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10 Reasons Why Raspberry Pi Sucks. Think before buying!

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Raspberry Pi has been in news for quite a time and is seen as some sort of computing revolution that comes in a price tag of $25. For an average technology enthusiast, it generates quite a bit of curiosity. If you pondering over the question “Should I buy Raspberry Pi”, the answer is a big NO. I’ll give you not one but ten reasons why Raspberry Pi sucks.

It’s all hype that is created around Raspberry Pi and the manufacturers are cashing on the hype. There are limited availability of the stock and I had to wait for 3 months after registering. And when I finally got it, I was highly disappointed with whatever I was given in the name of a micro computer. There are several additional things you need to get your Raspberry Pi working.

Here are 10 reasons why Raspberry Pi sucks:

  1. The price tag $25 is a deception. It is simply not available. While another model is available for $35, it is much more than $35 if you are not lucky enough to be an US resident. Raspberry Pi, a UK-based company, selling a $35 device in 32.7 GBP. And since I used my French Credit Card, additional blow for using foreign currency. So this so-called $35 device cost me around $55. Talk of being cheap, huh!
  2. Second blow, Raspberry Pi does not comes with a power lead. I know that Raspberry Pi FAQs clearly tell that it doesn’t provide power lead and it can be bought separately but imagine your self buying a cellphone and they tell you dude, we sell phones not chargers, buy it separately.
  3. No memory what-so-ever. You just bought a computer without a memory.
  4. No OS pre-loaded. Obviously there is no question of OS without memory.
  5. It has a Micro USB power port but official website advises not to use your computer to power it up. Great! Another option gone. Now you don’t have any option other than buying a power lead.
  6. The basis concept behind the birth of Raspberry Pi is “a tiny and cheap computer for kids” that can be used school computer labs. Now the Raspberry Pi is a naked device that doesn’t come in a box. How long will it last before breaking apart? Despite of promises of a default case included by as early as 2012, it still does not have one.
  7. There are only two USB ports. One goes for your keyboard and the other for your mouse, hdmi port for the monitor. Now you can have no more connectivity. Enjoy!
  8. No Wi Fi here. Go back to stone age and use wired Ethernet connection. By the way Raspberry Pi A doesn’t even have the option for Ethernet.
  9. You have to boot from the SD card. You cannot use a USB device as storage.
  10. You pre-order it and wait for months before you could get your hands on it. And then you realize that you have to spend more money buying its case, SD card, power lead etc.

Before some one start pouncing at me with “value for the money” and “this is the best you can get in this price” stuff, I definitely am not looking to Raspberry Pi as a replacement of regular laptops but there are better alternatives to it available in market for e.g., . Considering the additional price you have to pay for SD card, power lead etc. it comes almost in the same range. Only you get better configuration for a few dollars more.

While Raspberry Pi is a great concept in itself, it’s not the best out there. What you think of it? Does Raspberry Pi sucks or you have reasons enough to love it? Do express your views.

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  • Dan

    Jeez mate, calm down. Just use your phone charger and a micro usb cable, still 55 bucks, no need for a wifi adapter use ethernet still $55, use your tv, STILL $55, and a mouse and keyboard set these days costs about $15, so you’re getting a project brain/basic computer for only $65! Hectic!

  • Guy_From_Michigan

    I just purchased 2 of these in Media configuration. I just spent 3 hours trying to get the audio to work with HDMI. No luck. I found a forum that has this issue from 2011. Hmmm I do not think they warrant anymore of my time.
    The price was just fine, and it works except that the audio will not go through the HDMI to the TV. I will reconnect the Android based tiny computer I purchased off Amazon for like 50$ and it works no problem. This one not so much. I will try and give it to a friend if he wants to play with it, of if nothing else they will make nice targets (expensive) on my shooting range out back.

  • Matt Hawkins

    This article is so wrong I think it might be a spoof.

    • HeavyMetalPolkaMonkey

      After building a couple of XMBC boxes using it and then adding Adruino to the mix for a series of successful and rather profitable commercial and home automation platforms, I’m inclined to think the author couldn’t outwit a used teabag. Still lots of room to grow even in the face of newer platforms like the MIPS Creator CI20. But then the CI20 is pretty new, maybe the author can apply his MS Paint cert and 9 year old writing style and get that wrong too.

