IME 84 Calculator

IME 84 (opens in new tab)

IME 84

The IME 84 was introduced in 1964 and certainly belongs in the group of “first” solid-state electronic calculators. It can be compared with the other “first” machines in a variety of ways:

• Memory - Core memory allowed more speed and better expansion than delay lines
• Display - Nixies were probably the best price/functionality tradeoff of the day, CRTs ultimately proved too expensive for the added display capabilities
• Implementation - among the best, with no functional quirks or errors
• Expansion - expandable into a system, better than the Wang LOCI
• Construction - the best internal design and construction
• Industrial Design - equal best with the Friden 130, and superior to all others