Sharp MZ 80 K
Photo 1: Wolfgang Stief, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (Sharp MZ-80K computer.jpg)
Personal computer, 1978, Sharp. The MZ-80K was Sharp's first personal computer, released in Japan in 1978 and in Europe in 1979, initially as a semi-kit. It is an all-in-one machine with a built-in 10" monochrome monitor, a cassette recorder and a keyboard in a single case, and it follows the "clean computer" philosophy: the ROM contains only a monitor, so that BASIC or any other language is loaded from tape into RAM. It was popular in Germany and the United Kingdom, and was followed by the MZ-80A and MZ-700.
| Years | 1978 to 1982 |
|---|---|
| Processor | Zilog Z80 at 2 MHz |
| RAM | 20 KB, expandable to 48 KB |
| ROM | 4 KB monitor |
| Display | built-in 10" monochrome CRT, 40 x 25 characters, semigraphic characters |
| Sound | 1 channel |
| Storage | built-in cassette recorder; external floppy drives through the expansion unit |
| Ports | expansion bus (MZ-80 I/O unit), cassette |
| Price (1979) | about £400 in the UK |
Documentation
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