In the mid-1960s, IBM sold an electric typewriter that stored characters on magnetic tape so it could be edited digitally and typed out later, automatically, if desired. In 1972, calculator manufacturer Wang decided to branch out with a similar machine into the relatively new word processing market.
Wang first unveiled the 1220, seen here. It stored text on a pair of cassette tape drives. In 1975, Wang introduced the 1222, which incorporated an Intel 4004 that helped drive a one-line CRT display for paperless editing. To the right, we see an excerpt from that machine’s schematic showing the 4004 in place.
(Photos: Jim Battle, Wang)