Raspberry Pi Foundation debuts a Commodore 64-inspired computer for $70

The Raspberry Pi line is an affordable way to jump headfirst into programmable computing. The single-board PCs are tweakers’ delights but are arguably a little too configurable for some. Now, the newly-launched Raspberry Pi 400 intends to address this.

Taking leaves from the Commodore and ZX Spectrum playbooks, the Pi 400 is a redesigned Raspberry Pi 4 fitted inside a compact keyboard. The company believes it’s the perfect form factor for those looking for a desktop PC as close to plug-and-play as possible.

Hardware-wise, it packs a thrifty punch. There’s a Broadcom quad-core ARM Cortex-A72 chipset at its heart with 4GB of LPDDR4-3200 RAM. There’s also Bluetooth 5.0 LE support, dual-band Wi-Fi 5 smarts, Gigabit Ethernet, two micro HDMI ports supporting up to 4K at 60fps, and a microSD card slot. There are also three USB-A ports and 40 GPIO pins tweakers can use for additional storage or add-ons.

Read more: The top Raspberry Pi projects for everyone

All the I/O is located at the rear of the Pi 400, which improves cable management. The layout also means that anyone can get this computer up and running without much fuss.

Raspberry Pi 400: Price and availability

The Raspberry Pi 400 alone will retail for $70 and is available in the US, UK, and France right now, with Italian, Spanish, and German versions rolling out next week. The computer is also expected to make its way to Australia, India, and New Zealand before year-end, and other global markets in early 2021.

For those who don’t already own peripherals, the company is also selling a $100 package that includes the official USB-C power supply, mouse, cables, and an SD card preloaded with Raspberry Pi OS.

If you’re keen to get stuck into the Raspberry Pi ecosystem but don’t necessarily want a Pi 400, you can grab the Raspberry Pi 4 below.