 | |
| Developer | NEC, ASCII, Cybernet Kogyo |
|---|---|
| Type | Home computer |
| Release date | October 13, 1983[1] |
| Introductory price | Monochrome US$2,500 Color US$3,300 |
| CPU | 8086 CPU @ 7 MHz |
| Memory | 128 KB RAM (expandable to 768 KB RAM), 32 KB ROM |
| Display | 14-inch color CRT (PC-KC651)(Rotatable monitor)[2] |
| Graphics | 720 by 512 pixels (512-color palette, capable of displaying 16 colors at once) |
The NEC PC-100 was a Japanese home computer available on October 13, 1983. It operated on 8086 CPU 7 MHz, 128 KB RAM, 128 KB VRAM, a Japanese language capable keyboard and a two-button mouse. It had three models and its color monitor, PC-KD651, which could either be used vertically or horizontally, had a price tag of ¥198,000. Its biggest advantage over many other computers of its time was its high graphical resolution of 720 x 512 pixels, with a selection of 16 colors out of a total palette of 512 colors on its high end model30. Its OS was MS-DOS and was also equipped with a spreadsheet program Maruchipuran (Multiplan) and a text editor JS-WORD as well as the game Lode Runner.
The development was operated by NEC Electronic Device Business Group, ASCII (Microsoft dealer in Japan) and Cybernet Kogyo, a subsidiary of Kyocera.[3]
Far ahead of its time and too costly, PC-100 did not sell well. A complete set with the printer PC-PR201 that could print alphabet, hiragana, katakana and kanji, came to nearly ¥1 million. For comparison, the Nintendo Family Computer released in July of the same year was only ¥14,800 and the vaunted Apple Lisa 2 sold for ¥2.2 million. The cheaper PC-9801F2 also by NEC outsold it.
- model10 (¥398,000) - a 5-inch 2D (360 KB) floppy disk drive
- model20 (¥448,000) - two 5-inch 2D floppy disk drives
- model30 (¥558,000) - two 5-inch 2D floppy disk drives
- ^ The Industry:Japan on 16K a day, By Alexander Besher, InfoWorld, 28 May 1984, Page 67, ...Modeled blatantly after the Lisa, the NEC PC-100 was the star introduction at Tokyo's Japan Data Show last October...
- ^ NEC PC-100 Color Video Pinout
- ^ 富田, 倫生 (1995). パソコン創世記 (in Japanese). ボイジャー. Retrieved 2019-03-11 – via Aozora Bunko.