We interrupt our regular blogging schedule for an interesting post! Yes, Its unexpected extra blog time again! I actually had something completely different planned for this months blog, but I found something so fascinating to me, I had to share it! That particular item is this:
This may look like a normal TV/Radio/Cassette recorder combo unit, and in fact it is a TV/Radio/Cassette recorder combo unit. This is the Sharp Ratecaputer PC-2000 and it came out in 1979 only in Japan. Now normally these devices are pretty standard, they do exactly what you would expect them to do by giving you a Black and White TV, AM/FM Radio and Compact Cassette Recorder, all in one unit. These devices were popular between the mid 70's to around the late 80's, and were made by numerous manufacturers including JVC, Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi.
These were mainly used by people going on camping trips and things like that to watch tv and listen to music in the outdoors. But that's probably not what this particular unit was made for as you've probably gathered. Look closer at the top and you can see it says: COMPUTER WITH BASIC LANGUAGE/RADIO/TV/CASSETTE RECORDER/DIGITAL CLOCK.
Yep, You guessed it, pull out the little protruding part on the bottom, and it becomes a personal computer! In fact, the name is short for RAdio TElevision CAssette comPUTER.
Now what makes this notable is when it came out. Like I've said this device came out in 1979, and no other personal computer was available to the public in this size or form factor. But to explain this further, we need to take a look at the history of portable computers. The earliest portable computer began its development in 1972 when computer scientist Alan Kay proposed a concept for a device called the Dynabook.
Alan Kay holding the mockup of the Dynabook in 2008
Although he had conceived of the idea in 1968 as the KiddiComp while a PhD candidate, It wasn't until 1972 when he began developing and describing the concept in a proposal document while working at Xerox PARC. The goal for the device was to design a portable device that would offer interactive creative and educational programs for children. Although the concepts for the device would latter be incorporated in things like the Xerox Alto and the the Smalltalk programming language, the main Dynabook concept was never made due to technological limitations of the time, causing the concept to lay on the backburner for years.
The Dynabook proposal document (1972)
Around the same time, IBM's General Systems Division in Atlanta, Georgia, asked the IBM Scientific Center in Palo Alto, California, to develop a product that would raise the visibility of the programming language APL.
APL was a programing language designed a few years earlier in 1966, and was typically only available on larger mainframe computers like IBM's System/360. The goal was to develop a computer that could emulate and run the APL designed for the IBM 1130 minicomputer, but was closer in size and formfactor to a device like the HP 9100A.
Left to right: The IBM System/360 (1964), The IBM 1130 (1965), and The HP 9100A (1968)
Paul Friedl and his colleagues at IBM Palo Alto spent six months developing the device, and with some help from IBM's General Systems Division in Boca Raton were able to create a CPU to power the device known as PALM (Or Program All Logic in Microcode). they were then able to make a prototype with both off the shelf parts and components from other IBM divisions including a CRT from Bell Brothers, Inc., for a monitor; a Norelco cassette recorder for a tape drive; a keyboard from IBM in Raleigh, North Carolina; memory cards from IBM Germany; and memory cards from IBM Germany; all in a case designed by Friedl. They called the device the SCAMP (Or Special Computer, APL Machine Portable), and finished the prototype in 1973 showing it in over one hundred demonstrations shortly after.
The IBM SCAMP (1973)
William Lowe, The director of development and manufacturing operations for the General Systems Division, was instrumental in the development of the SCAMP, and convinced others at IBM to develop it into a commercial product. After gaining approval, IBM Industrial designer Tom Hardy went to refine the SCAMP into a design model for a commercialized version.
After 2 more years of development, The IBM 5100 launched in September 1975 and sold for between $8,975 and $19,975 (Or around between $51,000 and $113,000 in today adjusted for inflation).
