The things that are available to buy things are better than you make with Raspberry Pi

1. Android Box / Android TV

Raspberry Pi can run Android, that is, in theory you can know it as an Android Box head for use in your living room to watch videos, play games, install additional apps … However, this setup process is not Simple, in addition to the Android interface installed on Pi is the interface of the phone / tablet, not optimized for use on TV. Trying to use it is okay, but not convenient and not happy. Moreover, it does not have Google Play, no Google Assistant, you must install it yourself and also take time.

Meanwhile, you can go out and buy an Android Box like the 4K Xiaomi Mibox for just 1.3 million, or FPT Play box for about 1.2 million. This is available for everything you need to use in a modern TV, have enough entertainment apps you want, and get official support from Google again. The price of some of these boxes is about the same as the money you invested in a Raspberry Pi already (Pi 3 Model B costs about 900k, add source, add memory card, case for beauty … also cost up).

2. Computer

Pi is cheap and runs an operating system that can scale on the desktop interface, but it also has many limitations: not running Windows, installing applications is more difficult, and the configuration is not strong enough. If you just do some simple tasks like web surfing, email is fine, but the experience cannot be equal to a true Windows / Mac computer. You can save a lot of money when using Pi as a PC, but the experience is pretty much lost, so it seems that you are also spending money to process slowly and uncomfortably.

Pi is only suitable if you use it for the right purpose it was made: IoT machine, or vending machine, with fixed functions. Trying to squeeze functionality will not give you a good experience.

If you want a compact and cheap computer, you can buy Intel NUCs or MiniPC solutions. The total cost of making a machine is about 7 million, and you have the right PC that can do anything you want.

3. Smarthome

I used to share with you about the Home Assistant (HASS), an open source system for controlling smarthome. Can you imagine it is like a Google or Xiaomi smart home control server, there’s something you control it, and this server runs internally in your home. The benefit is that you can connect multiple device manufacturers to your home even if the device does not support ecosystems like Google Home, Mi Home, Apple HomeKit or Amazon Alexa. It also runs faster and more secure.

However, the effort to set up these items is not small, you have to spend 2 or 3 times more to set up a satisfactory system, unless you are a developer who is used to setting up a Linux server. Not to mention you have to take care of maintenance and maintenance when there are new HASS updates, you have to fix “server” errors when there arises and dozens of other problems. Then Pi itself also costs money, running 1.2-1.5 million to run.

Meanwhile, if you use smarthome systems such as Google Home, Mi Home … then you only need to buy smarthome items to use, no need for central setup or anything. Everything can be done from the phone, and especially Google items can be used with Vietnamese Google Assistant. For HASS to do that, it is more complicated and costly to configure.

And do you know how much a Google Assistant speaker now costs? Only about 700k-800k, but also the place to receive voice commands, play music, and speakers.

In short, to use smarthome you don’t need to use Raspberry Pi + HASS, the solution is much more convenient.

4. Smart picture frame to table

Do it for fun, find out if you can find this DIY, but to use it as a desktop, you can buy a Google Nest Hub. Price is only about 2 million depending on the place to sell but you can easily set up this frame to connect to WiFi and get your new photos from Google Photos down. In addition, it can play Spotify music, watch YouTube, smart home controls, and especially integrate Google Assistant virtual assistant. A self-made canvas with Raspberry Pi will not have enough functionality like this.
Google Nest Hub comments: beautiful baby photo frame, with Google Assistant smart home control

5. Things to do with Raspberry Pi

• Pi-hole, a home-based ad blocking system, requires no configuration on each device
• RetroPie, to play PS1 games or console games in the past
• The computer is small enough to pull torrents, there’s no need to open your computer often, and you can take your laptop and the torrent will continue to run.
• NAS server to access network hard drive
• IoT applications

Source : TinhTe