The mission of the Raspberry Pi Company is to deliver quality and affordable computing to every person, wherever they are in the world. And true to its word, this company has gone a pretty long way in terms of trying to deliver on its promise via affordable kits which bundle a mouse and keyboard for a complete computing experience for their users.
But how about a Pi gadget that is built inside a keyboard? After all, Pi developers have previously installed this device inside storage centers, media centers, and even laptop cases. However, all these examples are projects done for third parties and not for the company, in particular, to supply to Pi users. Moreover, these projects involve taking already-made raspberry Pi circuit boards off the shelf and then integrating them inside new hardware components. But what if the raspberry developers found a way to redesign these boards and incorporate them inside their own official raspberry pi keyboard? That is precisely what the Raspberry Pi 400 is all about. However, the raspberry pi 400 also has some cool features that make it stand out.
What is a Raspberry Pi and its Connection to PCBs?
Printed Circuit Boards, or PCBs, are electronic assemblies that utilize copper conductors to generate electrical connections between various electronic components. Moreover, PCBs offer mechanical support to various electrical components so that the devices can be efficiently mounted in enclosures.
PCBs include conductive features such as:
- Conductive planes
- Pads
- Copper traces
Moreover, the board’s mechanical structure tends to be generated using insulating components which are laminated between the conductor layers. Additionally, the overall circuit board structure is then plated, after which a solder mask is applied, followed by a silk screen utilized to imprint crucial information on the board, such as the company’s logo.
On the other hand, a raspberry pi printed circuit board is simply a PCB that bears a combo of castellated holes and through-holes with pitch pin headers. In other words, the raspberry pi circuit board is a complex computer board that is pretty small. The raspberry pi is actually as small as a credit card. Therefore it is pretty portable. However, it is also pretty powerful and efficient.
The Raspberry Pi 400
Can a person really purchase a fully functioning PC for as little as 70 USD? Most people ask themselves this question whenever they hear about raspberry pi gadgets. However, the answer to that question is yes. By utilizing the all-in-one PC design, which manufacturers were using in the classic 1990s and 1980s home computer, the raspberry pi company has found a way to integrate a raspberry pi gadget inside their official keyboard.
The raspberry pi 400 devices are integrated inside keyboards which means that all you have to do to utilize these devices is connect the keyboard to a TV or monitor via an HDMI socket, and you are done. Moreover, based on its quad-core chip, the raspberry pi 400 can efficiently host various desktop apps in the raspberry pi operating system, which is Linux based.
The Hardware Components of the Raspberry Pi 400
On paper, raspberry pi 400 specifications (specs) might not compare well with most entry-level laptop and desktop computers. However, these devices are affordable compared to laptops and desktop computers.
Inside, the raspberry pi 400 is typically a modified raspberry 4 version. That is because these devices utilize the same BCM2711 Broadcom SoC, which quad-core cortex-A72 64-bit processors power. Moreover, these processors clock 1.8 gigahertz by default, though by making some modifications, you can increase this to about 2.2 gigahertz.
Additionally, the raspberry 400 comes with 4 gigabytes of Ram, which means that it can’t match the raspberry pi 4 in terms of performance since the pi 4 version comes with 8 gigabytes of ram. However, the raspberry pi 400 is still very fast. It is around 40 times more powerful than the first Pi model, which hit the market in 2012.
The compact keyboard of the raspberry pi 400 features various Chiclet keys. These keys include the unique raspberry pi key, which pops up the pi’s desktop menu on the monitor when you click it. Moreover, you can easily power up or down your raspberry gadget by utilizing a unique combo of buttons (Fn + F10).
Raspberry pi manufacturers can supply the pi 400 with various international keyboard layouts. Therefore, you can select the keyboard layout you like, and the company will deliver the raspberry pi 400 in a keyboard bearing that layout.
Ports
At the board’s rear side, you will find 3 USB-A ports which you can utilize to connect peripheral gadgets such as:
- A mouse
- External storage gadgets
Moreover, just like in most raspberry pi models, the pi 400 has a microSD card slot that you can utilize to host the board’s storage and operating system. In addition, however, you can opt to use an SDD since it offers improved performance.
