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A pocket computer is a class of handheld computer characterized by very short displays (typically accommodating only one or a handful of lines of text) and
calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-si ...
-style alphanumeric
keypad A keypad is a block or pad of buttons set with an arrangement of digits, symbols, or alphabetical letters. Pads mostly containing numbers and used with computers are numeric keypads. Keypads are found on devices which require mainly numeric in ...
s. Pocket computers occupy a small footprint, allowing the unit to be comfortably stashed in one's pocket when on the go, and usually weigh less than . Many feature a port for an expansion chassis, allowing the computers to be used with external peripherals. Pocket computers had their peak of popularity in the early 1980s, but sales quickly plateaued and declined in Western markets as consumers became aware of their limitations. In Japan, where they were invented, pocket computers maintained their popularity and continued to be used as teaching aids into the 21st century.


History

The first pocket computer was the
Sharp PC-1211 The Sharp PC-1211 is the first pocket computer ever released, marketed by Sharp Corporation in March 1980. The computer was powered by two 4-bit computing, 4-bit CPUs laid out in power-saving CMOS circuitry. One acted as the main CPU, the other dea ...
, introduced in March 1980 by
Sharp Corporation is a Japanese electronics company. It is headquartered in Sakai, Osaka, and was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1912 in Honjo, Tokyo, and established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku, Osaka, in 1924. Since 2016, it is majority o ...
and sold exclusively in Japan. Later in 1980, the PC-1211 was resold and rebranded by
Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned Retail, retailer based in Fort Worth, Texas that made leather goods, operated the RadioShack chain, and later built personal computers. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store ...
in the United States as the TRS-80 Pocket Computer (PC-1). The invention of the pocket computer was prefigured by pocketable
programmable calculator Programmable calculators are calculators that can automatically carry out a sequence of operations under the control of a stored computer programming, program. Most are Turing complete, and, as such, are theoretically general-purpose computers. ...
s, such as
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
's
HP-65 The HP-65 is the first magnetic card-programmable handheld calculator. Introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1974 at an MSRP of $795 (), it featured nine storage registers and room for 100 keystroke instructions. It also included a magnetic card ...
in 1974. Within a couple of years of the PC-1211's release, many other manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard,
Panasonic is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as in Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Fukushima by Kōnosuke Matsushita. The company was incorporated in 1935 and renamed and c ...
, and
Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...
, announced their own pocket computers. Many pocket computers feature ports for an expansion chassis, allowing the computers to be used with external peripherals. Such peripherals include
data cassette Magnetic-tape data storage is a system for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording. Tape was an important medium for primary data storage in early computers, typically using large open reels of 7-track, later ...
s, printers,
plotter A plotter is a machine that produces vector graphics drawings. Plotters draw lines on paper using a pen, or in some applications, use a knife to cut a material like Polyvinyl chloride, vinyl or leather. In the latter case, they are sometimes k ...
s, and
modem The Democratic Movement (, ; MoDem ) is a centre to centre-right political party in France, whose main ideological trends are liberalism and Christian democracy, and that is characterised by a strong pro-Europeanist stance. MoDem was establis ...
s. Sharp's PC-1401, released in 1983, merged the
scientific calculator A scientific calculator is an Electronics, electronic calculator, either desktop or handheld, designed to perform calculations using basic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, Division (mathematics), division) and advanced (Trigonometric fun ...
and pocket computer for the first time through the addition of scientific calculation function buttons to the side. This served as the foundation for competing clone models by Casio and HP. Toward the end of the 1980s, a number of pocket computers were developed with larger screens capable of displaying both graphics and text. Pocket computers had a surge of popularity on their market introduction in the early 1980s. In 1983, however, sales of pocket computers dropped considerably; Radio Shack reported that they had shipped 40,000 units of their pocket computers in 1983, compared to 70,000 in 1982. According to ''
InfoWorld ''InfoWorld'' (''IW'') is an American information technology media business. Founded in 1978, it began as a monthly magazine. In 2007, it transitioned to a Web-only publication. Its parent company is International Data Group, and its sister pu ...