The IBM 5100 (1975)
Now I find it hard to consider the 5100 as a portable computer. Sure, it was a marvel of engineering and miniaturization to have a computer, keyboard, monitor and tape drive in one, and it was certainly more portable than the IBM 1130 minicomputer it was based on, but compared to the portable computers from even just 9 years or so later, Its quite large and heavy!
For one thing, it weighs a hefty 55 pounds (Or 25 Kilograms), far heavier than a modern laptop computer, Even luggable computers of the 80s weighed less than that at around 24 to 28 pounds. Not only that, but there was no carry handle, so if you wanted to pick it up to move it, you had to grab it from the bottom with two hands. Combined with the weight of the computer and the fact there’s no option to run it on batteries, and unless you were a body builder in your spare time, its portability would be limited to being moved around on a desk or in one spot outside with an outlet near by, than taking it from meeting to meeting on business trips in airports.
A print ad for the IBM 5100 (1975) (Imagine the arm strain the actor in the promotional photo must have felt afterwards, Good Grief!)
Despite its drawbacks, it was still a commercial success, soon spawning 2 follow up models, the IBM 5110 in January 1978 and the IBM 5120 in February 1980.
Left to right: The IBM 5110 (1978) and the IBM 5120 (1980)
As for William Lowe, he later would become the lab director for IBM's General Systems Division in Boca Raton, Florida in November, 1978, and along with manager Don Estridge, would lead the development of the IBM PC 5150.
Left to right: William Lowe in 1987 and the IBM PC 5150 (1981)
Meanwhile, at MIT, Student David Emberson in the MIT Digital Systems Laboratory created the first portable computer with an off the shelf CPU. Based on the Motorolla 6800, It consisted of 4K of SRAM, a serial port to accept downloaded software and connect to a modem, a keyboard and a 40-column thermal printer taken from a cash register, all encased in a Samsonite suitcase approximately 20 by 30 by 8 inches (510 mm × 760 mm × 200 mm) and weighing approximately 20 pounds (Or 9.1 Kilograms). It was only intended for a thesis project and never enter mass production.
The MIT Suitcase Computer (1975)
Meanwhile, Back at Xerox PARC, A team consisting of Adele Goldberg, Douglas Fairbairn, and Larry Tesler, was assembled in 1976, to design a portable computer. Drawing heavily on earlier research by Alan Kay for the Dynabook project. While the Dynabook was a concept for a transportable computer that was impossible to implement with available technology, the goal for this computer was intended to show what could be done.
The computer employed a built-in monochrome display monitor, a floppy disk drive and a mouse, It had 256 KB of RAM and a 5 MHz Intel 8086 CPU, and ran a version of the Smalltalk operating system originally written for the Xerox Alto computer. They called it the Xerox NoteTaker and finished the design 2 years later in 1978.
It was fitted into a case similar in form to that of a portable sewing machine; the keyboard folded out from the bottom to reveal the monitor and floppy drive. It was this computer. that the luggable form factor conceptualized. However, Like many of Xerox's computer innovations, It was only kept within the PARC research center. Only 10 prototype units were made and was never put into mass production.
The Xerox NoteTaker (1978)
Then in 1979, A small company from Santa Monica, California called GM Research, designed their own portable computer. Designed and patented by James Murez, They called it the Micro Star but later the name was changed to The Small One. It was very similar to the NoteTaker, being in an all metal case with a built in monitor, single 5.25 inch floppy drive, and keyboard, all in a luggable form factor, designed to be carried in a blue fabric bag.
The GM Research Micro Star (1979)
Although they planned to release the computer for many different customers including the U.S. Government, Sandia Labs, General Dynamics, BBN (featured on the cover of their annual report in 1980 as the C.A.T. system) and several dozen private individuals and companies around the world, the machine only remained a prototype and was never officially released.
It did however make a debut at the first COMDEX Show in 1979, as well as the first computer show that was sponsored by the IEEE Westec in Los Angeles. It was at that Los Angeles that it was seen by a visiting entrepreneurial businessman named Adam Osborne.
