Basically, a single-chip microprocessor allows an entire central processing unit (CPU) to exist on one silicon microchip. Before this time, engineers built the computing "brains" of calculators (and computers) with multiple chips or other components. These continued advancements in calculator technology were largely made possible by the development of the single-chip microprocessor in the late 1960s. Its thickness was that of a pack of cigarettes. In 1972, British inventor Sir Clive Sinclair introduced the Sinclair Executive, which is considered by many to be the world's first affordable pocket calculator. The next few years became something of a race between manufacturers to make calculators smaller, more accessible and less expensive. Using "Cal Tech" technology, Canon developed the first handheld calculator for commercial use, which debuted in 1970 with a price tag of $400. In 1967, Texas Instruments developed what is known as the first portable, handheld calculator - a device that could perform addition, subtraction, multiplication and division - in a project that the company nicknamed "Cal Tech". This model resembled a cash register and cost about as much as mid-sized car. Japanese company Sharp is said to have created the first desktop calculator, the CS-10A, in 1964. Several electronics companies and inventors may claim a first when it comes to the development of the electronic calculator.
However, the modern abacus - which some people still use today in China, Japan and the Middle East - works by moving beads along wires that are strung on a frame. Probably of Babylonian origin, early abaci are believed to have been boards on which the position of counters stood for numerical values. The abacus, for example, is one ancestor of the calculator.
In fact, electronic calculators are so widespread now that it's hard to believe they didn't become commonplace until the late 20 th century.īefore the invention of the modern calculator, people used some other tools for computation. But these days, it's all but impossible for many people to imagine doing anything involving numbers - from math homework to tax returns to tipping servers in restaurants - without the help of at least a basic pocket calculator. There may have been a time when the most complicated computations people needed to do could be performed on their fingers and toes.