New version of Pi2 (V1.2) beware!

There is a new version of the Pi2 available
Basically it is a Pi2 but with SoC (BCM2837) from a Pi3, locked down to 900MHz
Talking to Ben and Steve of ROOL on Saturday at the London show they said it was news to them and they weren’t sure if current RISC OS builds would work on it, if it does work it may well not flash the on board SD card activity LED. It will also not run any software that doesn’t like new CPU!
Getting RISC OS to run on it should be straight forward but finding the time is another matter.

There is a new version of the Pi2 available

This news is not entirely new.

Excuse me… but WTF is the point? It’s the same price as the Pi3 (I think the difference listed in Farnell is about 20p), it’s the same SoC, only nobbled to run slower. Why would somebody want to buy this instead of a Pi3 that offers more?
Would it, in the absence of BCM2836’s, not have been better to just retire the Pi2?

I’ve e-mailed CPC Farnell in the hope that they have some residual stock.

But, yes Rick, what indeed is the point!

Excuse me… but WTF is the point?

It’s to keep industrial customers happy. They want a device at X cost with Y capabilities, upgrading to the Pi 3 or downgrading to the Pi 1 may not be feasible (apart from costing more, the Pi 3 also has BT+Wifi, which may cause difficulties for applications where production of or susceptibility to radio emissions is an issue).

I’ve e-mailed CPC Farnell in the hope that they have some residual stock.

Because – I’m so captivated by the speed and compatibility of this version that I want to have more available!

But I’m not quite sure I wish to pay CJE a premium if avoidable!

I also wondered why?
The best I’ve come up with is industrial users who have special cases that assume LED positioning (Which have changed on the Pi3) I also wonder along the same lines as Jeffrey, if having Bluetooth and or WiFi on board might have RFI & power implications!

Speaking of Bluetooth and or WiFi and thinking about the extra power the Pi 3 draws. I asked Ben if RISC OS ensured that on the Pi 3 BT & WiFi were ‘turned off’ as in put into their lowest power mode. I realise they aren’t going to be fully active. Ben pointed out that to turn them fully off would require writing a suitable interface for each i.e. a lot of the work that would be needed to actually use the interfaces!