A portable CP/M computer, but also a MS-DOS PC.

In the early 1980s Philips produced a series of business/home microcomputers generically known as the P2000 series. There were five different lines developed over the few years the machines were produced: the P2000T, P2000M, P2000B (later called P2500), P2000C and finally the Yes, a MS-DOS machine. However, all these different machines were all incompatible with each other.

The P2000C, was probably the most advanced of the P2000 series and the early portable from Philips. It was a heavy luggable computer. In fact, users didn't pick it up and carry its 15 kg unless they really had to! Also as with almost all early portable machines it was not battery powered but mains only. With its twin Z80 processors - the second was dedicated to I/O - the P2000C was one of the faster CP/M system, faster than most of the PC's of the day for several professional applications. Furthermore, it could run MS-DOS software thanks to an optional 8088 'CoPower' card.Its two 160 KB 5 1/4" floppy disk drives (later 2 x 600 KB) were able to read almost all the widely used CP/M disk formats like those of Osborne and Kaypro.

Our model is the P2012, 

  P2012 2 x Z80A — 4 MHz
  64 KB RAM user memory
  (plus optional 256 KB RAM disk Memory Extension board or
  128, 256 or 512 KB RAM disk 8088 C0-POWER board)
  32 KB RAM video memory
  2 x 640 KB floppy drives
  1 extension slot (suitable for Memory Extension, 8088 C0-POWER or
  IEC/IEEE interface)
  CP/M operating system

This unit was made in Austria.

This was kindly donated by Barry Howlett.

Manufacturer: Philips
Date: 1983

This exhibit has a reference ID of CH14769. Please quote this reference ID in any communication with the Centre for Computing History.