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 tec ...

, 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 Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West Vir ...

are connected to the computer via external

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

. 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 The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

, Xiao Bawang,

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

and

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by 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 significantly improved graphi ...

being prime examples. While this form factor went out of style around 1990 in favour for more standard PC setups, some notable

x86 x86 (also known as 80x86 or the 8086 family) is a family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) instruction set architectures initially developed by Intel based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor and its 8088 variant. The 8086 was introd ...

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 part of ...

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 Asus Eee is a family of products by AsusTek Computer Inc. The product family began with the release of the Eee PC subnotebook in 2007; since then, the product family has diversified into a number of PC form factors. According to the company, th ...

, 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 Cor ...

processors and solid state 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 Found ...

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