It combined a 4-bitcentral processor unit, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), and input/output (I/O) lines as a complete "computer on a chip". It was intended for embedded systems in automobiles, appliances, games, and measurement instruments.
It was the first high-volume, general-purpose[4] commercial microcontroller. In 1974, chips in this family could be purchased in volume for around $2 each.[5] By 1979 about 26 million parts in this family were sold every year.[6]
The TMS 1000 was used in Texas Instruments' own Speak & Spell educational toy,[5] the Big Trak programmable toy vehicle and in the electronic game Simon.[7]