Because it come with a black leather case (case have full keyboard on USB), hub support tested ,
it was on stock in Romania,
...and it came on time for my wife's birthday
Now i just have to wait until she will dump-it ...
"Everything is possible... The impossible just takes longer..." (Dan Brown)
Unfortunately, Raspberry Pi looks like just a failure.
They "looks like" running a linux desktop but indeed that is not usable! You cannot even surf at internet with such a speed. It's really slow device.
It might useful for downloading files while PC is offline like tools with pyload + terresact but that?s all.
Yes might we don't need expect much thing from such a device comes for $25 but it's not $25 also if you think tax + cargo. There are "tablets" offer us Android OS, LCD, WiFi, Camera and a "case" too for ~$80!
At the other hand, it's better, more powerful and cheaper than 8 bit Arduino MCU dev boards. But missing ADC unfortunately. If thay have ADC onboard, you can call it as Arduino Killer.
They first released pricey one, $35 model a which doesn't offer anything but a USB-to-Ethernet interface + one more USB port for extra +$10.
For me It's better to use an USB hub + 802.11n WiFi dongle for $10 which has speed of 150Mbps and it's wireless! If you need, there are also some usb to ethernet bridges over net...
Raspberry PI also don't have any "case". Why? A case just increase unit price for ~$1. Doesn't it worth for that? Do they planning to sell cases for +$5 later? For charge us another cargo price?
Also they increased pricing via "cargo" thing. I bought many gadgets from internet. It doesn't worth to pay such costs for shipment.
If they produce that unit at china, it will be cheaper, we don't need to pay "tax", and "cargo" comes for $1. Than we could happily buy one of them for $25.
But now, I definitely wait for "Chinese clone of Raspberry PI" for cheaper and powerful (they might place some powerful ARM) device. If you could, you can think on canceling your order.
I don't think it is so slow to the point it is unusable (there are demos on youtube showing how it behaves).
However, I don't expect much for this price.
I just want to see if it can replace Arduino in some projects.
If ADC or DAC is needed, I will add it on a daughter board (in the same situation, Arduino often needs a proto shied, just to adapt the signal).
The case is not an issue to me. Each project needs a different one, and sometimes it might be directly included into a host device.
I've never been able to use the Arduino case because aditionnal shields (with I/O connectors) never fit into it.
I'll give it a try and let you know how it works... if I ever receive it !
At present time, I just have a weekly mail saying "it will come soon"...