A high-performance, space-saving personal computer that was fully integrated with Ricoh's Mytool, a business integration software package.
Launched in July 1986, Mr. Mytool was a product that integrated Ricoh's Mytool business integration software package with a high-performance dedicated hardware machine that boosted Mytool's productivity and took full advantage of its features. There were two models: Mr. Mytool, which was standard equipped with two 3.5-inch floppy disk drives, and Mr. MyTool/10, which was standard equipped with a 10 megabyte hard disk drive and a 3.5-inch floppy disk drive.
Mytool combined four functions — a chart builder, a Japanese word processor, a graph builder, and a database — into one business integration software package. It was a hit for Ricoh, having sold 20,000 copies in the two years since its release in July 1984. Because Mr. Mytool was designed specifically to run Mytool, its footprint was about 30 percent smaller than normal personal computers.
The model's primary features were as follows:
- A variety of input devices were available, such as an independent number pad that made data entry more efficient and a tablet-sized keyboard for easy command entry.
- Mr. Mytool ran on the Intel 80286.
- It came standard equipped with 1 megabyte of RAM.
- A variety of output devices were available, including the standard 16-inch kanji dot matrix printer, a high-speed 16-inch kanji dot matrix printer with color capability, a 16-inch kanji thermal-transfer printer with two characters sizes — either 12 point or 10.5 point, and a 10-inch kanji thermal-transfer printer.
One unique option was MyCall, which transferred data between Mytool applications much like a telephone call without needing complex computer communication procedures. Mr. Mytool was widely accepted in ordinary business environments because it was a high-performance, space-saving personal computer that addressed many user needs.
