I love my Raspberry Pi, and when it was first released it was GAME CHANGER when it hit shelves at only $35. But with the addition of other DIY micro-computers to ‘chip’ (wait for it) into the Pi’s market share, the CHIP (heh-heh, SEE?) is aiming to make the Pi look pricey by comparison. The CHIP’s Kickstarter campaign has already LONG eclipsed its $50,000 goal, and as of me scheduling this story its approaching $1,160,000. Similar to the Pi, CHIP is a fully functional computer with a tiny board that houses a 1GHz CPU, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and built-in WiFi and Bluetooth, which is great enough to power a full-fledged (read ‘light-weight’) Linux desktop computer. If you’re a tech-minded tinkerer and DIYer, there are included I/O pins waiting for you, making the possibilities almost endless…

There are more add-on options available for the CHIP; for example, if you want a VGA adaptor or HDMI adaptor you’ll have to pay a few dollars more ($19 and $24 respectively), but you could hook the CHIP up to most TVs with the built-in composite video port. Plus, there’s an impressive $50 PocketCHIP variant that includes the same versatile board, but it comes with a case with a battery, a keyboard and 4.3-inch touchscreen that is not much larger than an original, grey-brick Game Boy!

[Thanks CHIP (Kickstarter)]