Adam Osborne in 1983
Osborne had quite a long history in the computer business. Born to English parents in Bangkok, Thailand in 1939, He got his start in the computer industry after moving to the US in the late 1960s and working on computer modeling while working as a chemical engineer for Shell Oil. After being fed up and dismissed from the company he started his own computer documentation publishing company in 1972 called Osborne & Associates. By 1979 the company's success caught the attention of McGraw Hill, and they quickly purchased the company and continued it as an imprint of McGraw-Hill, Known as Osborne/McGraw-Hil.
The Front cover of An Introduction To Microcomputers Volume 1 (1977), One of Osborne & Associates most popular titles, selling over 300,000 copies
The same year, Osborne saw a demonstration of the Micro Star, and inspired by it, he had the idea of making his own portable computer. However this was going to be a mass production computer designed for business and designed to run the popular CP/M operating system.
After gaining the needed money from the capital from the McGraw-Hill sale in 1980, Osborne formed the Osborne Computer Corporation, with the goal of selling his idea of a portable CPM microcomputer.
The Osborne Computer Corporation Logo (1980-1985)
To designed the hardware, Osborne approached engineer Lee Felsenstein. The two met when Osborne frequented the Homebrew Computer Club in Melo Park California and often consulted with him and Osborne/McGraw-Hill.
Lee Felsenstein in 1977
Felsenstein had a long backround as a skilled engineer. Previously in 1973, he had designed the Pennywhistle, A low cost acoustic coupler modem and one of the earliest modems available for hobbyist computer users.
The Pennywhistle 103 (1976)
Around the same time, Bob Marsh had shown Felsenstein his recently built TV Typewriter. Designed by former Goodyear Aerospace engineer Don Lancaster and first appearing in Radio-Electronics magazine in September 1973, The TV Typewriter was designed to be a device that could allow people to write messages using ASCII characters on a standard TV Set. Although It wasnt designed to be a computer terminal, many hobbyists saw the opportunity to use it as a terminal, since similar devices could run thousands of dollars, and the TV Typewriter could be assembled for around $120.
While it certainly could be used as a terminal, it was very limited. There was no video RAM, So text could only be displayed on 1 screen at a time. Once a full screen of text was displayed, the entire page had to be erased to display additional text, Otherwise it would write over the previous text. There was also no auto clear, users either had to switch to the second page memory bank (If such a thing was installed), or clear the screen themselves at just the right moment. It also didn't have any cursor control or backspace, It did have the ability to switch the typing direction in reverse so you could use the space bar to erase characters, but other than that, there was no way to move the cursor anywhere on the screen.
The Tv Typewriter in action
Felsenstein took note of all these limitations, and later sent a phone call to Lancaseter discussing the shortcomings. When asked about it, Lancaster simply said that he didn't intend on making the TV Typewriter a Computer Terminal and due to the complexities required he never thought to include them. Thinking he could design a better device, Felsenstein soon drew up plans for a device he called the Tom Swift Terminal. However it never got passed the circuit diagram stage.
The Tom Swift Terminal Design Doccument
In 1975, Bob Marsh and Gary Ingram formed Processor Technology to sell expansion cards for the Altair 8800, and Marsh approached Felsenstein with the idea of modifying the Tom Swift design to work with the Altair. After less than three months, they had a working prototype which Steve Dompier began porting the game Star Trek to it, replacing its serial output with a digital and more game-like display which later became known as Trek-80. The card was eventually called the VDM-1 and went on sale in January of 1976. It made history as the first commercially available graphics card, allowing users to get a 64 column text display on a TV at a fraction of the cost of a smart terminal.
