FM-7
The FM-7 ("Fujitsu Micro 7") is a home computer created by Fujitsu. It was first released in 1982 and was sold in Japan and Spain. It is a stripped-down version of Fujitsu's earlier FM-8 computer, and during development it was referred to as the "FM-8 Jr.".
| Manufacturer | Fujitsu |
|---|---|
| Type | Personal Computer |
| Release date | November 1982 |
| Introductory price | ¥126,000 ($500) |
| Discontinued | April 1984 (original model) |
| Units sold | 220,000 (original model) |
| Media | Cassette tape, 51⁄4-inch floppy disk |
| Operating system | Fujitsu Disk Basic, OS-9, FLEX |
| CPU | 2× MBL 68B09 clocked at 2MHz |
| Memory | 64KB RAM, 48KB VRAM, 48KB ROM |
| Display | 8 colours at 640 × 200 pixel resolution |
| Graphics | MBL 68B09 |
| Sound | AY-3-8910, YM2203 (FM77AV onwards) |
| Input | Keyboard, joystick |
| Dimensions | 43.2 × 28.5 × 10.2 |
| Mass | 4.5 kg |
| Predecessor | FM-8 |
| Successor | FM Towns |
Although it was designed to be a cut-down version of the FM-8 (with the FM-7 costing 126,000 yen, compared to 218,000 yen for the FM-8), most notably removing the (expensive) bubble memory technology, the FM-7 was given a more advanced AY-3-8910 sound chip capable of three voice sound synthesis, leading to a strong uptake among the hobbyist computer market in Japan and making it a more popular system than the FM-8.
The FM-7 primarily competed with the NEC PC-8801 and Sharp X1 series of computers in the early 1980s. It was succeeded by the FM-77 series of computers in 1984, which featured backwards compatibility with the FM-7. The FM-77 series was later succeeded by the 32-bit FM Towns in 1989.
The FM-7 is based around the 6809 chip, which was also used in home computers such as the TRS-80 Color Computer and Dragon 32/64, as well as several arcade games.