  • GetItGoing

    It has a few design issues that are significant.

    One is the lack of design consideration for a low-power or standby mode. This can be a dealbreaker depending upon one’s project needs, and I may have to pass over the Pi because of it.

    I can think of more but for now I’ll just mention that one.

    In all fairness, however, it can do true (not 2.0 downmixed) digital audio passthrough for XBMC or other media players to allow 5.1 surround sound decoding on your DAC or home receiver, which not many devices can do.

  • Iain

    I bought the model b for 30 pounds uk. I already had a keyboard and mouse like most people. I also bought a USB wifi adapter for £10. I also had a set of speakers.I turned this into a wireless airplay device for £40 .at no point did I think I would buy this as a desktop computer, that would be stupid as it doesn’t cut it. I was designed to help people learn about computers and that is exactly what I have done. I recently bought another and transformed it into a personal cloud for storage, for about the same cost. So to sum up. A raspi is a crappy desktop computer but offers a great way to create expensive equipment cheaply.

  • Alex Pouliot

    noob ass website go to school of shut up !

  • Shane

    Obviously you bought a Raspberry Pi with something completely different in mind. It’s an educational tool and nothing else. The reason it doesn’t come with accessories and all sorts of extra stuff you would expect to get with a modern computer is because the Raspberry Pi Foundation is a CHARITY not a business and it made these boards available to the community to see what interesting projects they would come up with.
    You cite the Mele as better value for money when you factor in the cost of accessories for the RPi but from what I can see you need to buy all those accessories for the Mele too meaning its price could go over a hundred dollars.
    You say they “advertise” the board as costing $35 but this actually goes up when you purchase peripherals. Fair enough but I don’t see them “advertising” that it comes with a keyboard or power lead. You pay the money you get the board. Nowhere does it say otherwise.

    You obviously didn’t do much research before you bought it either. I bought one knowing full well it didn’t come with any of the accessories. How did I find this out? I read it on the website.

    Don’t run down a great idea because you didn’t know what you were buying.

  • knob hater

    Do express your views.

    so I can delete them.
    knob

  • stoney

    10 reasons why this article sucks …

    just lol. It was never intended to be a. closed source tablet replacement, its a tinkerers tool.
    Mine cost $35 + post. I did not need to. buy anything else, iphone charger with a kindle charger cable. 8G SD card from a pentax camera that has not been used for a year.
    unplugged the hdmi and ethernet from the ps3 and plugged in pi. off it went.

    I later bought a wifi dongle tplink TK-WN722n for $13, a powered hub for $12 .. it leaves my MK808b for dead, same video that struggles with are smooth at 45% cpu.

    wrote some C code to control a string of RGB leds while playing movies .. 1% CPU.

    do that with your tablet..

    next time you need a hammer, don’t buy a screwdriver and complain about it.

  • Mike Chambers

    The fact that my Pi is currently acting as a wi-fi enabled media center with USB storage would seem to suggest that you didn’t really do a lot of research before writing this poor article. I don’t need to address your other points, they’ve already been rebuked.

    If you meant that you can’t BOOT from USB, then yes you are correct but just pick up an ancient 1 GB SD card for 50 cents, only put the kernel and initrd on it and configure it to mount a USB device as root. done. It’s dead simple to do. Why do that though? Just use the SD slot for what it’s designed to do, and save a USB port.

    The Pi is not some incredible piece of hardware, nor is it meant to be. It’s $35, and for that price, it’s a pretty decent little toy. It’s not meant to be anything else. What were you expecting? The only problem with the Pi is people not fully understanding what they’re buying. I knew what it was and it fully met my expectations.

    They’re not trying to hide anything from you.

  • Shock

    Reason number 3 makes no sense, I clearly has memory 256Mb or 512Mb. Reason 4 is referring to not having a OS because it has no memory…… fail. Really model A doesn’t have an option for a Ethernet port, its called model B. If you plan to review a tech product please know the terminology. Your review is filled with really bad errors even a A+ student wouldn’t miss.

  • Phillip Mikesell

    This article infuriates me. Extremely misleading. The point here is that it’s not for everyone, but that does not make it like what you depict of it.

  • Mojo Jojo

    Loooser. You simply don’t get the point.

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