An ad in BYTE magazine featuring the VDM-1 (1976)
Les Solomon, whose Popular Electronics cover article had launched the Altair, was looking for someone to build an all-in-one machine that avoided the need for multiple cards from multiple vendors. He initially approached Don Lancaster and introduced him to Ed Roberts of MITS, the creator of the Altair 8800, to propose the idea. However the two immediately began fighting over disagreements and the idea of a partnership ended. Solomon then approached Marsh on the idea who soon passed it on to Felsenstein, who agreed to create the device. after a few months of development the result was the SOL-20, launching in February of 1976 and making history as the first fully assembled micro computer.
The SOL-20 (1976)
Felsenstein used many of the same design ideas from the Sol-20 and incorperated it into this portable computer design that housed a 5 inch CRT monitor, 2 5.25 inch floppy drives, and a keyboard, all in a luggable formfactor with a handle to carry it around. The computer was named the Osborne 1 and went on sale on April 3rd 1981, for $1795 dollars.
It made history as the first fully-fledged commercially available portable personal computer. While there was a portable computer made before the Osborne called The Portal released in September 1980, It was only released in France, only had a 32 column by 1 line LCD screen, was built more like the IBM 5100, and did not feature a carry handle.
The Osborne was a full 64K Z80 based CP/M computer for users on the go. It was a revelation because other CP/M computers of the time were desktops that could cost twice as much. Plus It was one of the first computers to come bundled with software, including some of the most popular CP/M Productivity programs of the day like WordStar and SuperCalc.
Now weighing 24.5 pounds (Or 11.1 kilograms) and being about the size of a sewing machine, its certainly a far cry from modern laptops and tablets, but it was still lighter than anything else available at the time and could easily fit underneath the seat of an airplane, so folks were sold.
However problems quickly arose. Not only was the computer ridiculously heavy, but the 5 inch monitor would give you eyestrain very quickly. While you could hook the Osborne up to an external monitor via a composite video port on the front, it still only displayed 52 columns of text, far less than the 80 columns of most business terminals. Not only that, but the disk drives were single sided, only holding 90K of data per side. Later models shipped with double sided drives but that also lead to compatibility issues between models.
Despite that, the computer still proved popular and was selling 10,000 units per month. However soon the company made a decision that would soon turn out to be a grave mistake. Just 4 months after the Osborne 1 launched, In September of 1981, The company announced the release of the Osborne Executive, A follow up to the Osborne 1. It was meant to address all the flaws of the original, including a 7-inch amber CRT display, more space efficient half-height single sided double density 5 ¼ disk drives, a cooling fan, and a full 80 column text display. With the announcement made public, retailers quickly stopped ordering the Osborne 1 and waited for the Executive to start shipping.
There was just one problem, It wasn't actually ready for release and ended up being released in April of 1983. Not only did that lead to unsold inventory of the Osborne 1, but by that point competitors like the Kaypro II and the Compaq Portable ate the remaining market share of the Osborne.
Left to right: The Kaypro II (1982) and The Compaq Portable (1983)
Osborne then struck back with the Osborne Vixen and the MS-DOS based Osborne 3 (An OEM version of the Morrow Pivot), but they barely made a dent in the market.
Combined with management issues at the company and the botched released of the aforementioned computers, and Osborne Computer Corporation soon filled for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 1983 and shut down in 1985. The phenomenon of consumers canceling or deferring orders for the current, soon-to-be-obsolete product as an unexpected drawback of a company's premature announcement a future product that partially lead to Osborne's demise would soon be dubbed The Osborne Effect. Adam Osborne also met an unfortunate end as well, after starting a failed software business called Paperback Software and writing books about the Osborne 1 affair, he was diagnosed with a brain disorder that caused him frequent strokes, and sadly died on March 18, 2003 at the age of 64.
