The Raspberry Pi 3 Adds Built-In Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, Gets a 50% Speed Boost

Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into a computer monitor or TV and uses a standard keyboard and mouse. We all are familiar with Raspberry Pi 1 and Raspberry 2 models. There is no wonder if I say that there are huge fans for Raspberry models. Raspberry satisfied many users with its 1GB Ram, Ethernet port, Micro SD storage, Audio jack 3.5mm port etc. It gained a huge success in the market as it available at $35 so that it can be affordable by most of the people. The main aim behind its launch is to enable people of all ages to explore computing and to learn how to program in languages. It has been used in a wide array of digital maker projects, from music machines and parent detectors to weather stations and tweeting birdhouses with infra-red cameras.

Coming to Raspberry Pi foundation, It is a registered educational charity based in the UK. Foundation’s goal is to advance the education of adults and children, particularly in the field of computers, computer science, and related subjects. This company launched a new model of Raspberry Pi i.e Third Generation Raspberry Pi, also known as Raspberry Pi 3.

The main drawback of Raspberry Pi 2 is that it lacks WiFi and Bluetooth.Raspberry Pi 3 comes with the additional features like WiFi and Bluetooth. It also has a fast processor compared to the previous model. Previously, you needed to shell out around $10 for a USB Wi-Fi adapter. And also you need to waste a lot of USB storage place for Bluetooth dongles. And also speed has enhanced by upgrading 900MHz Quad-core CPU with 1.2GHz 64-bit Quad-core. In this view, it is sure that Raspberry Pi3 not only comes with additional features but also at a lower cost i.e $35. Comparison between the 3 models is shown in the below figure.

During the launch of this model, the company says, “We recommend the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B for use in schools, or for any general use. Those wishing to embed their Pi in a project may prefer the Pi Zero or Model A+, which are more useful for embedded projects, and projects which require very low power.”
The following are the features of Raspberry Pi-3:

• A 1.2GHz 64-bit quad-core ARMv8 CPU
• 802.11n Wireless LAN
• Bluetooth 4.1
• Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE1GB RAM)
• 1GB RAM
• 4 USB ports
• 40 GPIO pins
• Full HDMI port
• Ethernet port
• Combined 3.5mm audio jack and composite video
• Camera interface (CSI)
• Display interface (DSI)
• Micro SD card slot (now push-pull rather than push-push)
• VideoCore IV 3D graphics core

Though the new model should be improved in terms of compatibility, it’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth work pretty much out of the box and if you’re booting into the Raspbian graphic interface, setting up both work just like they would on any modern operating system. Right-click the Wi-Fi Network icon in the top right corner of Raspbian, then enter your network information.You can quickly update to Raspberry Pi 3 by simply swapping your micro SD card from the previous model to the latest model. The Raspberry Pi 3 is available from the usual list of distributors at launch.