Ricoh's first high-performance personal computer that packed 10 functions into one device.
The Ricoh SP200, which went on sale in June 1983, was a personal computer for the business market that was equipped with the following 10 functions.
- Simple task-based languages
- Level II COBOL and other professional programming languages
- Technical and scientific calculations
- Business applications
- Personal terminal functionality
- LAN connectivity
- Personal English-language word processor
- Personal Japanese-language word processor
- Database
- Hardware control functionality
The Ricoh SP200 series was equipped with a 16-bit microprocessor and ample onboard memory (selectable from 256 kilobytes to 640 kilobytes) and was connectable to up to three 1.2 megabyte (when formatted) five-inch floppy disk drives. There were two keyboard options: a kana-layout keyboard and a JIS-key layout keyboard. There were four printers to choose from to suit individual needs: a 24×24 dot matrix kanji printer; a dot impact printer that could print letters, numbers, and kana characters at 120 characters per second; an impact printer that accepted stock as wide as 420 millimeters (an A3 page in landscape format); and a thermal graphics printer that used thermal paper. A 12-inch monochrome (green) CRT display and a highly legible eight-color CRT display were available. As options, users could select an external eight-inch floppy disk drive and a five-inch fixed disk drive. Bundled software included programming languages such as BASIC, Level II COBOL, and FORTRAN as well as simple languages, such as OFIS/POL, MULTIPLAN, and Ricoh's own simple languages, that first-time users could use to easily run work tasks and create graphs.
The SP200 was Ricoh's first shot at entering the business market for personal computers. The launch of this series led to the establishment of total office automation systems that went beyond anything previous in the office device field and that supported a broad range of user needs.