So if we look at the rough timeline of portable computers, Alan Kay began the development of the KiddiComp in 1968, he joins Xerox PARC in 1970, and refines it into his DynaBook Proposal in 1972. IBM begins the development of the SCAMP toward the end of 1972 and has it reading in January of 1973. Eventually releasing the 5100 in September 1975, With the MIT Suitcase computer developed sometime in between that. Xerox begins development of the NoteTaker in 1976, and finishes the prototypes in 1978, Meanwhile the MicroStar was developed sometime in 1979, and patented in August of 1979, And finally Adam Osborne founds the Osborne Computer Corporation sometime in 1980, The R2E Portal is introduced in between in September of 1980, with the Osborne 1 releasing in April of 1981.
The rough timeline of the history of portable personal computers
So where does this Sharp PC-2000 fit in this? Well information on this computer is scarce (Ill talk more about it in a later) but but judgeing by the fact there were only 200 units made, and the only other reference to this machine came from a letter in a British Sharp Newsletter from 1980 (I don't have an exact publication date but I'm going off previous experience from reading articles in an old math computer book from Creative Computing I read once), I'm going to guess that this computer was probably sold between December of 1979 and January of 1980, Which certainly puts it before the release of the Portal and the Osborne. Making it, as far I know, the first commercially available portable personal computer.
The Sharps place in the rough timeline of the history of portable personal computers
So how did I discover this machine you may ask? Well like many discoveries, I discovered it by accident. It all started, amusingly enough, with a search of the history of mechanical pencils. I was looking though the history of mechanical pencils after looking up some information about the Papermate Sharpwriter Pencil for a personal video Editing project for a mock up commercial featuring the band Autograph (Maybe a story for another day!).
Like many cases when researching information online, I ended up going down a rabbit hole of searches which eventually lead to A Mechanical Pencil by Sharp, Yes, Sharp used to make mechanical pencils. In fact, that's where the company's name comes from, as the pencil was called: The Ever Ready Sharp Pencil.
The Ever Ready Sharp Mechanical Pencil (1915)
The Searches lead me to "Design Stories IN HISTORY" page of Sharp Japan, Where one of the members of Sharps Technology Innovation Museum, Discussing certain interesting products Sharp made in the past.
Sharp Japan's Design Stories IN HISTORY" page
One of them featured this, and considering the factors I knew I found something special and after some research I knew I had to document it for the blog. Now like I said there isn't much information I could find about this machine, but I was able to find A few things in the article on Sharp's website. According to the article, there were only 200 produced as Ive said and it seems so obscure, even many of Sharps Employees don't seem to know about it.
Now Sharp was making Personal Computers by this point as they had introduced the MZ line the previous year in 1978, Starting with the kit based MZ-40K, and eventually the fully assembled MZ-80K. later that year.
Left to right: The Sharp MZ-40K and The The Sharp MZ-80K (1978)
However It wasn't manufactured in the same division as the MZ series or advertised in their computer product catalog, It was manufactured and advertised in their calculator division. According to the article, It was designed by experts in that division to be a more advanced calculator that could handle complex equations in BASIC. To make the device they simply took a TV/Radio/Cassette recorder combo unit they sold the previous year, and added a simple computer and digital clock to it.
The TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo unit it was based it on was the Sharp LYNX45TH, which was introduced in 1978. It was also sold in the US as the Tri-Mate 3T-59, and in Europe as the 5P-27H. There was also An OEM Version By Philips as well known as the P50.
Left to right: The Sharp LYNX45TH, The Sharp Tri-Mate 3T-59, The Sharp 5P-27H and The Phillips P50 (1978)
Thankfully, since it was based on an existing combo unit, I was able to fill in some of the missing details and I managed to find the rest on a website while writing this, So speaking of details, lets have a tour around it shall we? on the front we have the 8 inch Black and White TV screen/ Computer monitor, the tv tunning window and dial with the TV band selector switch, the radio tunning window and dial with another dial for selecting MW SW FM and TV/Computer (Note the Tri-Mate had AM and FM, and the 5P-27H had LW and MW), the VU meter, AFC on/off, the mode switch for selecting TV/Computer, sleep timer, and tape recorder, the transport controls for the tape deck including Record, Rewind, Fast Forward, Play, Stop and Eject, and Pause, knobs for Mix Ballance, Treble, Bass, and Volume, and of course on the bottom is the Computers power button, the sliding keyboard, the digital clock, a LED labeled "Pause" and a button labeled "ZA" (for zeroing the timer) 2 buttons to set the hour and minutes, a Timer switch, 3 timer selection switches, and of course the carry handle, which doubles as a stand.
