Busicom LE-120A "HANDY-LE"
and LE-120S "handy"
Busicom LE-120A "HANDY-LE"
Busicom LE-120A "HANDY-LE"
Display is 12 digits red LED.
Four-function. Only has a fixed decimal point, with settings at 0, 2, 4.
Integrated circuit - Mostek MK6010 (in this example date coded week 42 of 1972).
Batteries - 6v, 4x AA.
Size - 72 x 124 x 24 mm (2.8" x 4.9" x 0.9").
First went on sale in January 1971.
Made in Japan by Nippon Calculating Machine Corporation, which changed its name to Busicom Corp. (Business Computer Corporation).
This highly innovative calculator claims several firsts:
- The first pocket-sized calculator.
- The first calculator to use an LED display.
- The first hand-held calculator to use a "calculator on a chip" integrated circuit.
It was the first of a range of similar calculators introduced by Busicom in the early 1970s.
The Mostek integrated circuit and the LED display were state of the art at this time and were very expensive. Combined with the high-quality metal body, the price of this model was very high and it did not sell very well. Apparently, the most successful sales were to people like Aristotle Onassis, the Greek ship owner, who gave them away as presents.
Later models such as the plastic-bodied Busicom LE-120S described below were cheaper but still cost several week's average salary. However, the die had been cast and this model revealed that a truly pocket-sized calculator could be achieved. Over the following few years, as the technology improved and mass production took over, the price of pocket calculators plummeted.
