Old Hardware Emulated : PockEmul - Sharp PC1200 Series

 

The Emulation of Handheld Computers From The 80's.

The Japanese consumer electronics giant, Sharp, were at the forefront of portable computing. They essentially created the template for pocket computers that others would follow, and pioneered technologies that would eventually lead to the creation of smartphones and tablets that we all know and love today.

They started with Sharp PC-1200 series in 1980. In this case, PC stands for pocket computer, and pocket computers they were. The fact that in the early 80's, someone was able to take a computer in there pocket was revolutionary. The micro-computing revolution was still was in it's infancy at this point. The Apple II had only been released a few years prior. The IBM PC wasn't even a thing yet. The first, four-function calculators have only been around a decade before these handheld computers started to hit the market. A market that was in rapid transformation.
Sharp PC-1211
The Sharp PC-1211 was introduced in July 1980. It was sold as the Tandy PC-1 here in the US by Radio Shack. The PC-1211 had a 24 digit, dot matrix display, along with a full keyboard. There was a expansion slot for printer and a tape drive as well. Back in the late 70's - early-80's, computer programs were usually stored on cassette tape, because floppy disk drives were still very expensive at this point. As implied, a printer was avaible for the pocket computer as well.

What set this pocket computer apart from four-function and scientific calculators was the fact these these devices were still full-fledged computers that could be programmed in a higher-level computer language. A BASIC interpreter was built into the calculator. BASIC was a programming language that was included in the vast majority of home computers during this time, and it was part of the PC-1211 as well. 
The Sharp PC-1211

I did play around with the emulation of the PC-1211. Granted, for those who are use to modern smartphones, one would be perceived that these devices couldn't do much. However, for those that used these handheld computers back in the early 80's, these devices would have been nothing short of amazing. Because they could be programmed in BASIC, they could run real applications that just wouldn't have been possible on scientific calculators. Advanced mathematical and scientific programs and calculations could be performed as these devices. The fact that one could carry around a computer in there pocket would have been a plus in many fields, as it allowed those who used these pocket computers to carry there work with them in the field.

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