RoadTest: RoadTest Review a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B !
Author: powderjockey
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Independent Products
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: 7" Touchscreen, case
What were the biggest problems encountered?: Raspbian upgrade crash, several times
Detailed Review:
Raspberry Pi 3 Review
2016-05-03: Received the Pi 3 today. It was left at my door step when I arrived home from work.?
Not much packing in the box! But it arrived safe.
Loaded the Raspbian Jesse 16-03-14 image on to a 16 GB micro SD card. The first thing I noticed was the Micro SD slot is not spring loaded like Pi 2. Thought maybe the card was in wrong. Took some time to figure out what was wrong.
I had a case left over from my Raspberry Pi 2 which I used to house the Pi 3. The case shown below, fit on the Pi 3 fine. The only problem I had was getting the Micro SD card out of the Pi board with the case on. I think if the slot was spring loaded, it would eject just fine.
Connected the HDMI cable, the keyboard fob (iPazzPort) and powered the unit up. The HDMI cable was attached to a 32" Samsung TV. Everything fit the screen resolution and framing without any adjustments. 1920 x 1080/60. I'm running Raspbian Jessie, May's image.
Setup the Wifi without any problems. The SSID was located and connection was instantaneous. Ran apt-get update and apt-get upgrade to get the latest packages for the distro.
Raspberry Pi Configuration was run, to get the correct time zone, languages and keyboard. It required a reboot to which it failed to restart. Then every time I did an apt-get upgrade, the Pi would crash and I was back to square one. Starting back installing the Raspbian Jesse image. Several re-imaging of the Raspbian OS did the same thing on upgrading. After the third time, I decided not to upgrade. The crashing after the upgrade has since been corrected.
Next I wanted to attach a BlueTooth keyboard to the unit. To check to out the connectivity of the BT. I have a Blackberry BT keyboard with track pad which I want to give a go first. The keyboard was connected to a Blackberry PlayBook which I use. That way I wouldn't need to attach a keyboard or mouse separately. Keyboard shown above.
The Bluetooth connecting was no where as easy as the Wifi. I estimate I spend 2 to 3 hours playing with different ways to connect. This isn’t the first time I’ve connected a Bluetooth device. Some are a snap and others take a bit of fiddling around. It was somewhat frustrating. The crashing of the OS didn’t help things either.
The Wifi does seems faster than the Raspberry PI 2, but the Pi 2 I have, is using a USB Wifi connector from Cana Kit.
2016-05-17: I placed the newest Raspbian Jesse image on the Micro SD. I had early update the Pi 2, and noticed the Bluetooth icon on the task bar, unlike the March image. I used GPart to expand the system to the full 16 GB on the Micro SD card. Again the Wifi connected to the SSID spot on. I reviewed the "Setting up Bluetooth on the Raspberry Pi 3" found on the Element14 Community website. This time the keyboard connected right a way and functions as it should.
I then installed some software to try and play with the software and see how the Pi 3 responded.
Software added to the system:
Kodi
Streaming video. The speed of the wifi helps this package to work well. Screen resolution is great and the videos show no lag.
Iceweasel
Not a fan of the stock browser. Iceweasel functions fine for me.
Synaptic
Like to use the GUI to install packages from time to time. Works well.
OMXPlayer - To watch videos.
Image Image 1 - Raspberry Pi 3 Board
Image 2 - Micro USB/HDMI/Audio
Image 3 - Ethernet/USB's
Image 4 Micro SD Card/Bottom
I then paired the Pi 3 up with the 7" Touchscreen from Element14. I had the display previously attached to the Pi 2. The Pi 3 matches up very well with the display. The two were the placed into a display case also purchased from Element14. All in all, the Raspberry Pi 3 seems to very versatile and the setup is done with ease.
Edmonton
KPMG
Conclusion
Overall this small form factor harnesses a large punch. It runs smooth and quick with very little lag. The improvements over the Pi 2 are worth the price to upgrade. This is a must have micro-computer. Plans to add a weather station to this unit is happening this summer.
I want to thank Element14 for choosing me to give the Raspberry Pi 3 a spin and write about it. This is something I’ve never done and found it rewarding.
Powderjockey (aka Scott)
Top Comments
Thanks for the review, but I noticed:
I guess I will never see this update in 2061.
(sorry I proof read everything).
Clem
Thanks Clem, yes I was back to the future a couple of times.