Look out, Apple, there's a new ultra small laptop on the market featuring cutting-edge hardware, a solid-state hard drive, and a glowing fruit icon on the lid. The miniature, fully functional machine was designed in Austin by Nathan Morgan, the CEO of Parts People, using a Raspberry Pi for the processor. While the Raspberry Pi is a super accessible and inexpensive computing platform, it's rarely used in traditional applications. The Raspberry Pi platform has been used to add computational power to almost everything, from mini arcade games to augmented-reality goggles, but few have tried to create something that approximates a traditional computer. This attempt takes electronic components that were destined to repair Dell computers and combines them with a 3-D printed shell to create a laptop with 10 hours of battery life, a full qwerty keyboard, and a great chance of giving its user a hernia with its heft.

This diminutive desktop replacement isn't going to win any benchmarking competitions, and an iPhone would beat it handily in a head-to-head match up, but pure performance isn't really the point. <table border="0" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" width="481"><tbody><tr><td width="126">CPU</td><td width="335">Broadcom BCM2835 ARM11 700Mhz</td></tr><tr><td>Screen</td><td>3.5" / 4:3 aspect ratio / 640 x 480 pixel resolution</td></tr><tr><td>Memory</td><td>256MB (shared with GPU)</td></tr><tr><td>Main Storage</td><td>4GB SD Card (OS Installed)</td></tr><tr><td>Extended Storage</td><td>64GB Sata II SSD</td></tr><tr><td>Wi-Fi Wireless</td><td>Built-in B/G/N Card</td></tr><tr><td>Bluetooth</td><td>Built-in Bluetooth 3.0</td></tr><tr><td>Peripherals</td><td>1 Powered USB Port</td></tr><tr><td>Video Output</td><td>HDMI Port</td></tr><tr><td>Keyboard / Mouse</td><td>QWERTY Keyboard with Touchpad Mouse</td></tr></tbody></table>

Morgan did an admirable job designing the enclosure in SketchUp — its 3-D printable parts all snap together, except for the cover which is held on with four screws. He's made all of the .STL files available for anyone who wants to take a crack at perfecting the plastic components.

Another challenge for those with CAD and 3-D printing capabilities is removing the need for an access door on the computer's left side. The access hatch locks the keyboard in place, but also covers the on/off switch, making for less than ideal ergonomics. This feature is just begging a Raspberry Pi enthusiast to channel their inner Jony Ive and design a sexier solution.

This laptop won't come cheap. The Raspberry Pi only costs $35, but all the other components will end up costing over $390 dollars, and that's before plastics for the housings. Still, some of nicest touches, like the back-lit lid, come at almost no cost by leveraging circuitry and power supplies already in the case.

While ostensibly in the same class as a product like the MacBook Air, Apple's products pack significantly more computing punch. However, this Raspberry Pi machine could crush a Mac laptop in a case competition. With its huge battery pack, rectangular dimensions and reddish color, this thing is a literal brick.