A keyboard computer is a computer which contains all of the regular components of a

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...

, except for a screen, in the same housing as the keyboard. The power supply is typically external and connects to the computer via an

adapter An adapter or adaptor is a device that converts attributes of one electrical device or system to those of an otherwise incompatible device or system. Some modify power or signal attributes, while others merely adapt the physical form of one con ...

cable. The motherboard is specially designed to fit inside, and the device is larger than most standard keyboards. Additional peripheral components such as a monitor are connected to the computer via external ports. Usually a minimum of storage devices, if any, is built in. Most home computers of the late 1970s and during the 1980s were keyboard computers, the

Sinclair ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colour ...

and most models of the Atari ST, Xiao Bawang, Commodore 64 and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore International, Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and sign ...

being prime examples. While this form factor went out of style around 1990 in favour for more standard PC setups, some notable x86 keyboard computers have been built, like the

Olivetti Olivetti S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of computers, tablets, smartphones, printers and other such business products as calculators and fax machines. Headquartered in Ivrea, in the Metropolitan City of Turin, the company has been pa ...

Prodest PC1 in 1988 and the Schneider EuroPC Series between 1988 and 1995. Newer developments include the Commodore 64 WebIt by Tulip, the Asus Eee Keyboard, which uses

Intel Atom Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of IA-32 and x86-64 instruction set ultra-low-voltage processors by Intel Corporation designed to reduce electric consumption and power dissipation in comparison with ordinary processors of the Intel ...

processors and

solid state Solid state, or solid matter, is one of the four fundamental states of matter. Solid state may also refer to: Electronics * Solid-state electronics, circuits built of solid materials * Solid state ionics, study of ionic conductors and their u ...

hard drives, and the (never-released) Commodore Invictus PC.

Raspberry Pi Foundation The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a British charity and company founded in 2009 to promote the study of basic computer science in schools, and is responsible for developing the Raspberry Pi single-board computers. Foundation The Raspberry Pi Foun ...

announced Raspberry Pi 400 in November 2020 with "quad-core 64-bit processor, 4GB of RAM, wireless networking, dual-display output, and 4K video playback, as well as a 40-pin GPIO header".

References

Classes of computers {{comp-hardware-stub