Sharp PC-7000

The Sharp PC-7000 is a luggable portable computer released by Sharp Electronics in 1985. The PC-7000 was Sharp's second entry into the IBM PC-compatible portable computer market, their first being the PC-5000.

The PC-7000 eschewed the PC-5000's clamshell design, battery operation, and lighter weight—19 pounds (8.6 kg) for the PC-7000 versus the PC-5000's 11 pounds (5.0 kg). The compromise was an LCD with electroluminescent backlighting, as well as an increased display line count—25 for the PC-7000 versus the PC-5000's eight. Sharp also replaced the predecessor's Intel 8088 processor with an 8086 running at a user-switchable 7.37 MHz and bumped the stock memory from 128 to 320 KB. These improvements led to higher performance and near-true IBM PC compatibility, in turn leading to a wider range of software that could be used with the computer.

Sharp released the PC-7000 in October 1985 to high praise. It spawned a series of luggable computers featuring improvements to the original PC-7000's hardware. Sharp sold hundreds of thousands of units under this series—including the original—over the years, before discontinuing it in 1990.