Sharp PC-5000

Sharp PC-5000

Release date	1983 (1983)
Operating system	MS-DOS
CPU	4.77-MHz Intel 8088
Memory	128 kilobytes memory /bubble memory
Display	640×80-pixel (80-character by 8-line) LCD
Mass	5 kg (11 lb)

The Sharp PC-5000 was a pioneering laptop computer, announced by Sharp Corporation of Japan in 1983. It employed a clamshell design in which the display closes over the keyboard, like the earlier GRiD Compass and contemporary Gavilan SC.

The PC-5000 was largely IBM PC-compatible, with the same 4.77-MHz Intel 8088 processor as the IBM PC, and ran MS-DOS 2.0 (in ROM). It had 128 kilobytes of internal memory (it was one of the few computers to use bubble memory), which could be expanded by the use of plug-in cartridges. The cartridge slots also accepted ROM cartridges containing software, such as the Extended BASIC programming language and the EasyPac software suite, which contained the EasyWrite II word processor, EasyReport reports program, and EasyComm terminal software for use with the internal modem. It featured a 640×80-pixel (80-character by 8-line) LCD display, a full-travel keyboard, and an external dual 5.25-inch floppy disk drive. A notable feature of the computer was its built-in thermal printer, which could also be purchased separately and attached to the machine. It is perhaps due to this attachment that the case design of the PC-5000 owes much to that of electronic typewriters of its time.

While far more portable than the popular Compaq Portable or Osborne 1 computers, the machine weighed 5 kg (11 lb).

Reception

Creative Computing chose the PC-5000 as the best notebook portable between $1000 and $2500 for 1984, although criticizing the difficulty of finding the computer in stores and questionable support from Sharp and third-party vendors.

External links

• Article about the PC-5000
• Review of the PC-5000 from 1984
• Vintage-computer page about the PC-5000
• Old-computers page about the PC-5000
• "Sharp PC-5000, 360 degree model", Russian Vintage Laptop Museum (museum)