Editing Sharp Wizard

{{Infobox Information appliance
| image = Sharp Wizard OZ-7000.png
| caption = The original OZ-7000 with a scientific calculator expansion IC Card installed
| developer = [[Sharp Corporation]]
| release date = 1989
| connectivity = Serial port<br>IC Card slot
}}

The '''Sharp Wizard''' series, introduced by the [[Sharp Corporation]] in 1989, was among the first [[Electronic organizer|electronic organizers]] and a precursor to [[Personal digital assistant|personal digital assistants]] (PDAs). The debut model, the ''OZ-7000'' (known as the ''IQ-7000'' in Europe), combined [[Personal organizer|organizer functions]] with an IC Card expansion system, allowing users to install software and memory cards. Over time, Sharp refined the series with larger displays, increased memory, and enhanced features, such as infrared communications port for wireless data transfer, [[Touch-sensitive display|touch-sensitive displays]], and [[Clamshell design|clamshell designs]].

==Specifications and history==
The OZ-7000 was about 6.3 inches (163&nbsp;mm) tall, 3.7 inches (94&nbsp;mm) wide closed, 7.25 inches (184&nbsp;mm) open, and 0.85 inches (21.5&nbsp;mm) thick closed, making it much larger than later PDAs. It featured a serial port (proprietary connector) to attach to a [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] PC or [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]] or another OZ-7xxx/OZ-8xxx device, an optional [[thermal printer]] port and a [[compact audio cassette|cassette tape]] backup. The OZ-7000/IQ-7000 model featured 32 [[kilobyte]]s of internal memory and a 96 x 64 dot (8 lines x 16 characters or 4 lines x 12 characters) black and white [[LCD]] with controllable contrast but without a back light. A major advertised feature of the model was the ''IC Cards'' expansion slot for accessory cards developed by Sharp.

The expansion cards (IC Cards) were about the same size and shape of [[PC card|PC Cards]] but predated this [[standardization|standard]] and were incompatible with the latter. The IC Cards were inserted in a slot behind a transparent plastic panel with an overlay touch-sensitive sensor organized in a 4x5 array of touch zones, thus allowing up to 20 "buttons" to be used for control of IC Cards functions. The selection of IC cards included memory expansion cards, a thesaurus dictionary, a Time and Expense Manager, an Investment Planner, a bilingual and 8-Language translators, an "Encyclopaedia of Wine" and even games like "Box Jockey" (a [[Sokoban]] clone),<ref>{{Citation|last=Musée Bolo|title=Sōko-ban game on Sharp IQ-7200|date=2019-02-26|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UivU98EDVa8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/UivU98EDVa8 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|access-date=2019-02-26}}{{cbignore}}</ref> [[Tetris]], [[chess]] and [[backgammon]]. A spreadsheet software card capable of handling 26 columns by 999 rows tables compatible with [[Lotus 1-2-3]] was available too.

The out-of-the-box functionality of the ''OZ-7000''/''IQ-7000'' included a memo pad, a telephone pad, calendar and scheduling with alarms and repeating events, multi-time zone clocks, and a calculator, thus covering all the basic functions found in PDAs since. The keyboard was not [[QWERTY]], although later models, starting with OZ/IQ-8000, changed the orientation of the screen and keyboard layout.

In 1991 Sharp released an enhanced version of IQ-7000 — the ''IQ-7200'' with internal memory increased up to 64K.

The ''OZ-8000'' followed later in 1991, with a larger (240 x 64 dot) screen and 64K of internal, non-volatile memory. The ''OZ-8200'' was launched at the same time with 128K of internal non-volatile memory.  Both models shared the same form factor.  A custom fitted leather, padded carrying case was also available for both models.  The devices opened in landscape rather than portrait orientation with the IC Cards slot position changed accordingly.

The ''OZ-9600'' and ''OZ-9600II'' were the last of in this family of PDA in the Wizard line. Later Wizard organizers were smaller, dispensing with the expansion slot and soon bore little resemblance to the original ''OZ-7000''.

In 1991 Sharp released also a series of IC cards allowing programming in [[BASIC]] for the OZ-7000, thus turning the organizer to more a PDA-like device. The same version of BASIC had been used in later Sharp PDAs, both Wizards and pocket computers such as the [[Sharp PC-E500S]]. The line of devices utilizing touch-controlled IC cards had been concluded with the ''IQ-8500'' model.

Starting with the ''OZ-8900'' and, later, the ''OZ-9xxx'' series, Sharp moved to production of clam-shell design/touch-sensitive display devices. Newer Wizards had an integrated IR transmitter allowing data exchange with PCs or other OZ-9xxx devices. The innovative design had the main features of the initial [[Zaurus]] line which continued this PDA family for Sharp. Due to new features, ''IC Cards'' for these devices were not backwards compatible with the OZ-7xxx series.

[[Image:SharpElectronicOrganiser-open.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Opened Sharp Electronic Organizer (sold as Sharp Wizard in the US) model ZQ-770.]]
The later Sharp Wizards were something between an electronic databank and a PDA. They were small, lightweight devices with keyboards but no touch screen, running on a Zilog [[Z80]].

Starting with the ''ZQ-770'', model numbers had the prefixes either of ''OZ'' (for the USA market, where the prefix from the beginning was meant to be a pun on [[The Wizard of Oz (adaptations)|The Wizard of Oz]]) or ''ZQ'' (rest of the world) followed by a number, for instance ''ZQ-770,'' a non-US organizer with 3 MB memory, thus abandoning the IQ prefix used earlier.

== See also ==
* [[The Wizard (Seinfeld)|"The Wizard" (''Seinfeld'')]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

{{Dynabook Inc.}}
{{Sharp Corporation}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Personal digital assistants]]
[[Category:Computer-related introductions in 1988]]
[[Category:Sharp Corporation computers|Wizard]]