sharp pc-1401

this model is a progression of the pc-1251 and is both a basic programmable pocket computer and a calculator at the same time.

the green mode buttons select between manual calculator operation and program/run operation. in cal mode, the right side keyboard works as a regular aos entry calculator with operations having immediate effect. in basic mode, these buttons insert the text function name for either a direct entry formula calculation or for programming.

the dual operation works rather well and its very nice to have the best of both worlds. sharp basic was rather good and despite having only one line to program is easy to operate with the many shortcuts available.

the unit is wider than the pc-1251, but considerably slimmer than the later pc-1250 and pc-1260 models. this is due to the lack of available expansion, the unit having a fixed 4k memory, but makes it significantly more convenient to carry around in a pocket.