Extra USB
The most prominent new feature of the newly called Raspberry Pi B+ is the two additional USB-ports. The Raspberry Pi now has a total of 4 USB 2.0 ports, allowing users to connect even more devices simultaneously.
More power, less usage
Those extra USB-ports obviously require quite a lot of extra power, but the Pi B+ has been modified for just that. Users can now connect up to 1.2 amperes to the device, making an external USB-hub for lots of applications obsolete. To top it off, the new device uses significantly less power; 600mA against the old version’s 750mA.
Additional connectors
Besides the additional USB-ports, the number of connectors for the Pi has been extended. The new versie has a 40-pins-connector, of which the first 26 ones are similar to those of the old Pi. Because of that, any user with a current home project can easily transfer those to the new device.
Micro SD
Another important improvement is that the Pi B+ no longer boots up from a regular SD- card, bbut rather from a micro-SD.
In order to remain at least some physical space after all those additions, the regular audio-jac has been replaced with a combined audio and video-composite jack.
Dissapointing processor
Those who hoped the new version of the Pi would come with more processing power, will however be dissapointed. The Raspberry still has the same (weak) 700 MHz-processor, in comparison to the many competitors on the market today. Some of those, such as the HummingBoard and other similar mini-computers, have more processing power, more often than not exceeding the 1 GHz. The chipset, too, stays similar on the B+ with the BCM2935 by Broadcom.
The RAM also stays behind on the B+, with a shabby 512 MB.
Casing
The new physical additions do give the new Pi B+ a new look, meaning that cases that users might’ve bought with the device are no longer compatible. If that’s something you value, you have no choice but to buy a new case for the Pi.
The ultimate hobby project
All in all, even the new additions make the Raspberry Pi primarily a hobby project. Users who want to use the device as a small, compact media-player, are better off with one of the Pi’s many competitors which have stronger processing power. The Pi does however remain top of the bill as far as hobby-computers go, especially with double the USB-ports and extra connector-pins on the device.