Sharp's "G" Series - The End of the Line

A few members of my PC-G family

CPU	Sharp LZ3413 or LZ3515 Z80 comp. CMOS  @ 3.58 MHz
RAM	8KB or 32 KB (Model dependent)
ROM	Unknown
Year released	1988 (PC-G801) - 2009 (PC-G850VS)
Display	4-Line, 24 Char.5x7 dot LCD PC-G815 : 144x32 (24 char x 4 lines) PC-G850xx: 144x48 (24 char x 6 lines)
Power	4xRP6 / "AA"   (Unit) PC-G850xx 4xRP3 / "AAA" Additionally 1xCR2032 RAM backup in the PC-E200/PC-E220
BASIC	Sharp BASIC, Assembly, C, CASL, PIC Assembly, Machine Language Monitor
Keyboard	82/83 keys rubber domed / injection molded  (Model dependent)
I/O	Sharp proprietary 11 pin SIO / 40 pin Z80 System Bus

A recent post on Facebook about the Sharp PC-E220 inspired me to unpack the members of my Sharp "G" line family.
The Sharp G model line was a series of Pocket Computers Sharp released starting in 1988. They were chunky units, powered by Sharp's Z80 CMOS equivalent, the LZ8413AM (later the LZ8514). Clocked at ~3.6 MHz, they certainly didn't lack in speed. A look at the table below shows the various model names and the release year.

Model (Year Released)	RAM / CPU
PC-G801 (1988)	8KB / LZ8413
PC-E200 (1988)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-E220 (1988)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G802 (1990)	8KB / LZ8413
PC-G803 (1991)	8KB / LZ8413
PC-G805 (1993)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G811 (1989)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G813 (1991)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G815 (1993)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G820 (1996)	8KB / LZ8413
PC-G820S (2000)	8KB / LZ8514
PC-G830 (1996)	32KB / LZ8413
PC-G830S (2000)	32KB / LZ8514
PC-G850 (1996)	32KB / LZ8514
PC-G850S (2000)	32KB / LZ?
PC-G850V (2002)	32KB / LZ?
PC-G850VS (2009)	32KB / LZ?

Released in 2000, the "S" version of the G820, G830 and G850 was a model refresh 4 years after the original release in 1996. The main difference being a new revision of the CPU, with Sharp's LZ8514 now being used. 
The E220 was the only of Sharp's "G8xx" model line to be released outside of Japan, and besides the arguably best colour scheme, was the only "G" model to include an engineering software library. The E200 and E220 were also the only models to get a built in piezo buzzer and a backup battery. 

The E200/220 got a backup battery to protect your RAM... 

...and a piezo buzzer

And the E220 even got a little engineering software library

The only G models to support graphics commands like GPRINT or LINE are the PC-G815 and the G850xx. 

The only G-line models that can draw, the PC-G815 and the PC-G850xx.

Memory capacity was either 8 or 32KB of RAM, and besides BASIC that all G models supported, other languages included ranged from C, assembler, CASL to PIC assembly. Most also included a machine language monitor.

The BASIC included on the G850xx includes the same structured programming commands that came on the E500S (REPEAT-UNTIL, WHILE-WEND, SWITCH-CASE...). There is a fine gent in Japan who offers a hardware extension for the G850 that adds RAM and CP/M support and I'm also aware of a FORTH implementation Robert van Engelen.
Compared to my PC-14xx collection, the number of G models I own is modest. I have a G801, E200, E220, G815, G820 and three of the four G850xx models (I'm missing the G850S). 

Another family portrait

The G series was the Pocket Computer swan song, and I think the unit design shows it. The units are chunky, uninspired and, as a friend of mine commented, pretty ugly. That said, the G850 is still a very capable unit, especially the VS version, which includes a PIC programmer.

This was of course the end of the line for the era of Pocket Computers. The future would belong to organizers, PDAs and eventually, smart phones. It's still an extremely interesting piece of mobile computing history without which we wouldn't be where we are today.