Sharp MZ-700

The Sharp MZ-700 brought the MZ Clean Computer concept into a colourful, modular home-computer format. Launched in Japan in 1982 and introduced to Britain the following year, it used a 3.5 MHz Z80A-compatible processor with 64KB of RAM.

The basic MZ-711 could be expanded with a cassette recorder, while the MZ-721 incorporated the recorder and the MZ-731 added a compact four-colour plotter. All three configurations shared the same computer architecture.

Notable Features

• Sold as MZ-711, MZ-721 and MZ-731 configurations with different integrated peripherals.
• Used programmable character graphics and eight foreground/background colours.
• Languages loaded from cassette or disk instead of being permanently held in ROM.

Historical Significance

• One of Sharp’s most widely distributed home computers, with an especially strong European following.
• Adapted the MZ-80K software philosophy to an affordable colour home system.

Collector's Notes

• The cassette recorder and miniature plotter require specialised belts, pens and paper.
• Regional keyboards, case colours and peripheral bundles make useful collection variants.

Specifications

Technical Information
Name	Sharp MZ-700
Manufacturer	Sharp
Launched	Sunday, January 10, 1982
Discontinued	Mid-1980s
Launch Price	Configuration dependent
Country	Japan
CPU	Sharp LH0080A, Zilog Z80A-compatible
Units Sold
Input	Keyboard and optional joystick ports
Display	RF, composite and RGB display support
Compatibility	MZ-700 compatibility mode
Storage	Cassette, Quick Disk or optional floppy disk depending on configuration
Sound	Texas Instruments SN76489 three-channel programmable sound generator
Text	40 or 80 columns
Graphics	320 × 200 or 640 × 200 bitmap graphics, up to 16 colours depending on mode
ROM	Monitor ROM; BASIC and other systems loaded from media
RAM	64KB, expandable to 128KB
CPU Speed	Approximately 3.55 MHz