Post date: Jan 06, 2016 10:10:4 PM
I was totally blown away by the announcement of the Pi Zero. Let me explain why:
First of course is the price. It's now about the same price as the cheapest Arduino clones. Why use an Arduino when you can have a full Linux computer? Aside from the power consumption of course. Especially since you can get equivalent real-time performance using kernel modules. It should even be possible to write a kernel module which would run Arduino sketches with full control of the processor. And you even get video output, a GPU, and USB support!
Second is the small size. It's now much easier to "put a Pi in it" than ever before. Things like a Pi in a Model M keyboard, a Pi cellphone, or a portable Pi with screen. Several of my existing projects will become quite a bit smaller. And several more are now possible.
Third is the lack of an installed gpio header. You might think this is a disadvantage, but I think differently. It drastically lowers the height of projects and makes them cheaper since you don't have to buy a connector. And with the price of the Zero, dedicating a Pi to each project isn't such a big deal. So I won't miss the capability of disconnecting the Pi from my project.
Fourth and last is proper gadget mode support. (I know the A and A+ sort of do, but they don't properly control the OTG-ID pin.) Now the Pi can be used as a flash drive, network dongle, or serial port. There are lots of possibilities: plugging the Pi into a computer and logging on with Putty, building a cluster using Zeros and a USB hub, or transferring files to the Pi as if it was a flash drive. I can think of several projects that I'll do soon.
The only downside so far is distributor stock is usually the same as it's name!
So there you go. Have I missed anything? Send me an email and I'll add it here.