Pocket computer

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Pocket computer ('pocket computer') is the name for BASIC -programmable - partly also graphics-capable - small computers, which were brought onto the market in the early 1980s.

Casio PB-770 with multifunction docking station
Sharp PC-1210 Pocket Computer
Casio FX-850P
Ben NanoNote

history

In 1977 Sharp launched the PC-1201, its first programmable pocket calculator, under the name POCKET COMPUTER . The EL 5100 model was followed by a programmable pocket calculator in landscape format (2½ "× 7" × ½ "EL 5100). This design enabled a single-line LCD with 24 characters for the first time, as a further innovation, space for (ten)" ABC "keys. A QWERTY keyboard followed with the PC-1211 . The Sharp PC-1211, introduced in 1980, is now the first pocket computer
, but there were exceptions: e.g. the Casio FX-702P has an alphabetical keyboard.

Up to this point in time, the languages ​​of the programmable pocket calculators ( e.g. TI-59 ) were always manufacturer or model-specific. For the first time, pocket computers were able to process manufacturer-independent programs that were created in the BASIC programming language , which was very popular at the time .

At launch in late 1980, these computers were by the low initial price (from about 330  DM ) and the high availability (the device for. Example, could be ordered by mail order) and a low-cost alternative for computer beginners.

Typical technical data (1980)

  • RAM : 0.9 kB to 1.9 kB (PC-1211)
  • ROM : 11 kB
  • CPU : 256 kHz / 4 bit
  • Display : 24-digit dot matrix display in LCD technology (5 × 7 matrix), which can be used to display numbers, capital letters and special characters, but no graphics. Calculations are shown with a maximum of ten-digit mantissa and two-digit exponent.
  • Sound: Piezoelectric buzzer for simple signal tones, addressable via the BASIC command BEEP
  • Keyboard : QWERTY keyboard as well as numeric keypad and special function keys
  • Power supply: 5.4 volts direct current from four MR-44 mercury-zinc batteries for an operating time of approximately 300 hours.
  • Price (1980) from approx. 330 DM

List of pocket computers

Manufacturer Models
Casio FX-700P, FX-702P, FX-710P, FX-720P, FX-730P, FX-750P, FX-785P, FX-790P, FX-795P, FX-802P, FX-820P, FX-840P, FX- 850P , FX-880P , FX-890P, PB-80, PB-100 , PB-500F, PB-770, PB-1000 , PB-2000C
Electronics MK 85, MK-85M, MK-90, MK-95, MK-98
Hewlett-Packard HP-75C , HP-71B
Kikuichi PC-A10, PC-A2
Nixdorf computer LK 3000
Olympia Business Systems OL-H004
Panasonic RL-H1400 HHC (also sold as Quasar HK-2600TE), RL-H1800 HHC
Qi hardware Ben NanoNote
Sharp PC-1210 & 1211 , PC-1246S , PC-1500 , PC-1430, PC-1401 , PC-1403 , PC-1405G, PC-1260, PC-1261, PC-1262, PC-1280, PC-1350 , PC-1360, PC-1460, PC-1475, PC-E220, PC-E500 (S)
Tandy Pocket Computer range
Texas Instruments TI-74 , TI-74S
Toshiba IHC-8000 system
Open pocket computer ( Sharp PC-1403 )

literature

  • Peter Lawatsch: Application manual for the CASIO FX-850P. Fischel-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-89374-000-7 .
  • Peter Lawatsch: The CASIO FX-850 P in your hand. Fischel-Verlag, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-89374-020-1 .

Web links

Commons : Pocket computers  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files