 | |
 Sharp PC-7000 running a GW-BASIC program | |
| Developer | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sharp Electronics |
| Type | Luggable portable computer |
| Generation | First |
| Release date | October 1985 |
| Lifespan | Oct. 1985 - 1990 (at least 4 years) |
| Discontinued | 1990 |
| Units sold | Hundreds of thousands |
| Media | Two 5.25-in 360 KB floppy drives |
| Operating system | MS-DOS 2.11 |
| CPU | Intel 8086 at 4.77 or 7.37 MHz |
| Memory | 384 KB standard (320 KB usable) 704 KB with expansion card (640 KB usable) |
| Storage | 10 MB hard disk drive (optional with expansion unit) |
| Display | 10.5 in (2.1:1 aspect ratio) super-twisted nematic LCD |
| Power | 120/220 V AC |
| Dimensions | 16 in × 8.5 in × 6 in (41 cm × 22 cm × 15 cm) |
| Mass | 19 pounds (8.6 kg) |
| Predecessor | Sharp PC-5000 |
| Successor | Sharp PC-4500 |
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 display 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.[1]
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.
- ^ Foster 1985, p. 22.