FM-7

FM-7
ManufacturerFujitsu
TypePersonal Computer
Release dateNovember 1982; 42 years ago (1982-11)
Introductory price¥126,000 ($500)
DiscontinuedApril 1984 (1984-04) (original model)[1]
Units sold220,000 (original model)[1]
MediaCassette tape, 514-inch floppy disk
Operating systemFujitsu Disk Basic, OS-9, FLEX
CPUMBL 68B09 clocked at 2MHz
Memory64KB RAM, 48KB VRAM, 48KB ROM
Display8 colours at 640 × 200 pixel resolution
GraphicsMBL 68B09
SoundAY-3-8910, YM2203 (FM77AV onwards)
InputKeyboard, joystick
Dimensions43.2 × 28.5 × 10.2
Mass4.5 kg
PredecessorFM-8
SuccessorFM Towns

The FM-7 ("Fujitsu Micro 7") is a home computer created by Fujitsu.[2][3] It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain.[4] It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer,[2] and during development it was referred to as the "FM-8 Jr.".

Although it was designed to be a cut-down version of the FM-8 (with the FM-7 costing 126,000 yen, compared to 218,000 yen for the FM-8[2][5]), most notably removing the (expensive) bubble memory technology, the FM-7 was given a more advanced AY-3-8910 sound chip capable of three voice sound synthesis, leading to a strong uptake among the hobbyist computer market in Japan and making it a more popular system than the FM-8.

The FM-7 primarily competed with the NEC PC-8801 and Sharp X1 series of computers in the early 1980s. It was succeeded by the FM-77 series of computers in 1984, which featured backwards compatibility with the FM-7. The FM-77 series was later succeeded by the 32-bit FM Towns in 1989.

The FM-7 is based around the 6809 chip, which was also used in home computers such as the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32/64, as well as several arcade games.

  1. ^ a b 小林紀興 (1987). 富士通の大逆襲計画 [The big counterattack plan by Fujitsu] (in Japanese). 講談社. p. 95. ISBN 4061928074.
  2. ^ a b c "FM-7 (1982)". Fujitsu Global. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  3. ^ "FM 7 Fujitsu". www.old-computers.com. Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  4. ^ Campos, Daniel. "Fujitsu FM-7: O "CoCo japonês" ? | AMX PROJECT" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2022-12-06.
  5. ^ "FM-8 (1981)". Fujitsu Global. Retrieved 2022-12-06.