS port that will be very useful for connecting an LCD panel (don't forget to visit our selection of Raspberry Pi screens if you're looking for one), since the Blueberry Pi does not have a traditional video output.
Logically, following the Blueberry Pi path involves getting hold of an Allwinner chip and the secondary components, something that may be out of reach for the occasional enthusiast, but with all the details published on GitHub, it's only a matter of time before someone orders a series of SoCs from a Chinese manufacturer and offers them pre-assembled. Then there's the software question. The wide variety of operating systems for Raspberry Pi gives that mini computer another strong advantage, but I imagine that open-source purists won't have problems battling with the natural limits of the Blueberry Pi if that guarantees them a free environment without unknown code.
