Here's a delightful treat to bring you some holiday cheer. These images showcase populated boards from our initial beta device production run. Currently, these boards are undergoing rigorous electrical, hardware, and software testing. If all goes according to plan, the Raspberry Pi you'll be able to purchase in January (or through an auction later this month if they meet our expectations) will be identical to one of these splendid specimens.
The boards displayed in these images have a slight variation compared to the ones you will purchase. Specifically, the GPIO pins are soldered on in this case to facilitate thorough testing and ensure their correct placement.
Pete captured these images using a low-resolution camera. Tomorrow, I'll personally visit his offices, despite the 350-mile trip, to collect the boards that haven't been sent out for testing yet. I will then provide you with high-resolution photos in time for Christmas. It seems that there are no pictures of the backs of the boards in this set, so I will make sure to take ample photos of that aspect as well.
Once we have determined that all the boards from this batch have passed testing successfully, we will hold an auction for ten of them. You can find the details on our website as soon as we are confident that the boards are in perfect condition. Of course, there is always a chance that they may not pass testing, in which case we will need to go through another iteration. However, so far, they have proven to be extremely reliable. Nevertheless, we remain cautious and thorough in our inspections to ensure that they are not flawed in any way. We're not celebrating prematurely; instead, we're being diligent to ensure that everything is in order and there are no surprises.
Once we are satisfied with the results of this test run, we will proceed with full-scale manufacturing in multiple factories without delay. I will provide another update here before Christmas, including additional pictures and any further detailed information that I can gather from the team involved in the production and testing process. So stay tuned and get ready for some exciting developments!
