
C.H.I.P. – Raspberry Pi competitor - adam_klein
http://nextthing.co/
======
sctb
CHIP on HN:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9513850](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9513850)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9933226](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9933226)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9505807](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9505807)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9831293](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9831293)

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joosters
I've got a great idea, guys! Let's create a web page for our product, but put
absolutely NO information about it on there. After all, who needs to know
anything about it?

All we need is a 'pre-order' button that, when pressed, pops up a message
telling you that pre-orders don't exist!

~~~
joezydeco
It's also _really_ deceiving to put that Gameboy-like button slab and LCD on
the web page when what you are really getting is the tiny CPU board at the
bottom.

~~~
dopamean
That is pretty deceiving. Having not previously heard of this thing and only
looking at the page linked here I thought for $9 you'd get the thing with a
screen and buttons. There's even an arrow pointing at it.

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tyingq
I was, at first, amazed at the price point.

Olimex, who are in a position to know, says that the BOM for this adds up to
more than $20.

[https://olimex.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/how-to-get-in-the-
ne...](https://olimex.wordpress.com/2015/06/05/how-to-get-in-the-news-tell-
people-that-you-will-make-and-sell-something-which-cost-you-20-for-9/)

So, it's basically a marketing ploy, which is still cool, but they will have
to find some way to make up the difference post launch.

~~~
MCRed
The real money in electronics is in accessories. People will pay $25 for a
Raspberry Pi and fret each additional dollar, then turn around and pay $20 for
a injection molded case for it.

If their strategy is to sell accessories then they $9 could be subsidized in
that way.

If you're like me, the $9 gets you in the door, then you load up your cart
with everything you want and start thinking about the total price at around
$100.

Under $100 I think the typical "has a day job at a startup" technologist is
not going to think twice.

They just need to have enough compelling components to get the total order
amounts up there.

~~~
rogeryu
> The real money in electronics is in accessories. People will pay $25 for a
> Raspberry Pi and fret each additional dollar, then turn around and pay $20
> for a injection molded case for it.

This may be true, but then you should make sure they buy them at your store.
I've bought a Raspberry Pi, but case and sd-card were from a different brand.
They didn't even have an official case back then. So how does this work? Or do
they get a commission for every case? I bet not.

~~~
foolinaround
Growth of the ecosystem will feed more growth, and overall, will increase
visibility and sales, improving volume pricing...

Yes, but needs to be managed well.

------
baldfat
Personally I prefer the orginal Raspberry Pi due to two things.

1) It is a non-profit that has done things I am happy about.

2) It is kind of a standard which allows the sharing of code and parts very
easy.

My money goes to Raspberry Pi because it is good at what it does and I like
the company.

~~~
Gys
Good points, but what I like is the C.H.I.P. is VERY open:

[http://makezine.com/2015/07/22/with-linux-and-creative-
commo...](http://makezine.com/2015/07/22/with-linux-and-creative-commons-
the-9-chip-computer-reveals-its-open-source-details/)

~~~
userbinator
Indeed, still no sign of Broadcom releasing the full datasheets for RPi's
SoCs... AllWinner on the other hand has been far more open with that.

~~~
rjsw
Is there a clear winner in this ranking ? Broadcom have released some
documentation on the RPi's GPU while AllWinner have used 3rd party IP that
they can't document ({Mali,PowerVR} and Ethernet).

~~~
makomk
Arguably there is - you can boot these AllWinner chips using entirely open
source code, whereas you need a binary blob to boot the Pi at all and the
license agreement forbids you from using it on non-Pi Broadcom hardware. Also,
the USB interface on the Pi is third party IP from Synopsis that - last time I
checked - they can't document, it's incredibly buggy, and Ethernet goes
through it too. (Whereas the AllWinner USB host interface is standard EHCI,
just like an ordinary PC.)

~~~
userbinator
AllWinner's Ethernet peripheral is also directly connected to the CPU bus,
which makes for a huge difference:

[http://hardware-libre.fr/2014/06/raspberry-vs-banana-
hardwar...](http://hardware-libre.fr/2014/06/raspberry-vs-banana-hardware-
duel/)

(Look at the network benchmark in particular.)

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zzzaim
FYI, its Kickstarter page has lots more information than "CHIP does computer
things" :)

[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598272670/chip-the-
wor...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1598272670/chip-the-worlds-
first-9-computer/description)

------
avodonosov
Ah, $9 is just a chip, not a pocket chip. What is the pocket chip price?

~~~
baseballmerpeak
$40. Chip with Pocket Chip was $49 as part of their Kickstarter campaign.

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akhilcacharya
I'm glad I backed it, I wasn't 100% if it was even going to come to a
production round, but apparently they just got a batch a few weeks ago.

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em3rgent0rdr
"World's first $9 computer!" is likely a false statement. Oh well, marketing.
Whatever.

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avodonosov
I like the pencil stand.

Any more info about the platform? (Processor, memory size, OS, API)

~~~
Gys
1GHz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of NAND storage, and WiFi and
Bluetooth built-in, 4.2 Linux kernel (also joined Linux Foundation)

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deadmik3
I'm working on a raspberry pi project right now that would be MUCH better with
this. Built-in wifi and bluetooth, battery power, it's a lot smaller... I want
this now

~~~
mkesper
There are some alternatives to the Pi, have a look at olimex.com (very open)
or hardkernel.com.

[https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/open-source-
hardwa...](https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/open-source-hardware)

~~~
deadmik3
I see that one is 30 EUR, since I'm in the US it would probably not be so cost
efficient. The open sourcing is great, though.

The main bonus I get from this CHIP thing is the ridiculously cheap cost for
what it gives you. At the very least, the built-in storage and wifi saves at
least $15 and some physical space. That's awesome

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avinassh
Wow, this is just amazing. But looks like we have to wait till Feb 2016?

~~~
akhilcacharya
Backers should get by December if all goes well.

Source - am a backer. $9 didn't seem like much to lose.

