Kids' computers through the ages

By | PC World
Published 16:10,

Teaching tools and electronic toys aimed at young consumers

  • Wolverine Adding Machine (1941)
  • Edmund C. Berkeley Geniac (1955)
  • E.S.R. Digi-Comp I (1963)
  • Science Fair Digital Computer Kit (1977)
  • Mattel Children's Discovery System (1981)
  • Sears Talking Computron (1986)
  • More computers of the 1980s
  • VTech Precomputer 1000 (1988)
  • VTech I.Q. Unlimited Computer (1989)
  • VTech Super Color Whiz (1994)
  • Tiger Learning Computer (1997)
  • LeapFrog ClickStart: My First Computer (2007)
  • The Barbie-isation of kids' computers
  • Kidz Delight Datamax ii (2009?)
  • Play
  • Play
  • Backward
  • Forward

VTech I.Q. Unlimited Computer (1989)

Like the PC 1000, the I.Q. Unlimited Computer shipped with a one line LCD, but you could attach it to a much more impressive display: a colour TV set. Once the I.Q. was hooked up to a TV or monitor, kids could do word processing, create spreadsheets and graphs, make databases, draw pictures or play built-in educational games. The I.Q. permitted users to save their work in the unit's battery-backed memory or on removable RAM cartridges. The I.Q. also offered BASIC programming and the ability to print documents through a standard printer port.

Photos: VTech

The slides that illustrate more than a dozen computers aimed directly at kids and depict how they evolved through the ages. These toys mirrored changes in technology over the decades, progressing from primitive mechanical devices to full-fledged electronic PCs. From the 1980s on, they often won their way into parents' hearts by providing educational instruction in basic subjects such as reading, writing and arithmetic.

Space constraints forced us to leave plenty out, so when you're done reading, feel free to share your memories of educational computers in the comments below.

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