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Bought my older boys (5 & 6) each one of these for Christmas. It’s based on the raspberry pi with a custom Linux OS.

Not only do they put it together themselves, but it teaches them Linux and how to code. Tbh I want to play with it 😯

Comments
  • 2
    Wait you build it all yourself?

    Well I know what I'm buying!
    Bet they will love it!
  • 4
    @lxmcf
    "Build all yourself"
    Put a SD card and a wireless USB Keyboard in a Raspberry Pi and hook it onto a little screen.
    I mean... Good enough for kids.
    But for adults "Build all yourself" is something else.
  • 1
    @Anaeijon yeah I figured but that's still kinda cool even for an adult... Or maybe just me
  • 6
    Definitely geared toward kids. Not “build a raspberry pi” in the adult sense. Just plug and play. But still pretty cool.

    Last year I only bought the Kano, without the screen kit. Apparently the complete kit comes with a case that contains the pi, and everything stands up by itself (with a holder in the back for the keyboard)

    Also the keyboard has a trackpad and a “click” button, so it’s even easier for little kids 😄
  • 5
  • 1
    @Nanos Oh shit...
    WTF?
    You can get a full refurbished Thinkpad for half of that price.

    Just get a 7'' Screen with HDMI Driver board for about 20$ from China:
    http://s.aliexpress.com/ZbI3Q773

    and a USB-Keyboard for 5$ (also from China)
    http://s.aliexpress.com/na2myumy
    These latex keyboards are terrible for typing, but super cheap and ultimately water and dirt resistant.

    Get a Box slightly bigger than the screen (tin or wooden boxes of chocolates are great and cheap) and put everything in there. Cut a hole for the screen. Finished.

    You won't get much cheaper than that.
    Maybe if you have a broken laptop laying around and find a HDMI driver board for the screen for less than 15$. That way you could get a bigger screen for a slightly lower price. But you would need luck and some skill for that.

    You can also get cheaper by not using a RasPi.
    How about a OrangePi?
    again - You guessed it - from China:
    http://s.aliexpress.com/FZr2Yje6
    Use Armbian on it

    Or get a broken Laptop on ebay.
  • 0
    330 euro ....it's stupidly high for something that you can build truly by yourself for 1/3 cheaper
  • 0
    Yeah, I’m sure I could build lots of things on my own, but these are very well made, and have a custom OS to teach little kids Linux.

    I also have four kids and a full time job. To me, it is well worth the price.
  • 0
    @ThatDude I agree. I hate that. My mom used to talk to my kids like that. Trying to teach them the alphabet when they know how to read 🙄
  • 1
    @KimberlyTheGeek
    I understand that and I think it is OK.
    You get a much nicer package, custom made case and components to perfectly fit and work together and probably easy to understand kids friendly instructions.
    Probably the setup was already tested.
    All these things have a price.
    The custom OS is not a big selling point (after all, it is open source and you could load it on any raspberry pi), but nice that they take the work of doing research yourself off of you.

    For Parents who want a educational and actually working christmas gift: perfect.

    My answer was directed to @Nanos , who was thinking about building something like that by himself but at a lower price.
    I think it is legitimate to tell him, that all of this will cost about 60€ instead of 300€ if you buy the parts directly from chinese manufacturers and put them together yourself.

    I was working for a small company which was building Escape Room Games. And finding those good cheap pieces and bundle them was my job.
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