The Sanyo PHC-25 is a home computer released in Japan in 1982[1] by the electronics company Sanyo.[10][11] PHC is an acronym for Personal Home Computer.[12]
It is grouped with the lower-end PHC-10 and PHC-20 models[3][12] which were announced at the same time,[3] and with which it shares the same dimensions[8] and styling.
The PHC-25 came with Sanyo Basic v1.3, an eighty instruction BASIC dialect.[10] A few emulators exist for this system.[13][14]
The PHC-25 was announced in Japan in mid-1982 with a price of ¥69,800.[1]
France
The PHC-25 was announced in the French press alongside the PHC-20 and PHC-8000 in late 1982 for a planned launch in November[2] or December to January[15] at a price of 2200 FF.[2]
There were complaints about the lack of software availability for the PHC-25.[16][17] (In response to one of these, the magazine Votre Ordinateur estimated that there would have been around fifty software cassettes available in France circa early 1984.)[17]
As of January 1984,[Notes 2] Sanyo was still promoting the PHC-25 in France, with "planned extensions" including an 8K RAM expansion and floppy disk drives.[9]
The PHC-28- which launched later that same year- was seen by Votre Ordinateur as a replacement for the PHC-25, noting that its MSX compatibility would be a "guarantee of security for fans of the brand" who had complained about the PHC-25's lack of software.[16]
The PHC-25 was used for some educational courses in France.[18][19]
Cancelled launches
United Kingdom
It was announced in late 1982 that the PHC-25 would launch in the UK for £150 in January 1983, alongside the PHC-10 and PHC-20.[3]
However, while all three made it as far as being reviewed[20] in Your Computer magazine in October, the same publication later reported that they had "disappeared again in November"[4] and there was no further sign of them on the UK market.
United States
The PHC-25 was presented in the US at the 1983 CES[21] with a planned price of $199.[5][6] However, Sanyo later decided against selling the PHC-25 there due to cutthroat price competition in the low-end US computer market at the time.[7]
Technical specifications
The PHC-25 had the following technical specifications:[10][22]
^Cover date of magazine; publication date was likely late 1983
References
^ abcd"Micom News". 月刊マイコン ('Monthly Microcomputer'). June 1982. p. 496. [ROM 20KB [..] Product Number, Standard Price, Release Date / PHC-25, 69,800 yen, June 25 1982]
^ abc"Nouveau Produits". L'ordinateur Individuel. Paris ("L'ordinateur Individuel, Paris"): Groupe Tests. December 1982. pp. 61, 62. Les nouveaux Sanyo seraient arrivés dans le courant du mois de novembre. Ce sont notamment les modèles PHC 20 et 25. [..] Le PHC 25 [..] pour 2 200 FF tte. [The new Sanyo models are expected to arrive during the month of November. These include the PHC 20 and 25 models. [..] The PHC 25 [..] for 2,200 FF all inclusive. (The 20 model is, however, significantly less interesting than the PHC 25...)]
^ abcd"Three New Micros from Sanyo". Popular Computing Weekly. p. 5. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Sanyo will launch three new microcomputers in the UK in January 1983. [..] PHC-25 is the most advanced. It will be priced at £150. [..] PHC-20, to cost around £100 [..] PHC10, planned for £60
^ ab"Editorial". Your Computer [UK]. UK: Business Press International Ltd. November 1984. p. 41. Remember Sanyo's enigmatic PHC range which appeared in October 1982 [issue in which PHC-10, 20 and 25 were reviewed] and disappeared again in November?
^ abTom R. Holfhill (March 1983). "New Home Computers At The Winter Consumer Electronics Show [CES]". Compute!. No. 34. United States: Small Systems Services. p. 34. ...on the higher end is the PHC 25 [..] It should be available at the same time as the PHC 20 for $199.95.
^ abAhl, David H.; Staples, Betsy. "1983 Winter Consumer Electronics Show [CES]". Creative Computing. United States: Ahl Computing (Ziff-Davis). p. 40. Sanyo was showing two prototype units, the PHC 20 for $99 and the PHC 25 for $199.
^ abDavid H. Ahl (January 1984). "IFIP, SICOB and PCW". Creative Computing. United States: Ahl Computing (Ziff-Davis). p. 148. Another small machine we saw previously at CES is the Sanyo PHC-25. [..] We were told it would not be marketed in the U.S. because of the cutthroat price competition at that end of the market.
