IBM PCjr

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IBM PCjr

IBM PCjr with original "chiclet" keyboard, PCjr color display, and 64 KB memory expansion card
Manufacturer	Teledyne, Lewisburg, Tennessee
Type	Personal computer
Release date	March 1984; 40 years ago (1984-03)
Introductory price	US$1,269 (equivalent to $3,720 in 2023) with 128 KB memory and without monitor. £800 (equivalent to £3,250 in 2023) w/o disk drive. CA$1,900
Discontinued	March 1985
Units shipped	500,000
Operating system	IBM PC DOS 2.10
CPU	Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz
Memory	64 KB base
Removable storage	Cartridges, floppy discs
Display	12" TTL RGBI monitor, composite video out (TV); 160 × 200 and 320 × 200 at 16 colors, 640 × 200 at 4 colors
Graphics	Motorola 6845 CRTC, IBM custom Video Gate Array
Sound	Texas Instruments SN76489, PC speaker
Predecessor	IBM Personal Computer
Successor	IBM PS/1

The IBM PCjr (pronounced "PC junior") was a home computer produced and marketed by IBM from March 1984 to May 1985, intended as a lower-cost variant of the IBM PC with hardware capabilities better suited for video games, in order to compete more directly with other home computers such as the Apple II and Commodore 64.

It retained the IBM PC's 8088 CPU and BIOS interface, but provided enhanced graphics and sound, ROM cartridge slots, built-in joystick ports, and an infrared wireless keyboard. The PCjr supported expansion via "sidecar" modules, which could be attached to the side of the unit.

Despite widespread anticipation, the PCjr was ultimately unsuccessful in the market. It was only partially IBM compatible, limiting support for IBM's software library, its chiclet keyboard was widely criticized for its poor quality, expandability was limited, and it was initially offered with a maximum of 128 KB of RAM, insufficient for many PC programs.