It has been a while since we’ve heard from our favorite open source Linux distro mobo. You know the one we’re talking about, it has that lovely mouth-watering name; the Raspberry Pi.

For those of you who missed the explanation of the Raspberry Pi the first five or six times we talked about it, we’ll go over the basics again.

Raspberry Pi – The Original $30 Credit Card Sized Computer

The reason the Raspberry Pi made headlines when it hit the market was because of its extremely minimal cost. The Raspberry Pi is a $35 Linux distro computer, which runs straight out of the box, provided you can supply your own power adapter, mouse, keyboard and monitor.

Since the release of the Pi, we’ve seen some similarly priced computers hit the market like the VIA APC, and the ODROID-X. However, when the Pi originally released it was one of the first fully working computers at the $30 price range.

The Raspberry Pi is a dream machine for mod enthusiasts and developers alike. The Pi was originally created to provide an affordable computing solution for younger audiences living in third world countries. Due to its minimal cost compared to its hardware offering, many launched themselves at the opportunity to own one. The Pi sold at an initial rate of 42,000 units per minute before selling out after just minutes of being available to consumers.

One of the advantages of an open source device like the Raspberry Pi is the availability of custom software, which is usually created by independent developers.

Android 4.0 ICS on the Raspberry Pi!

Since its release, a growing and supportive group of independent developers have been hard at work trying to improve the overall software experience on the Raspberry Pi.

The Raspberry Pi developers posted via their official blog that Android 4.0 ICS has been successfully ported for use on the platform. According to the blog, and as can be witnessed in the demo videos, ICS is running smoothly with hardware acceleration support in full effect.

Currently Android’s native audio software, Audioflinger, is not working properly in the ICS port, but the developer is working to fix that.

The current build of ICS shown in the demo is not publicly available because it is a combination of a kernel and VideoCore binary image. The ICS development team intends to combine the two lines of code into one entity, if it can be done, before providing the source publicly.

If you’re a fellow developer and you’re wondering how that charming combination of code is working out, or you just want to see how ICS runs on the Raspberry Pi, check out the following video:

There is no official word yet on when the ICS port will be publicly released, but the headline for the related blog post is rightfully titled, “Android 4.0 is coming!” Judging by the headline, we’d be willing to bet the ICS build will be available sooner than later.

Want to Know More About the Raspberry Pi?

We’ve covered the Raspberry Pi on more than one occasion, so feel free to check out our other content.

• Raspberry Pi Now Shipping to the Masses
• The Raspberry Pi Sells at a Rate of 42,000 Units Per Minute, Numbs Our Minds

Of course, if the Raspberry Pi interests you be sure to check out our coverage of the Via APC and the ODROID-X, which is a quad-core mini-computer similar to the Raspberry Pi.

• Raspberry Pi Creates Demand for Cheap Barebones, VIA Technologies Follows Suit
• Say Hello to the ODROID-X, the $129 Quad-Core Barebones Running Android 4.0

Should you decide to purchase one of the mini-computers we’ve listed, you will also need to look into purchasing a power supply (which can most likely be purchased through the device distributor), and the necessary peripherals.

Remember that all computers are simply barebones motherboards so you will also need to provide your own case. Thanks to the miniscule size of the computers though, that shouldn’t be difficult.