GoKawiilCommodore PET traced to January 1977 CES debut as first all-in-one personal computer
According to a history compiled by Ian Matthews, the Commodore PET was first shown publicly at the January 1977 Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago, preceding the Apple II and Radio Shack TRS-80. The machine shipped complete with a keyboard and numeric pad, a 9-inch monitor, a 1 MHz MOS 6502 processor, 4K of memory, a cassette drive, expansion ports, and a ROM-based operating system, all housed in a steel chassis.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The account positions the PET as a milestone that turned computing from a hobbyist circuit-board pursuit into a ready-to-use consumer product, which could explain why some historians credit it as the first true personal computer. The detail about Commodore's filing-cabinet manufacturing background suggests cost considerations shaped the shift from a rounded prototype to the familiar square case design.
- The Commodore PET was demonstrated at CES in January 1977, ahead of the Apple II and TRS-80.
- It arrived fully assembled with keyboard, monitor, processor, memory, storage and OS built in.
- Commodore's manufacturing roots in metal filing cabinets reportedly influenced its final square case design.
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Published there as: “Commodore PET – The Worlds First Personal Computer”
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