Compliance Glitch Delays Raspberry Pi - Wall Street Journal (blog)

By Nick Clayton

Since it was first announced, the U.K.-designed Raspberry Pi computer has attracted enormous attention. The device is the size of a pack of playing cards and designed to teach children programming. The cheapest version is intended to cost $25.

Manufacturing began with the higher specification $35 model. When these were first offered for sale last month, would-be buyers crashed the distributors' websites.

It had been hoped that initial buyers of the device would have them in their hands in February, although there was never a firm date for delivery. But that didn't happen, apparently because of a minor component mix-up. Now a new problem has arisen concerning the absence of a Conformité Européenne mark. The Raspberry Pi Foundation said on its website that it didn't believe certification was necessary for the uncased computer because it was not "a finished end product". But after consultation with the U.K. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the manufacturer has decided to seek a CE mark. ZDNet UK explains:

The problem comes down to the issue of electromagnetic emissions. Products that are only intended for further development, where those using them will be able to test and monitor the emissions, can be sold without the CE mark — or, in the U.S., the FCC mark. Products sold to end users without those facilities must first be officially approved as being safe.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation believes it will be able to meet the requirements, although no time frame has been mentioned. However, ZDNet reports that Foundation spokeswoman Liz Upton had:

Noted that a computer glitch with distributor element14 had resulted in some customers being told their delivery date was being pushed back to August. "At present, as already communicated by Raspberry Pi, all deliveries are on hold awaiting the outcome of the compliance testing currently taking place. To avoid misleading people while the compliance testing takes place, our system auto-generated the August date, which has clearly caused confusion," a note from the distributor, quoted by Upton, read.

ZDNet UK : Snag puts Raspberry Pi back on hold