NAME  

HP-75C

MANUFACTURER

Hewlett Packard

TYPE

Pocket Computer

ORIGIN

U.S.A.

YEAR

1982

END OF PRODUCTION

1984

BUILT-IN LANGUAGE

HP Basic interpreter, Visicalc spreadsheet

KEYBOARD

64 keys. Each key is user-definable

CPU

'Capricorn' custom HP 8-bit CPU

RAM

16 KB

ROM

48 KB

TEXT MODES

LCD display. 1 line x 32 chars.

GRAPHIC MODES

160 x 9 pixels

COLORS

Monochrome

SOUND

Beeper

SIZE/WEIGHT

25.4 x 12.7 x 3.2 cm. - Weight 737g.

I/O, PORTS

HP-IL, 3 x ROM/RAM expansion ports

BUILT-IN MEDIA

Memory cards, 1.3 KB

OS

HP propriatory

POWER SUPPLY

Battery pack or external AC adaptor

PRICE

75C - $995, 75D - $1095

 

HP-75C

HP-75C

 The HP-75C was the first pocket computer ever produced by HP who wanted a pocket book format for computer as powerful as a desktop. It can also be considered as the first organizer able to deal with multiple alarms, time schedule, real time control of peripheral devices and to memorize text files.

Its 48KB ROM contained a very complete Basic language and a light version of the spreadsheet VisiCalc. Three slots allowed adding pre-


programmed ROM modules (Math, finance, word processor).

HP-75 had an integrated a card reader. The cards were manually slipped in front of the magnetic head. Each card was capable of holding up to 1.3 KB of information on 2 tracks (650 bytes each). The card information coding allowed great variations of the reading speed, due to manual handling.

The HP-IL (Interface Loop) interface allowed connecting as many as 30 peripheral devices simultaneously to one computer. Amid the peripherals, one could find a display unit, printers, modems, tape recorder and other devices. As always with HP, the manuals were very complete and pedagogical.

The HP-75D was released two years later. It added a wand and wand port. When used with the Bar Code ROM, the computer could scan CODE11, CODE39, UPC, and EAN codes. This made the computer useful for inventory control.