Raspberry Pi app store launches

Raspberry Pi owners can now get access to a "Steam-like" app store that will allow them to upload and download applications to their micro-computer.

The app store has launched with 24 apps. There are five "apps" - including a client for Spotify and productivity suite LibreOffice.

There are five games, with a port of iOS game Storm in a Teacup, being the only commercial app (1.99). There are also eight issues of MapPi magazine to download, free of charge.

The app store aims to provide users, who may be new to programming, with a repository of content so they can make full use of the device.

It is also designed to make it easier for them to share ideas, and to allow users to generate a source of revenue from them.

"We've got a mixture of educational/productivity materials - so you can install programs such as LibreOffice on the Pi, for example. We've also got games," Eben Upton, founder of the Raspberry Pi Foundation told IT Pro.

"It's also a way for kids to develop programs, share them and potentially make some money. It's hard to tell a child to study hard and that they'll make a lot of money in their twenties. It's easier to say study hard because you can make a bit of money today."

Upton envisages that most of the content in the store will remain free staying true to the open source nature of the project.

Content will be available on Model B and forthcoming Model A devices.