Raspberry Pi - the $5 mini programmable computer - has sold out online less than 24 hours after its release.
On Thursday, Nov. 26, Eben Upton, the founder of Raspberry Pi, announced that the new Raspberry Pi was available to purchase in the UK from The Pi Hut and Pimoroni, and in the United States from Adafruit and in-store at local Micro Center branches.
However, many Raspberry Pi fans got disappointed that all units of the Pi Zero have been sold out. At launch, Upton said that they have made thousands of Pi Zero units but they expect the demand for the computer will be much higher than the initial supply. The Pi Zero is also given out for free with the December issue of The MagPi.
Raspberry Pi computers have a big fan following. However, the low price of the Pi Zero is undoubtedly one of the key factors for the computer being sold out within a day. The original Raspberry Pi was released in 2012 and since then a few more successors have appeared. However, all the previous models have been priced in the $20 to $35 range.
While the Pi Zero has been sold out, customers are hoping that there are more supplies of the computer in the coming months.
"I never thought I would see the day that a computer could be sold for $5. This will definitely allow a lot of folks to join the computer science community. I hope there will be sufficient supply within the next few months," commented a user on Raspberry Pi's blog post on the Pi Zero.
The high demand for the Pi Zero has also led to The MagPi magazine going out of stock as well.
A Pi Zero enthusiast shared that the first and second shops they went to had all run out of stock. On the third shop, they were able to get the last two units of the Pi Zero.
According to another Raspberry Pi blog, The MagPi magazine with the free Pi Zero will reach Barnes&Noble and Micro Center in about three weeks.