The front of the Sharp PC-2000
Interestingly the computer and TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder Combo are separate units, and in the catalog for it, they're listed as separate products. They even have different model numbers, The TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo is the PC-2000 which retailed for ¥99,000 yen, and the Computer/Timer is the PC-2001 for ¥149,000 yen., so both combined would run you ¥248,000 yen. The cover of the Catalog even references this by having an illustration of the American Apollo spacecraft and the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft. So it seems that Sharp intended the computer to be almost like a docking station, but most examples I could find have them bolted on from the factory.
The ads and catalog for the Sharp PC-2000
The keyboard is unusual and certainly gives away that it was designed in Sharps Calculator division rather than their Computer Division, as it looks more like the keypad of a scientific calculator than a computer keyboard, exemplified by the fact it uses an ABC layout rather than the standard QWERTY. Despite not being made by the division that produced the Sharp MZ-80K, It does share a few similarities to the keyboard of the MZ-80K. For one thing, it uses an ortholinear layout, so rather than the standard staggering on a typical keyboard, they're all in a grid, it also has the ability to type graphics characters by holding shift.
The keyboard of the Sharp PC-2000
On a side note, If your thinking these details of the keyboard sound familiar, then your not alone as this is very similar to the keyboard layout of the original Commodore PET 2001. And that's not a coincidence as the Sharp MZ-80K is very similar in design to the Commodore PET. Both machines have a built in monitor and tape drive, both have a similar keyboard layout, both machines have the same text resolution and can only produce text, and the Sharp has a very similar character set to Commodore's PETSCII. In fact, I think that its very likely that Sharp based the MZ-80K on the Commodore PET, However they never confirmed this.
Left to right: The Commodore PET 2001 (1977) and The The Sharp MZ-80K (1978)
On the right side, we have a decorative knob, some ventilation slots, the sockets for the tape deck including the Remote and Mirophone in, Auxiliary in and Monitor in, Headphone jack, A BEAT switch (which reduces beat noise when receiving radio broadcasts), DC and AC in, and a small socket (possibly for connecting a printer).
The right side of the Sharp PC-2000
On the back we have the Battery compartment and the model information and warning stickers. The fact it runs on batteries makes it significant, On top of being possibly being the first portable personal computer and the first portable personal computer with a carry handle, it was also the first to run on batteries! Being that it was essentially a TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo with a computer attached, it makes sense that it has the ability to run on batteries. The original LYNX45TH used 9 D batteries, but the PC-2000 uses a rechargeable lead acid battery. Most portable computers released later had to be plugged into the wall without the option of batteries, mainly because batteries would add to the weight and would only give you around an hour. The Sharp is no different in that regard but at least you have the option.
The back of the Sharp PC-2000
On the right side, we have the terminal connections for an external antenna along with a switch for selecting an external antenna, Vertical and Horizontal hold and another decorative knob.
The right side of the Sharp PC-2000
On the top, we have a button for a backlight for the tunning dials, the antenna, Brightness and Contrast Knobs, the speaker, a tweeter, the tape counter, and the cassette door.
The top of the Sharp PC-2000
And Finally on the bottom we have the model information sticker for the computer, and a battery compartment for the digital clock and data backup.
