The , sometimes called the Sharp X1 or CZ-800C, is a series of

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 released 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 ...

from 1982 to 1988. It is based on a

Zilog Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit computing, 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 Backward compatibility, software-compatible with the ...

CPU. The RGB display monitor for the X1 had a television tuner, and a computer screen could be superimposed on TV. All the TV functions could be controlled from a computer program. The character font was completely programmable (PCG) with 4-bit color, and was effectively used in many games. The entirety of the VRAM memory was mapped on to the I/O area, so it was controlled without bank switching. These features made the X1 very powerful for game software.

Development

Despite the fact that the ''Computer Division'' of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the ''Television Division'' released a new computer series called the X1. At the time the original X1 was released, all other home computers generally had a

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 ...

language in

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

. However the X1 did not have a BASIC ROM, and it had to load the Hu-BASIC interpreter from a cassette tape. On the plus side however, this concept meant that a free RAM area was available that was as big as possible when not using BASIC. This policy was originally copied from the Sharp MZ series, and they were called ''clean computers'' in Japan. The cabinet shape of X1 was also much more stylish than others at that time and a range of cabinet colors (including Red) was selectable. Sharp never released an

MSX MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, the director at ASCII Corpo ...

computer in Japan. Some X1 developers were proud to develop their own technology, and they didn't want to work with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

who attempted to create a unified standard. However, the Brazilian subsidiary of Sharp, Epcom, released an MSX computer named Hotbit HB-8000 in Brazil.

History

While X1 was struggling to sell, the PC8801 (from

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

) was quickly becoming popular in the Japanese market. In 1984, Sharp released the series with high-resolution graphics (640x400, while X1 had 640x200). It had many improvements, but the

clock speed Clock rate or clock speed in computing typically refers to the frequency at which the clock generator of a processor can generate pulses used to synchronize the operations of its components. It is used as an indicator of the processor's ...

was still only 4 MHz. In 1986, Sharp released the X1 turbo Z series with a 4096 color analog RGB monitor. An X1 twin, which had a PC-Engine in the cabinet, was released as the last machine of the X1 series in 1987. The X1 series was succeeded by the

X68000 The is a home computer created by Sharp Corporation. It was first released in 1987 and sold only in Japan. The initial model has a 10 Megahertz, MHz Motorola 68000 Central processing unit, CPU, 1 Megabytes, MB of Random Access Memory, ...

. In the late 2000s, Sharp sold desktop PC/TV combos in Japan through its Internet Aquos line, where a
X1-style red color scheme
was available.

References

{{Dynabook Inc. X1 Z80-based home computers Home video game consoles Computer-related introductions in 1982