The museum thread
Why this brand matters
Sharp's pocket computers are some of the clearest examples of the calculator becoming a general-purpose computer without first becoming a laptop. QWERTY keyboards, BASIC, direct LCD graphics, expansion RAM and printer/cassette interfaces turned a calculator-sized object into a genuine programming environment.
Sharp also built substantial desktop lines — MZ, X1 and X68000 — so the pocket machines should be understood as one branch of a much broader computer manufacturer with deep display and semiconductor expertise.
Major machines and families
This is a historical map of the machines relevant to this museum's story, not merely a list of the models currently emulated.
| Period | Machine / family | Why it belongs in the story | Museum status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978–1979 | MZ-80K | Early all-in-one Japanese personal computer and beginning of the MZ family | Not yet emulated |
| 1980 | PC-1211 | Early Sharp pocket computer; also sold by Radio Shack as the TRS-80 Pocket Computer | Not yet emulated |
| 1981 | PC-1500 | LH5801 BASIC pocket computer with QWERTY keyboard and printer/plotter expansion | Playable |
| 1982 | PC-1251 | Smaller pocket-computer branch with BASIC and cassette/printer accessories | Not yet emulated |
| 1982 | Sharp X1 | Japanese Z80 home-computer family with strong graphics/media orientation | Not yet emulated |
| 1984 | PC-1350 | SC61860 pocket computer with 150×32 graphics display | Playable |
| 1986–1987 | PC-1403 / PC-1360 | Later scientific/pocket computers extending Sharp BASIC and memory expansion | Not yet emulated |
| 1986 | PC-1600 | Advanced Sharp pocket computer combining a larger display, strong expansion and a more capable multi-processor architecture. | Not yet emulated |
| 1987 | X68000 | 68000-based Japanese multimedia computer famous for arcade-quality software | Not yet emulated |
| late 1980s | PC-E500 family | Powerful later pocket computers with larger displays and expanded BASIC environments | Not yet emulated |
Continue the story
Sharp in context
Brand histories overlap: CPUs, operating systems, standards, classroom adoption and software ecosystems routinely crossed manufacturer boundaries.
Technical specifications and chronology on this manufacturer page are intended to remain traceable to original documentation and established archives. See the source path for this family →