The bottom of the Sharp PC-2000
In terms of performance the main TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo unit, it works pretty much how you would expect. Now of course today, Television is digital, so the TV isn't going to pick up anything, but you can hook up external video sources like VCRs, Game Consoles, and DTV boxes to the Antenna terminals on the side, or use a video sender device to send video signals over the air. When video is displayed it does look good, as it displays images nice and sharp. In fact that's mainly the reason why Black and White TV sets lasted so long in the market, as they were cheap and displayed a sharp picture. The radio can pick up signals well and the speaker sounds decent. Now if you have the LYNX45TH or the 5P-27H, your not going to receive much on shortwave, but when these devices were new, there would have been a lot more stations. The cassette deck is also pretty typical, Its exactly what you'd expect from a basic late 1970s tape deck, not something that's going to win any awards, but can play music cassettes no problem. Also combined with the timer you can use it like an alarm clock, allowing you to wake up either to a standard beep or by turning on the TV, Radio, or Cassette Deck. Here's some videos demonstrating the Tri-Mate, and the 5P-27H to give you an idea of performance.
But the real magic happens with the computer on the bottom. Press the power button in, and the computer will spring to life and give you a > prompt, ready for input. Now as you can imagine, I don't have any emulator or video showing the computer in action, however I do have a photo from a Yahoo Japan auction listing of it turned on. Looking at the photo I can see the resolution is pretty low, In fact, I would say the text resolution seems to be around 15 columns by 10 rows! That's a ridiculously low resolution, Even the Vic 20 had more than that at 22 columns by 23 rows.
The computer screen of the Sharp PC-2000
The BASIC Dialect is also unusual, It seems to be more like FORTRAN than BASIC, but considering the hardware it evolved from, it makes sense. It turns out that the PC-2000 evolved from a series of programable desktop calculators Sharp introduced, starting with the PC-2600 in 1974.
The Sharp PC-2600 (1974)
The PC-2600 was one of Sharp's programable calculator and proved to be successful enough to successors like the PC-3600, PC-5200, and PC-7200.
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Left to right: The Sharp PC-3600, The Sharp PC-5200, and The Sharp PC-7200 (1975)
The PC-5200 and the PC-7200, as well as their successors the PC-5300 and the PC-7300,ran a programming language called Sharp Mini FORTRAN. Now in the early to mid-1970s, FORTRAN was still the mainstream computer programming language on mainframes, so since the PC-5200 and Pc-7200 were marketed as computers rather than calculators, it made sense. But when the personal computer revolution took off in the late 70's, BASIC begam the standard so they probably updated the language from Sharp Mini FORTRAN to BASIC as a result.
Storage wise, you can back up data in the computer via battery backed RAM taking 2 AA batteries (which is also used for the clock), but you would expect to be able to load and save programs to cassette, and indeed, you can make use of the internal cassette recorder to load and save programs to tape. This certainly makes it unique as no other TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder ombo unit can actually allow you to use its cassette recorder as a tape drive.
In fact pretty much all of them don't allow you to use to use the TV and Cassette recorder at the same time. Now I get that normally it wouldn't make sense to watch TV and Listen to cassettes at the same time, but considering many personal computers of the late 70's and early 80s were designed to hook up to a TV and use a standard cassette recorder for data storage, it seems strange that they never made one with that kind of functionality in mind so you could kill 2 birds with one stone and get a monitor and a tape drive.
And sure these TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo units were expensive but if you were hooking up something like a Timex Sinclair 1000, A TI 99/4A, or any other computer that could use a standard tape recorder in the sub $500 range, it wouldn't be that much more expensive. For Example, In 1983, Radio shack was selling a TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder unit for $199.95.
The Realistic Portavision TV/Radio/Cassette Recorder combo unit in the 1983 Radio Shack Catalog
Around the same time, you could purchase a computer like the aforementioned Timex Sinclair 1000 which could make use of the tape recorder for around $49.95, the TI 99/4A for $229, or a Tandy Color Computer for around $299. Any yet you cant use the TV and Tape Recorder at the same time. Sure, I suppose you technically could, but you would have to shut the TV off every time you wanted to load and save from cassette, Not only being annoying to operate, but could cause you to miss looking at visual indicators to make sure the tape loaded correctly! Im sure you could try modify it to work but i think it would be a lost cause.