^ abcdefghi""New Products [..] PHC-10, PHC-20, PHC-25, PHC-8000" [ PHC-25 details column ]". I/O (in Japanese). June 1982. p. 365. [PHC-25, CPU:Z80A, ROM: 20KB, RAM: 22KB, 65 keys, [cassette, video and printer interfaces listed], colour display [yes], Power: AC 100V, Power Consumption: 10W, Size (mm): 51 x 160 x 30 [same as dimensions given in adjacent columns for PHC-10 and PHC-20], Weight (g): 1050]
^ abcdefgSanyo France (January 1984). "[Sanyo PHC-25 advertisement]". Micro et Robots. No. 3. Société des Publications Radio-Electriques et Scientifiques [..] 75940 Paris. p. 5. [BASIC Extended: 24 kilobytes [..] RAM: 22 kilobytes including 6 kilobytes for video [..] Interfaces: Cassette, Video, Printer, AC power [..] PLANNED EXTENSIONS: 8K RAM and floppy drives.]
^"Pour noël ou le jour de l'an" [For Christmas or New Year's Day]. Micro 7. Rédaction et Publicité 6, rue Ancelle 92525 Neuilly-Cedex. December 1982. p. 19. La fin de l'année a vu l'arrivée sur le marché de la micro-informatique de nouveaux produits Sanyo. Déjà présentés, ils seront commercialisés en décembre ou au plus tard début janvier 83. Le PHC20 [et] le PHC 25 [et] le PHC 8000 et son module d'extension, le PHC 8010 [The end of the year saw the arrival of new Sanyo products on the microcomputer market. Already presented, they will be available in December [1982] or at the latest in early January 1983. The PHC20 [and] the PHC 25 [and] the PHC 8000 and its expansion module, the PHC 8010]
^ ab"Arrivée en force des machines MSX". Votre Ordinateur. Paris. p. 19. En revanche, surprise chez Sanyo qui relève le « gentil » PHC 25 par un modèle de course à carburateur MSX, le PHC 28. [..] Quant aux logiciels, pas de problème. N'importe quel MSX fera l'affaire, un gage de sécu¬ rité pour les adeptes de la marque, qui s'étaient jus¬ que-là plaints du manque de programmes pour le PHC 25. [...there was a surprise at Sanyo, who replaced the "nice" PHC 25 with a carbureted MSX racing model, the PHC 28. [..] As for software, no problem. Any MSX will do, a guarantee of security for fans of the brand, who had until then complained about the lack of programs for the PHC 25.]
^ ab"Votre Courrier: Des Cassettes Pour PHC 25". Votre Ordinateur. Groupe Tests [Paris]. March 1984. p. 10. [Reader says] Mais j'aimerais savoir s'il existe vraiment des cassettes pour le PHC. J'ai déjà tout essayé, les adresses de revues, mon vendeur, rien [..Response..] ...lorsque nous annonçons une programmathèque de quarante, cinquante, voire soixante programmes, nous les avons vus, touchés, ou nous nous sommes fait confirmer par plusieurs sources [..] Le nombre de cassettes théoriquement disponibles doit avoisiner maintenant la cinquantaine. [[Reader says] But I would like to know if there really are cassettes for the PHC. I have already tried everything, the addresses of magazines, my seller, nothing [..Response..] ...when we announce a program library of forty, fifty, even sixty programs, we have seen them, touched them, or we have had confirmation from several sources [..] The number of cassettes theoretically available must now be around fifty.]
^"Clubs & Formation". Micro 7. June 1985. p. 116. L'Ecole et la Vie, organisme de formation permanente, assure un stage d'initiation à l'informatique [..] Ces stages se déroulent à Marvejols (Lozère) sur Sanyo PHC 25, TRS 80, M05, Apple Ile [L’Ecole et la Vie, a continuing education organization, provides an introductory computer training course [..] These courses take place in Marvejols (Lozère) [in France] on Sanyo PHC 25, TRS 80, M05, Apple IIe]
^"SVM Pratique". Science et Vie Micro. July 1985. p. 124. [section 'Les stages'] La maison des jeunes et de culture de Pamiers (Ariège) organise un stage d'initiation à l'informatique et d'activités [..] Micro-ordinateurs utilisés : PHC 25 de Sanyo, Apple Ile et Thomson TO7. [[section 'Internships'] The youth and cultural center of Pamiers (Ariège) [in France] is organizing an introductory computer and activities course [..] Microcomputers used: PHC 25 from Sanyo, Apple Ile and Thomson TO7.]
