A little over a year ago, we talked about the Pi Top, a 3D-printed laptop that uses a Raspberry Pi as its core. Unfortunately, the high price of the commercial package hindered its adoption. The creators realized what was wrong, and the answer was to reinterpret the Pi Top as a desktop all-in-one computer called the pi-topCEED, which costs just 99 dollars.
A Year of Change for Raspberry Pi
The unique world of the Raspberry Pi was revitalized with the launch of the Raspberry Pi Zero, which costs just five dollars. This drastic price reduction should help increase the reach of the hardware, affected by all sorts of tariffs in many countries, and especially in Latin America. We also imagine there will be new parallel developments, including cases and other DIY projects. That same idea brings us to the Pi Top, the 3D-printed laptop we took a close look at in September 2014. The concept was very good, and the Pi Top had a significant following, but its current price of 300 dollars puts it a bit out of touch with reality. Any Raspberry Pi-based initiative today needs to be more affordable.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ciYIcEZTqmkThe pi-topCEED at a Glance
Let's make way for the pi-topCEED. In essence, the decision by the Pi Top team was to transform their kit into an all-in-one system equipped with a 13.3-inch screen. As always, the user has the option to use the official pi-topOS operating system, or any other distribution compatible with the Raspberry Pi 2, which comes included in the pi-topCEED. Another highlight is the introduction of CEED Universe, a dedicated environment that will help young ones develop initial hardware concepts and, of course, write code.
Indiegogo Success and Pricing
The pi-topCEED swept its participation on the Indiegogo platform, and with a week to go it already has nearly 150 thousand dollars in orders. Once again, the price of 99 dollars includes a Raspberry Pi 2, but if you want to save some money, there is an option to buy it without the module for 70 dollars. In all cases, the user will need to add a keyboard and mouse to the setup, and if all goes well, the first deliveries will take place in April of next year.