As previously mentioned, you also have the option to hook up a printer. Sharp advertised the CE-300 electrostatic printer for the PC-2000, which hooks up to that din connector on the side and allows you to print on to 32 characters at 80 characters per second.
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The Sharp CE-300 electrostatic printer
For hardware, The motherboard consists of 3 LSI chips, the SC38657, SC38658, and SC38659. From the wiring, it looks like SC38657 controls the keyboard, SC38659 controls the memory and screen display, and SC38658 is for the BASIC interpreter. One of them must also act as the CPU, I cant find any specs, but I would assume it to be a 4bit CPU clocked at around 1 MHz, 2K of RAM, around 4K of VRAM, and around 10K of ROM.
The graphics are generated by a Hitachi HD46505H, Which is actually a Hitachi branded version of the Motorola 6845, the same chip used in the BBC Micro the Amstrad CPC, the Videx VideoTerm display cards for the Apple II, and the MDA, CGA, and Hercules graphics cards for the IBM PC. The 6845 provides a text resolution of 16 columns by 8 rows (Yeah turns out i was close!), however it can also display 32 16 columns by 16 rows, which is far more appropriate, but I assume it wasn't used much because either it was hard to access, or was too illegible on the screen. Theres no sound for the computer, which makes sense since its more of a calculator than a computer, but it might be possible to output tones on the cassette recorder to produce simple beeps, Much like the TRS-80 could.
Inside the Sharp PC-2000
As for software, There wasn't much prewritten or commercial software available as you might expect. However, Sharp did list some programs from them available for the PC-2000 which were presumably sold on cassette, Including games, educational software and business applications.
The untranslated and translated software listings for the Sharp PC-2000
However, I imagine most people would have used them as scientific calculators that could graph results on screen or on paper, Much like Sharps own pocket computer line which debuted a year after the PC-2000. In fact its very likely that the hardware in the PC-2000 inspired the Pocket Computers, However this is unconfirmed.
Either way, the PC-2000 didn't sell well, Like I said, only 200 units were made and it's very unlikely that many were sold. I think Sharp probably didnt see much in the computer considering there were far supirior machines on the market for less money. In fact, not only were they selling the MZ-80K for ¥198,000 yen (Almost half the price ot the PC-2000), but by that point they were already selling the MZ-80C, An improved version of the MZ-80K with an improved keyboard, Green phosper monitor, and 48K of RAM for ¥268,000 yen, only ¥20,000 yen more than the PC-2000. And if you spent that much more money you could get a computer with a better keyboard, more RAM, a much larger screen, better text resolution, the ability to hook up a disk drive, and a much larger software library.
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An add for the Sharp MZ-80C from I/O magazine (1979)
So with this in mind, its no wonder why few units were sold. Still despite its obscurity, it still deservses credit for what companies like Osborne, Kaypro and Compaq would do only a few years later by bringing personal computer into a much smaller formfactor that could be taken from location to location with greater ease than the standard desktop.
To me, The Sharp PC-2000 is an example of an inovative japanesse product, kept away from recognition due to poor preservation. Whereas companies in the US and Europe tend to doccument their history and product development well archived, documented and preserved, The Japanese tend to be tightliped about certain product development histories and info about more obscure products, and any info on them that does get out, tends to be kept from western audiences. But every once in a while one of these products manages to slip from those collections locked away from the public, and on to the web where someone is bound to discover it.
And I'm glad the PC-2000 is one of those products and I'm glad I was able to keep this innovative portable computer from being carried away into permeate obscurity! I want to give a thanks to Mr Fujiwara from the Sharp Technology Innovation Museum, the website retropc.net, many folks on twitter, and others for provinging information for this entry, and as always, Thanks for reading! see you next time!
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