DATAMATH

DATAMATH CALCULATOR MUSEUM

Sharp EL-8152

Date of introduction:	March 1979	Display technology:	LCD
New price:	¥7.900, $39.00	Display size:	10
Size:	3.8" x 2.1" x 0.13" 96 x 54 x 3.3 mm³
Weight:	1.4 ounces, 39 grams	Serial No:	97016936
Batteries:	2*SR1120	Date of manufacture:
AC-Adapter:	n.a.	Origin of manufacture:	Japan
Precision:	8	Integrated circuits:
Memories:	1
Program steps:		Courtesy of:	Joerg Woerner

World’s first 1.6mm-thin electronic calculator. This EL-8152 is an astonishing 1.6 mm thick (that's 1/16"), thin enough to earn a place in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's Post-War Japanese Design exhibit of several years ago (the only pocket calculator in the exhibit). John Keiffer - a proud owner of the EL-8152 reported us recently that the calculator is only in the keyboard area that thin. The battery and display area measures 3.3 mm or 0.13". An unusual feature of the EL-8152 is a twin memory, the common [M+], [M-] memory and a separate "Storage Computer".

Sharp has referred to this unit as the world's thinnest calculator of its time; it is no doubt a tour de force of miniaturization. Whether it was the first unit of this size is subject to debate:
Casio produced the LC-79, a calculator of approximately 2 mm thickness (1.9 mm was stated in Casio advertising - but this wasn't the whole truth), as early as 1977, according to Casio's records. In the year 1985 Sharp won the race of miniaturization with the EL-900. This ultimate thin calculator measures 0.8 mm (that's 1/32").

(Authors note: Casio introduced already in November 1983 the FILM CARD SL-800 with 0.8mm thickness, too.)

Don't miss the EL-8153 with a somewhat thicker housing and the membrane keyboard.

Read more about Sharp Corporation’s Calculator Innovations.

If you have additions to the above article please email: joerg@datamath.org.