'', this drop was due to both ambiguous marketing and consumers becoming become aware of the limitations of pocket computers. Owing to their limited
random-access memory Random-access memory (RAM; ) is a form of Computer memory, electronic computer memory that can be read and changed in any order, typically used to store working Data (computing), data and machine code. A random-access memory device allows ...
(RAM), the extent of the built-in software of most early pocket computers was limited to a simple
interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...
, usually for the
BASIC Basic or BASIC may refer to: Science and technology * BASIC, a computer programming language * Basic (chemistry), having the properties of a base * Basic access authentication, in HTTP Entertainment * Basic (film), ''Basic'' (film), a 2003 film ...
and Fortran programing languages. The few aftermarket commercial software titles that were available for these pocket computers were very limited in scope and capability, due to the lack of RAM and limited screen real estate. This reduced their mass-market appeal, and by the mid-1980s the user-base of pocket computers comprised largely scientific engineers, surveyors, and technicians. Additionally, the diminutive keypads rendered
touch typing Touch typing (also called blind typing, or touch keyboarding) is a style of typing. Although the phrase refers to typing without using the sense of visual perception, sight to find the keys—specifically, a touch typist will know their location ...
impossible for almost all pocket computer users. Sales of pocket computers in the West had all but stalled by the late 1980s with the transition away from
home computer Home computers were a class of microcomputers that entered the market in 1977 and became common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a s ...
s to the IBM PC paradigm. In these Western markets they were succeeded by so-called
handheld PC A handheld computer, also called a palmtop computer, is a term that has variously been used to describe a small-sized personal computer (PC) typically built around a clamshell form factor and a laptop-like keyboard, including: Palmtop PCs, pers ...
s, like the Poqet PC and the
Atari Portfolio The Atari Portfolio (Atari PC Folio) is an IBM PC-compatible palmtop PC, released by Atari Corporation in June 1989. It was the first palmtop computer compatible with the IBM PC ever released. History DIP Research Ltd. based in Guildford, Su ...
, which were both software-compatible with the IBM PC and featured more RAM. For those who did not need advanced programming capability,
electronic organizer An electronic organizer (or electric organizer) is a small calculator-sized computer, often with an built-in diary application and other functions such as an address book and calendar, replacing paper-based personal organizers. Typically, it ...
s such as the
Sharp Wizard The Sharp Wizard series, introduced by the Sharp Corporation in 1989, was among the first electronic organizers and a precursor to personal digital assistants (PDAs). The debut model, the ''OZ-7000'' (known as the ''IQ-7000'' in Europe), combined ...
proliferated in the 1990s among casual users and businesspeople. In Japan, however, pocket computers managed to stay popular into the early 21st century, finding use as a teaching aid in education. The last pocket computers manufactured by Sharp, the PC-G850 series, were released in 2001 and featured 24-column, 6-line dot-matrix
LCD A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid crystals combined with polarizers to display information. Liquid crystals do not em ...
s while being powered by
CMOS Complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS, pronounced "sea-moss ", , ) is a type of MOSFET, metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) semiconductor device fabrication, fabrication process that uses complementary an ...
-based
Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog that played an important role in the evolution of early personal computing. Launched in 1976, it was designed to be software-compatible with the Intel 8080, offering a compelling altern ...
-compatible processors.


See also

*
Personal digital assistant A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a multi-purpose mobile device which functions as a personal information manager. Following a boom in the 1990s and 2000s, PDAs were mostly displaced by the widespread adoption of more highly capable smar ...
*
Smartbook A smartbook was a class of mobile device that combined certain features of both a smartphone and netbook computer, produced between 2009 and 2010. Smartbooks were advertised with features such as wiktionary:always-on, always on, all-day battery lif ...
*
Ultra-mobile PC An ultra-mobile PC, or ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), is a miniature version of a pen computer, a class of laptop whose specifications were launched by Microsoft and Intel in Spring 2006. Sony had already made a first attempt in this ...


References


External links


The Pocket Computer Museum

List of pocket computer manufacturers
at Epocalc.net {{Authority control Japanese inventions Computer-related introductions in 1980