[#]: author: (Ankush Das https://itsfoss.com/author/ankush/)
A Raspberry Pi Based Open Source Tablet is in Making and it’s Called CutiePi
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CutiePie is an 8-inch open-source tablet built on top of Raspberry Pi. For now, it is just a working prototype which they announced on [Raspberry Pi forums][1].
In this article, you’ll get to know more details on the specifications, price, and availability of CutiePi.
They have made the Tablet using a custom-designed Compute Model (CM3) carrier board. The [official website][2] mentions the purpose of a custom CM3 carrier board as:
> A custom CM3/CM3+ carrier board designed for portable use, with enhanced power management and Li-Po battery level monitoring features; works with selected HDMI or MIPI DSI displays.
So, this is what makes the Tablet thin enough while being portable.
### CutiePi Specifications
![CutiePi Board][3]
I was surprised to know that it rocks an 8-inch IPS LCD display – which is a good thing for starters. However, you won’t be getting a true HD screen because the resolution is 1280×800 – as mentioned officially.
It is also planned to come packed with Li-Po 4800 mAh battery (the prototype had a 5000 mAh battery). Well, for a Tablet, that isn’t bad at all.
Connectivity options include the support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. In addition to this, a USB Type-A, 6x GPIO pins, and a microSD card slot is present.
![CutiePi Specifications][4]
The hardware is officially compatible with [Raspbian OS][5] and the user interface is built with [Qt][6] for a fast and intuitive user experience. Also, along with the in-built apps, it is expected to support Raspbian PIXEL apps via XWayland.
### CutiePi Source Code
You can second-guess the pricing of this tablet by analyzing the bill for the materials used. CutiePi follows a 100% open-source hardware design for this project. So, if you are curious, you can check out their GitHub page for more information on the hardware design and stuff.
[CutiePi on GitHub][7]
### CutiePi Pricing, Release Date & Availability
CutiePi plans to work on [DVT][8] batch PCBs in August (this month). And, they target to launch the final product by the end of 2019.
Officially, they expect it to launch it at around $150-$250. This is just an approximate for the range and should be taken with a pinch of salt.
Obviously, the price will be a major factor in order to make it a success – even though the product itself sounds promising.
**Wrapping Up**
CutiePi is not the first project to use a [single board computer like Raspberry Pi][9] to make a tablet. We have the upcoming [PineTab][10] which is based on Pine64 single board computer. Pine also has a laptop called [Pinebook][11] based on the same.
Judging by the prototype – it is indeed a product that we can expect to work. However, the pre-installed apps and the apps that it will support may turn the tide. Also, considering the price estimate – it sounds promising.
What do you think about it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or just play this interactive poll.
