Owners of the tiny $five Raspberry Pi Zero or the $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W with Wi-Fi can now turn the developer board extra effortlessly into a small Linux PC thanks to the brand new SnapOnAir published circuit board (PCB). The SnapOnAir PCB fills in a few gaps that prevent the Raspberry Pi device from being a computer – specifically input and output mechanisms like a keyboard and display.
Raspberry Pi Zero is a smaller, cheaper model of the better-recognized credit-card-sized $35 Raspberry Pi Three. The even smaller Zero includes a 1GHz single-core CPU, 512MB RAM, and a range of ports and pins to connect with different additives. With specifications like these, it’s not precisely a supercomputer to use as a PC. But the SnapOnAir makes it simpler for people who want to test it and create something resembling a classic BlackBerry phone with a bodily Qwerty board.
The add-on includes a 2. Eight Color ILI9341 TFT show and a TCA8418 I2C chip-based keyboard. The product list on Tindie notes that customers can add a buzzer and mono audio source at the three.5mm audio jack. The addition of the SnapOnAir doesn’t quite turn the Raspberry Pi Zero into a cellphone as it nonetheless calls for a stressed-out power source, plus there’s no 4G.
However, as Liliputing notes, the developer of SnapOnAir suggests it could be related to a portable 1,800mAh battery. While the SnapOnAirmakese is less difficult to convert a Raspberry Pi Zero intoana an extra usable computer, it’s miles just a PCB that calls for many greater paintings to make it a functional laptop, including keys and the display screen. But the PCB is right for makers who enjoy a great technical undertaking for the sake of it.