NAME  

PB-80

MANUFACTURER  

Casio

TYPE  

Pocket

ORIGIN  

Japan

YEAR  

1979

END OF PRODUCTION 

Unknown

BUILT IN LANGUAGE 

Basic interpreter

KEYBOARD  

53 keys with numeric keypad

CPU  

HD61913 CMOS VLSI

SPEED  

455 kHz ceramic resonator used as system clock

RAM  

1 KB (544 bytes for Basic programs) up to 2 KB

ROM  

12 KB

TEXT MODES 

1 line x 12 chars plus a 4 digit seven segment display part

GRAPHIC MODES 

None

COLORS  

Monochrome LCD

SOUND  

None

SIZE / WEIGHT 

137 (W) x 76 (D) x 12 (H) mm / 92 g (with batteries)

I/O PORTS 

12-pin expansion port for printer and cassette interface
11-pin internal slot for memory module

POWER SUPPLY 

2 x CR-2032 lithium batteries

PERIPHERALS  

OR-1 1 KB RAM PACK
FA-3 cassette interface
FP-12 mini thermal printer

PRICE  

63 e(France, Dec. 1984)

 

Casio PB-80
Casio PB-80/100

The PB-80 represents Casio's step
towards "real" pocket computers.
While its ancestor, the FX-702P, was
still called "Programmable
Calculator", the PB-80 proudly bears
the title "Personal Computer".

However, the PB-80 seems to have
been a true low-cost design. Its
specifications are clearly inferior
to those of its predecessor, the
FX-702P, as well as to SHARP's
earlier pockets. 12 characters on
the display make BASIC programming
and debugging a painstaking endeavor.

In its standard version, it is equipped with 1 KB RAM, which results in only 544 bytes
for BASIC, which is really limiting. At least, with the memory module OR-1, it can be
upgraded to 1568 bytes user memory, so it begins to make sense that BASIC memory can be
subdivided into 10 independent program areas P0-P9.

Moreover, the keyboard had been reduced to the absolute minimum; at any rate, it
provided a QWERTY style layout (the FX-702P had a non-standard alphabetical layout).
On the other hand, the cute little machine is really small and lightweight, a real
pocket device.

The main circuits of the PB-80 are basically made up of two chips. Processor logics,
ROM, display driver, and keyboard controller are integrated in a single CMOS VLSI chip
HD61913, which has an external 4-bit bus. The second main component is a HD61914, which
is a 8192-bit static RAM organized as 2048 words by 4 bits.

In 1982 the PB-80 was replaced by a PB-100, which in 1983 was also released by Tandy
Radio Shack as TRS-80 PC-4 and by Olympia as OP-544.