This won't ship for another three months, but they already have the alpha version running Debian:
http://http://www.raspberrypi.org/
It's a credit-card size board running Linux with GPIO, I2C, I2S, serial, and SPI.
They are targeting $35, or $25 with no ethernet, only one USB, and less memory. It looks like they would be happy to have DP offer boards that interface to it.
the rasberry pi is indeed a nice device.
i don't think there will be any direct competition with the web platform v2.
i have been thinking about using it for a repeater controller. the required lines are brought out for an i2s audio codec.
It's cool stuff, and badly needed. I don't see it as competition though. WP2 is something a human can solder and build on their workbench, the raspberry PI is like more like a torn-down router with typical industrial parts.
The competition depends on what you are looking for. I'm looking for a small, cheap, low-power board with ethernet, usb, i/o, and linux that I can use for a project that might eventually become a low-volume product. Gutting a router is something I can do for a prototype, but not a product. The closest currently made board I found costs more than twice the R-pi and (worse) uses twice the power.
The chip the R-pi uses is not aimed a routers, it has HDMI and composit video out, and the ethernet is done via a combo usb-hub/ethernet chip -- no on-chip ethernet. Little clues on the r-pi hardware and software are spread all over their forum, but it's best organized on the wiki page http://http://elinux.org/RaspberryPiBoard
i have not seen any links to licences etc.. i am beginning to wonder if this is not open hardware.
anyone know better?
I do not expect the hardware to be completely open -- I don't think they will release the PCB pattern, etc. However it does look like they are releasing lots of info about it, mostly limited by making design desisions still being made and non-disclosure. Unfortunatly the GPU firmware source won't be released. Note that Broadcom doesn't seem to publish any info about the CPU (BCM2835) yet -- the R-pi is being designed by one of the chip designers.
Looks like a closed hardware: even if the full schematics, layout and BOM are published, they are useless, as both the CPU and its sister chip won't be available for retail.
Looks like another attempt from Broadcom to attract new developpers. Unfortunately, they do it their usual way: no datasheet provided without NDA, closed-source driver for the GPU, patent-crippled HDMI interface...
Price is not everything: I'd like it free (as in freedom) too!