On the other hand, the pi 400 also comes with two micro HDMI ports, which you can utilize to connect at most two displays. Moreover, the HDMI ports provide a resolution of 4Kp60. However, to connect the pi 400 to a display, you will require a micro HDMI to HDMI connector cable.
Other ports that you will find on the raspberry 400 include the following:
- A USB-C port for power utilizes the 15 watts official raspberry pi PSU which is supplied separately.
- A Gigabit Ethernet port – However, most people prefer to utilize the in-built dual-band wireless functionality for Wi-FI.
- Bluetooth 5.0 BLE – you can use this feature to connect to nearby devices easily.
However, on the downside, raspberry pi 400s lack the popular 3.5-millimeter AV port. Moreover, the raspberry pi 400 also lacks display and camera connectors which are found in full-size pi circuit boards. However, these boards come with 40-pin general-purpose output and input headers on the rear, like in other pi models. Using these GPIO headers, you can easily connect add-on boards and electronics.
PC Kit
If you are planning on purchasing a Raspberry Pi 400, there are a few things that you should keep in mind. Firstly, the standalone 70 USD raspberry pi 400 does not come with the following components:
- MicroSD cards
- HDMI Cable
- Mouse
- PSU
But you can purchase these components separately. However, you can get all these components plus a beginner guidebook on raspberry pi 400 in the kit bundle of pi 400 that will only cost you 100 USD.
Operating System
Like all other pi computers, by default, raspberry pi 400 computers host their OS on microSD cards. Moreover, these microSD cards also double down as the board’s storage.
In most cases, you will find raspberry pi computers utilizing the official pi operating system based on Linux (Debian version). However, you can still install other OS versions, such as:
- Ubuntu
- Specialist OSes – which come in handy if you are a retro gamer
Moreover, by slightly manipulating the pi 400, you can even install and use windows 10. However, compared to other operating systems, windows is not very efficient on a raspberry pi 400.
All versions of Pi operating systems installable via the Pi Imager card flashing tools are 32-bit. However, the company is working on a version that will run on 64 bits. The 64 bits OS version will run efficiently on both raspberry pi four and raspberry pi 400.
Desktop Software and Environment
The standard version of the Pi operating system has a GUI (graphical user interface) that sorts various apps into categories. Moreover, by default, raspberry pi comes bearing a few applications, which include an email application. However, you can still install more applications on the computer for free via recommended software tools.
Available apps include the complete LibreOffice suite, which bears the following elements:
- A presentation software
- A spreadsheet software
- And word processing software
Programming and Electronics
The core applications of the raspberry pi 400 include:
- Thonny IDE, which users utilize for programming purposes
- Scratch, which is a block-based programming tool
Using these two applications, you can effectively utilize the GPIO headers of the pi 400 to communicate with various components, such as the board’s pins and electronic circuitry. With this power in your hands, you can make multiple manipulations on the board to make it cooler or more efficient. Moreover, this feature also lets you utilize the pi 400 like an Arduino.
Additionally, you can connect expansion boards, often referred to as HATs, to the board’s GPIO headers. However, one problem with integrating HATs is that even though they function correctly, the pi board will have to face toward the rear side. Therefore, if the board has any type of display, users can’t see it. However, you can simply install the HATs using 40-pin ribbon wires to get around this issue.
Pros of Using a Raspberry Pi 400
The raspberry pi 400 has multiple advantages, which include:
- A faster processor
- The raspberry pi is installed inside a keyboard, making it pretty compact and efficient.
- An available kit that has everything that you need to run your pi 400
Cons
Even though the raspberry pi 400 is efficient, it still has some disadvantages, which include:
- Not having an audio-out jack
- Lacking some ports which are found on other raspberry pi versions
- Not fitting all HATs
Conclusion
If you are looking for an affordable computer to use for browsing, coding, or basic productivity suites, then the pi 400 is a solution worth trying out. The raspberry pi 400 has a simple installation process, is pretty easy to utilize, and makes a tremendously credible Linux PC. Therefore, we hope this article has provided you with all the answers you were looking for regarding the raspberry pi 400.
