[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Canon Personal Computer

March 24th, 2014 by Benj Edwards

Canon Personal Computer IBM PC compatible clone Advertisement 1985May the Clone Wars begin.

Here’s another obscure IBM PC clone from the depths of time, the Canon Personal Computer.

As I mentioned in a recent RSOTW, it was pretty easy — even within a few years of the IBM PC’s release — to undercut IBM price-wise by integrating ports and peripherals directly into the motherboard of a competing computer.

Note that the Canon PC used an Intel 8086 CPU, which packed the full 16-bit data bus (verses the 8-bit bus on the IBM PC’s 8088).

[ From TIME (Small Business USA Insert), May 6 1985, p.2]

Discussion Topic of the Week: Canon is best known for its imaging products, but it made computers too. Can you think of any other companies best known for something else that made a PC?



6 Responses to “[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Canon Personal Computer”

  1. Eagles409 Says:

    Nikon cameras, always Nikon.

  2. Moondog Says:

    It’s interesting to see how companies that exist today have changed their product and business strategies over time. I forgot all about Canon selling pc clones.

  3. Benj Edwards Says:

    By the way, the original discussion topic was Nikon vs. Canon DSLRs (hence Eagles409’s comment), but I changed it once I thought of something more VC&G-related (mostly because of Moondog’s comment).

  4. Space Harrier Says:

    Amstrad were always well known for their cheap hi-fis, then they released their home micros like the CPC464

  5. Blake Patterson Says:

    Don’t forget about Canon’s elegant “object.station”s, designed to run NeXTSTEP for Intel. Very powerful system architecture, not inexpensive.

    http://www.kevra.org/TheBestOfNext/ThirdPartyProducts/ThirdPartyHardware/NeXTSTEPonNonNeXTComputers/IntelHardwareForNeXTStep/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41/Canon-object-station41.html

    What’s more, Canon owned over 16% of NeXT, way back when.

  6. Eagles409 Says:

    I used to have an Apple //e clone that was made by Brother (the typewriter company) and AT&T used to make PC’s.

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