Web site crashes and hardware problems delayed the Raspberry Pi’s distribution last week, and yesterday distributors of the $35 PC announced a new pricing structure for the machine.
The Raspberry Pi Web site, announced that United Kingdom-based distributors Element 14/Premier Farnell and RS Components will now be offering the machines for sale with the same shipping charges for buyers anywhere in the world.
“With demand running at such a high level, and in an effort to keep things as simple as possible, RS have decided to set a single global price and a single global delivery charge. This should help you communicate to the Raspberry Pi community very clearly,” RS Components was quoted in the site.
“We want to make our pricing globally transparent in keeping with our commitment to make the Board accessible to all at a base price no higher than $35 per board,” RS Components said.
“If a customer has already ordered from us at a higher price than those listed below we will ensure this is corrected at point of shipping to reflect the cheaper prices below,” Element 14/Premier Farnell also explained. If the buyer ordered before the change and was quoted a lower price, the lower price will be honoured.
The following universal £GBP selling price, shipping charges and value added tax (VAT) will apply:
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Raspberry Pi Model B = £21.60
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+ Shipping Charge = £4.95 (this shipping charge also covers any accessories ordered to be shipped with a Raspberry Pi – Customers will only pay ONE charge of £4.95 per shipment)
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VAT @20% = £5.31
In Canada, that works out to $47 including shipping. In the United States the Raspberry Pi will cost US$40.
With demand and hardware problems for the Raspberry Pi causing a huge backlog for distributors of the adorable budget PC, it might take some time before customers get their hands of the computer they ordered. Here’s a quick video of the Raspberry Pi in action just to tide you over.
The tiny PC was developed by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in the U.K. But the organization sought the help of students and researchers at the Seneca College – York University Campus in Toronto to complete the software components that would allow the PC to run open sourced Linux-based applications.
An initial batch of 10,000 was snapped up within the first day that the device was launched. Online demand for the Raspberry Pi crashed the sites of the two distributors for the device.
Last week, the Raspberry Pi Foundation reported that a “manufacturing hiccup” caused further delays. The foundation blamed the delay on an accidental hardware parts substitution incident where non-magnetic jacks rather than magnetic jacks were soldered onto the board.
“No magnetics means no network connection,” said the foundation.
The problem has since been fixed, and production is back on schedule.
“We are very, very sorry. We know you want your Raspberry Pi as soon as possible (and many of you are being inhumanly patient, having followed us since we launched this Web site eight months ago),” the foundation said.
Nestor Arellano is a Senior Writer at ITBusiness.ca. Follow him on Twitter, read his blog, and join the IT Business Facebook Page. 
