Raspberry Pi Store Opens With Tip Jar Payments

The Raspberry Pi store has opened its doors today, 17 December, featuring both free and paid-for applications and games for the £30 computer.

The Raspberry Pi computers, which cost just £29.95 each, are capable of performing most tasks a full-sized PC can, and were developed on the back of a downturn in the number of applications to computer science courses at UK universities.

Like the video sharing website Vimeo, the Raspberry Pi Store offers a tip jar scheme, which lets users pay what they think software is worth, or developers can set their own fixed price.

Looking much like app stores for iOS, Android and others, the Pi Store offers clear descriptions of each application, along with screenshots, videos of the apps in action, information about the developer and space for users to leave comments.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation, which oversees the computer project, sees them as educational tools and with a cost low enough to be supplied to most secondary school students.

At launch the Pi Store has 25 titles, of which 23 are free, letting users pay whatever they like for them; users who want to publish apps simply upload to the store, where they undergo moderation, before being made available to other users.

Submit

The company said in a blog post: "You can submit binaries, raw Python code, images, audio or video; and soon you'll be able to submit Scratch content too.

"Raspberry Pi-related media of all kinds also has a place in the Pi Store - we're carrying the MagPi, and hope to be able to host as many of your homebrew tutorials there as possible. We're hoping to see everything, from hobbyist content to full-blown commercial software."

Although the Pi Store is tiny compared to other app stores, the Raspberry Pi team expect it to grow, so there is already a recommendations engine that suggests apps to you based on how you rate and review previously downloaded content.

To add an element of competition, achievements and leaderboards for games will be added in the near future.

Eben Upton of the Foundation said: "Our driving aim has always been to use Raspberry Pi to encourage and introduce a generation of children to programming and creative computer science.

"By now enabling Raspberry Pi users of all ages to gain critical and commercial success from their work through the new Pi Store we also believe it will be a powerful incentive for others to get involved and further spread the word."