View source for Pocket computer

{{Short description|Form of handheld computer popular in the 1980s}}
{{For-text|the class of PDA defined by Microsoft|[[Pocket PC]]|other uses|[[Pocket computer (disambiguation)]]}}
[[File:Sharp PC-E500S, 5.jpg|thumb|[[Sharp PC-E500S]] pocket computer]]
A '''pocket computer''' is a class of [[handheld computer]] characterized by very short displays (typically accommodating only one or a handful of lines of text) and [[calculator]]-style alphanumeric [[keypad]]s. Pocket computers occupy a small footprint, allowing the unit to be comfortably stashed in one's pocket when on the go, and usually weigh less than {{convert|1|lb|kg}}. Many feature a port for an expansion chassis, allowing the computers to be used with external peripherals.

Pocket computers had their peak of popularity in the early 1980s, but sales quickly plateaued and declined in Western markets as consumers became aware of their limitations. In Japan, where they were invented, pocket computers maintained their popularity and continued to be used as teaching aids into the 21st century.

== History ==
[[File:Sharp-PC-1211-001.jpg|thumb|The [[Sharp PC-1211]], the first pocket computer, in a travel case]]
The first pocket computer was the [[Sharp PC-1211]], introduced in March 1980 by [[Sharp Corporation]] and sold exclusively in Japan. Later in 1980, the PC-1211 was resold and rebranded by [[Tandy Corporation]] in the United States as the [[TRS-80 Pocket Computer PC-1|TRS-80 Pocket Computer (PC-1)]].<ref name=cw>{{cite journal | last=Hayes | first=Frank | date=December 16, 2002 | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/216103610/ | title=The Story So Far | journal=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=36 | issue=51 | page=28 |id={{ProQuest|216103610}} }}</ref><ref name=pcpro>{{cite journal | last=Ockenden | first=Paul | date=January 2022 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A736690119/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title='Even the baggy-trousered fashion of the time didn't have pockets that big!' | journal=PC Pro | publisher=Future Publishing | page=111 | via=Gale}}</ref> The invention of the pocket computer was prefigured by pocketable [[programmable calculator]]s, such as [[Hewlett-Packard]]'s [[HP-65]] in 1974.<ref name=cw /> Within a couple of years of the PC-1211's release, many other manufacturers, including Hewlett-Packard, [[Panasonic]], and [[Casio]], announced their own pocket computers.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=June 14, 1982 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AEc1AAAAMAAJ | title=When 'calculator' is a dirty word | journal=Business Week | publisher=McGraw-Hill | page=62 | issue=2743 | via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Slotnick | first=D.&nbsp;L. | author-link=Daniel Slotnick | date=1986 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fXxYAAAAYAAJ | title=Computers and Applications: An Introduction to Data Processing | publisher= D.C. Heath | page=444 | isbn=9780669086751 | via=Google Books}}</ref>

Many pocket computers feature ports for an expansion chassis, allowing the computers to be used with external peripherals. Such peripherals include [[data cassette]]s, [[Printer (computing)|printer]]s, [[plotter]]s, and [[modem]]s.<ref name=chin>{{cite journal | last=Chin | first=Kathy | date=February 13, 1984 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gi4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA59 | title=Hand-held micros lose hold | journal=InfoWorld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=6 | issue=7 | pages=59, 61–64 | via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|61}}<ref name=heritage>{{cite journal | last=Król | first=Karol | url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/2576411682/ | title=Hardware Heritage{{snd}}Briefcase-Sized Computers | date=September 2021 | journal=Heritage | volume=4 | issue=3 | pages=2237–2252 | doi=10.3390/heritage4030126 |id={{ProQuest|2576411682}} | doi-access=free | publisher=MDPI}}</ref>{{rp|2247}} Sharp's [[Sharp PC-1401|PC-1401]], released in 1983, merged the [[scientific calculator]] and pocket computer for the first time through the addition of scientific calculation function buttons to the side. This served as the foundation for competing clone models by Casio and HP.<ref name=apc>{{cite journal | last=Staff writers | date=November 2023 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A769157705/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=A computer in your pocket | journal=APC | publisher=Future US | issue=525 | pages=60 ''et seq'' | via=Gale}}</ref> Toward the end of the 1980s, a number of pocket computers were developed with larger screens capable of displaying both graphics and text.<ref name=tlb>{{cite book | date=1992 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b-gWvcnXCjAC | title=Computer Age | publisher=Time-Life Books | pages=90–91 | isbn=0809496704 | via=Google Books}}</ref>{{rp|90}}

Pocket computers had a surge of popularity on their market introduction in the early 1980s. In 1983, however, sales of pocket computers dropped considerably; Radio Shack reported that they had shipped 40,000 units of their pocket computers in 1983, compared to 70,000 in 1982. According to ''[[InfoWorld]]'', this drop was due to both ambiguous marketing and consumers becoming become aware of the limitations of pocket computers. Owing to their limited [[random-access memory]] (RAM), the extent of the built-in software of most early pocket computers was limited to a simple [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]], usually for the [[BASIC]] and [[Fortran]] programing languages. The few aftermarket commercial software titles that were available for these pocket computers were very limited in scope and capability, due to the lack of RAM and limited screen real estate. This reduced their mass-market appeal, and by the mid-1980s the user-base of pocket computers comprised largely scientific engineers, surveyors, and technicians.<ref name=chin />{{rp|59}} Additionally, the diminutive keypads rendered [[touch typing]] impossible for almost all pocket computer users.<ref name=heritage />{{rp|2247}}

Sales of pocket computers in the West had all but stalled by the late 1980s with the transition away from [[home computer]]s to the [[Influence of the IBM PC on the personal computer market|IBM PC paradigm]].<ref name=apc /> In these Western markets they were succeeded by so-called [[handheld PC]]s, like the [[Poqet PC]] and the [[Atari Portfolio]], which were both [[IBM PC compatible|software-compatible]] with the IBM PC and featured more RAM.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Knight | first=John | date=December 2021 | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A684366712/GPS?sid=wikipedia | title=Ultra-Mobile Computers | journal=MaxPC US | publisher=Future US | pages=38 ''et seq'' | via=Gale}}</ref> For those who did not need advanced programming capability, [[electronic organizer]]s such as the [[Sharp Wizard]] proliferated in the 1990s among casual users and businesspeople.<ref>{{cite book | last=Woodill | first=Gary | date=2010 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=65bKPeCNaTEC | title=The Mobile Learning Edge: Tools and Technologies for Developing Your Teams | publisher=McGraw-Hill | page=9 | isbn=9780071739849 | via=Google Books}}</ref> In Japan, however, pocket computers managed to stay popular into the early 21st century, finding use as a teaching aid in education. The last pocket computers manufactured by Sharp, the PC-G850 series, were released in 2001 and featured 24-column, 6-line dot-matrix [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]]s while being powered by [[CMOS]]-based [[Z80]]-compatible processors.<ref name=apc />

== See also ==
* [[Personal digital assistant]]
* [[Smartbook]]
* [[Ultra-mobile PC]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Pocket computers}}
* [http://pocket.free.fr/ The Pocket Computer Museum]
* [http://www.epocalc.net/php/liste_comp.php?type1=PC&type2=MF&type3=MC&type4=SC&type5=TER&type6=SU&type7=%3F&cat=POCKET&sel=all&ystart=1940&yend=2019&actu=all&order=manuf/ List of pocket computer manufacturers] at Epocalc.net

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[[Category:Pocket computers| ]]
[[Category:Japanese inventions]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1980]]