Sharp EL-8
Sharp EL-8 of 1971 | |
| Manufacturer | Sharp Corporation |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 1970 or 1971 |
| Predecessor | QT-8D, QT-8B |
| Cost | JP¥84,800, US$345 |
| Calculator | |
| Display type | 8-digit vacuum fluorescent display |
| Other | |
| Power supply | 6 Ni–Cd AA batteries (450 mAh in total) or AC adapter |
| Power consumption | ~1W |
| Weight | 0.72 kg |
| Dimensions | 164 × 102 × 70 mm |
The Sharp EL-8, also known as the ELSI-8, was one of the earliest mass-produced hand-held electronic calculators and the first hand-held calculator to be made by Sharp Corporation. Introduced around the start of 1971, it was based on Sharp's preceding QT-8D and QT-8B compact desktop calculators and used the same logic circuits, but it was redesigned to fit in a much smaller case.
Most electronic calculators before the EL-8 were intended for desktop use. Sharp's predecessor to the EL-8, the battery-powered QT-8B, was just a portable version of a compact desk calculator. The EL-8 was much smaller, small enough to be used in one's hand: 164 mm (6.46 in) long, 102 mm (4.02 in) wide, and 70 mm (2.76 in) thick, and weighing 0.72 kg (1.59 lb) with batteries. Although it was still too bulky to easily fit in a pocket, it was an important step toward the development of the pocket calculator.
The EL-8's original price in Japan was 84,800 Japanese yen. The retail price in 1971 was US$345 (equivalent to US$2,308 in 2021).