The 700 series was the outcome of a crash program in response to Dr Wang being shown the HP 9100 just prior to its release. Wang had dominated the technical calculation market with its 300 series but had been slow to adopt SSI ICs and to contemplate a 300 series replacement.
Wang had however adopted SSI technology and microcode architecture for a side project, the logic engine for a proposed small computer. The inherent flexibility of microcoded logic engines allowed this hardware to be repurposed as Wang’s response to the HP 9100, becoming the 700 series.
The 700s were something of a hybrid of old and new:
- core memory was retained for both RAM and microcode ROM
- nixie tube displays were retained (in abundance)
- TTL logic replaced transistors
- the user interface was more user friendly