The Laser 700 from VTECH was released in 1985. It is essentially the same computer as the Laser 500, but with 128kByte of RAM. Like the 500, the computer was built around the Z80A architecture CPU, had 64kByte of RAM, and 32kByte of ROM containinng the Extended Microsoft BASIC. It had two text modes and 6 graphic modes. This computer was one of three launched by VTECH to compete directly with the MSX line of computers.

The keyboard was a qwerty full stroke keyboard, with 10 function keys at the top row, and a separate cursor key island. There were several expansion options:

• 64K/128K RAM Memory Expansion Module
• Centronics Printer Interface
• Joystick Interface
• Lightpen Interface
• Fast Cassette Interface
• RS232 Interface
• AD/DA Interface
• Chinese Card
• Floppy Disk Drive Interface

For video output it had a Composite RCA video and a TV RF-connector. The bottom of the case had two switches that allowed the user to switch TV channels and select between color or black and white output.

Video Modes

Text Modes

• 40x24 in 16 colors
• 80x24 in 2 colors

Graphics Modes

• 320x192 in 2 out of 16 colors
• 160x192 in 16 colors
• 160x92 in 16 colors
• 640x192 in 2 out of 16 colors
• 320x192 in 16 colors
• 160x192 in 16 colors

The RAM subsystem consists of 16 pieces of 64K x 1-bit Dynamic RAM. The RAM timing is provided by a VLSI Gate Array, together with LS257 multiplexer chips.

The Z80 quickly became popular in the personal computer market, with many early personal computers, such as the TRS-80 and Sinclair ZX80, using the Z80 as their central processing unit (CPU). It was also widely used in home computers, such as the MSX range, SORD, and the Amstrad CPC, as well as in many arcade games. Additionally, it was also used in other applications such as industrial control systems, and embedded systems. The Z80 was widely used until the mid-1980s, when it was gradually replaced by newer microprocessors such as the Intel 80286 and the Motorola 68000.

The Z80 microprocessor was developed by Zilog, a company founded by Federico Faggin in 1974. The Z80 was released in July 1976, as a successor to the Intel 8080. It was designed to be fully compatible with the 8080, but also included new features such as an improved instruction set, more powerful interrupts, and a more sophisticated memory management system.

The Z80 quickly became popular in the personal computer market, with many early personal computers, such as the TRS-80 and Sinclair ZX80, using the Z80 as their central processing unit (CPU). It was also widely used in home computers, such as the MSX range, SORD, and the Amstrad CPC, as well as in many arcade games. Additionally, it was also used in other applications such as industrial control systems, and embedded systems. The Z80 was widely used until the mid-1980s, when it was gradually replaced by newer microprocessors such as the Intel 80286 and the Motorola 68000. The design was licensed to Synertek and Mostek as well as the European SGS.

The Z80s instruction set is binary compatible with the Intel 8080, so that 8080 code such as the CP/M Operating System and Intel's PL/M compiler for the 8080 can run unmodified on the Z80. The Z80 had many enhancements over the 8080 such as 16-bit data movement instructions, block copy and block I/O instructions, single bit addressing of all registers, IX/IY offset registers, better interrupt system and a complete duplicate register file for context switching during an interrupt.

Source: WikiPedia