Commodore PET – The Worlds First Personal Computer

The Commodore PET is presented as the first personal computer offered as a complete, ready-to-use system, announced at the January 1977 Consumer Electronics Show before the Apple II and TRS-80. Unlike earlier computers that required substantial technical knowledge to assemble and operate, the PET combined a keyboard, monitor, 6502 processor, memory, cassette storage, expansion connections, and ROM-based operating system in one steel case. Its creator, engineer Chuck Peddle, assembled the CES prototype under severe time pressure using improvised parts. The PET grew out of Peddle’s work on the low-cost 6502 chip and KIM-1 computer; Commodore acquired MOS Technology and the PET concept in 1977.

Early PETs had 4K or 8K of memory, a small screen, and an unpopular calculator-style keyboard. The 4K model was initially offered for $495, while Commodore promoted the $795 8K version; demand quickly exceeded production, with only about 500 machines assembled in the first year. Later revisions replaced the chiclet keyboard, removed the built-in cassette drive to make room for a standard keyboard, shifted from metal to plastic cases, and introduced a larger 12-inch display. European models were sold at higher prices under the 3000-series names. The account also highlights the PET’s commercial importance, including Commodore BASIC, licensed from the fledgling Microsoft, and its role in bringing computing beyond hobbyist clubs into homes, schools, and businesses.