Calculator electronics, Raspberry Pi vs. DIY4X Message #4 Posted by Eric Smith on 5 Mar 2012, 3:04 a.m., in response to message #1 by Geir Isene
The Raspberry Pi is an interesting device and I'll probably use one for other things, but not for a calculator. It uses too much power to have decent battery life from disposable cells. Even with a rechargeable lithium polymer battery, the battery life will be quite limited.
The DIY4X design that Richard and I have been working on uses electronics that should cost less than the Raspberry Pi, except for the display and keyboard (which obviously the Raspberry Pi does not include). The DIY4X display is by far the most expensive part.
The DIY4X processor is an ARM Cortex-M3 running at up to 48 MHz, but typically 14 MHz. The latest version, which is just being installed on a board today, has 1MB of flash and 128KB of RAM. That's nowhere near as powerful as the Raspberry Pi, which has a 700 MHz ARM11JZFS and 256MB of RAM. However, the DIY4X uses about 30mW vs. the Raspberry Pi uses 3.5W for the currently shipping Model B, and 2.5W for the not-yet-available Model A.
The main disadvantage of the DIY4X compare to Raspberry Pi is that there are exactly 3 DIY4X units in existence today, vs. thousands of Raspberry Pi units, with more on the way soon. However, if anyone is serious about wanting to do calculator development using a DIY4X or DIY5 platform, they should contact us, as we can make more. The cost will be more than $35, but it is (IMNSHO) a much more suitable calculator platform.
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