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Canon Computer Systems

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Canon Computer Systems
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryComputers
FoundedApril 1992 (1992-04)
DefunctJanuary 2001 (2001-01)
FateRestructured
SuccessorCanon Digital Home and Personal Systems
Headquarters
Costa Mesa, California
,
United States
Products
  • Canon Innova series
  • Bubble Jet
ParentCanon Inc.

Canon Computer Systems Inc. (CCSI), sometimes shortened to Canon Computer, was a subsidiary of Canon Inc. formed in 1992 to develop and market the parent company's personal computers and workstations. The subsidiary also assumed the responsibility of marketing Canon's printers and photocopiers, which were formerly sold by other Canon divisions. It went defunct in January 2001.

History

Canon began producing computers starting with the AX-1 in October 1978. It sported the form factor of a desktop calculator and was fully programmable.[1][2] This was followed up with the AS-100 in 1982, which was a more-traditional albeit heavier personal computer that ran a Intel 8088 and ran MS-DOS.[3][2] Canon entered the home computer market in 1984 with the V-20 and V-10 in 1984 and 1985 respectively.[2] In 1987, the company released the Canon Cat—the brainchild of Jef Raskin who pioneered Apple's original Macintosh.[4] In 1989, the company took a large stake in NeXT, a computer hardware company founded by Steve Jobs in 1987 after he resigned as CEO of Apple in the mid-1980s.[5]

In April 1992, Canon spun-off their computer manufacturing into Canon Computer Systems, a new subsidiary that also assumed the responsibility of marketing their parent company's printers and photocopiers. The subsidiary initially comprised 100 employees in October 1992, 50 based in Costa Mesa, California. Yasuhiro Tsubota, who founded Epson America in 1978, was named president. Several other higher-ups were poached from Epson America;[6] Tsubota left Epson for NeXT 1990, to serve as a consultant for Jobs.[7] The subsidiary's first offerings were a line of desktop computers and notebooks, branded as the Innova and Innova Book respectively. The company expected $125 million in revenue by October 1993.[6] They allocated $10 million of their initial budget on advertising, hiring the newly formed Hajjar/Kaufman (a spinoff of Dentsu) as their advertising agency.[8]

Canon Computer collaborated with IBM's Japanese subsidiary to produce the Canon NoteJet, a notebook computer with a built-in inkjet printer, introduced to market in 1993.[9] In March 1994, Canon Computer took the reins of the NeXT Computer and NeXTstation after NeXT ceased manufacturing hardware in 1993.[10] They later released the Object.Station, an x86-based workstation based on the NeXTstation design.[11]

Although Canon Computer set a goal of $1 billion sales by 1997 in 1994, they were considered late newcomers to the market of personal computers.[12] Innovas and Innova Books continued to be marketed until January 1997, when the company quietly left the desktop and notebook market, citing poor sales.[13] The subsidiary continued to market printers, scanners and digital cameras until January 2001, when the subsidiary was restructured and renamed to Canon Digital Home and Personal Systems. Tsubota was replaced by Ryoichi Bamba.[14]

Products

Desktops

Name Processor Clock speed
(MHz) 		Date
Innova 386SX/33 386 33 October 1992[15]
Innova 486 486SX 25 October 1992[15]
Innova 486SX/33 486SX 33 August 1993[16]
Innova 486e 486SX 25 August 1993[16]
Innova 486v 486DX2 33–66 August 1993[16]
Innova Vision L33/210 486SX 33 March 1994[17]
Innova Vision L50/340 486DX2 50 March 1994[17]
Innova Media MT4900 486DX4 100 March 1995[18]
Innova Media MT7010 Pentium 75 March 1995[18]
Innova Media MT9110 Pentium 100 March 1995[18]
Innova Media MT7000 Pentium 75 March 1995[18]
Innova Media MT9100 Pentium 90 March 1995[18]
Innova Media MT4610 486 66 June 1995[19]
Innova Media MT9010 Pentium 90 June 1995[19]
Innova Media MT7030 Pentium 75 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT7040 Pentium 75 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT9120 Pentium 100 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT9130 Pentium 100 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT9300 Pentium 100 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT9310 Pentium 100 August 1995[20]
Innova Media MT9600 Pentium 166 June 1996[21]
Innova Pro 5100SD Pentium 100 May 1996[22]
Innova Pro 5400ST Pentium 166 May 1996[22]
Innova Media MT9210 Pentium 120 November 1996[23]
Innova Media MT9340 Pentium 133 November 1996[23]
Innova Media MT9350 Pentium 133 November 1996[23]
Innova Media MT9620 Pentium 166 November 1996[23]
Innova Media MT9630 Pentium 166 November 1996[23]
Innova Media MT9800 Pentium 200 November 1996[23]

Portables

Main article: Canon NoteJet

References

  1. ^ Staff writer (April 15, 2011). "Canon AX-1". IPSJ Computer Museum. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Wiltshire, Alex; John Short (2020). Home Computers: 100 Icons that Defined a Digital Generation. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262044011 – via Google Books. Excerpt in Leonard, Marie-Anne (2020). "The Canon V-20, home computing icon". Canon Inc. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021.
  3. ^ Staff writer (n.d.). "Canon AS-100". Old-Computers.com. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021.
  4. ^ Rubin, Ross (July 27, 2019). "Meet the Canon Cat, the forgotten 1987 alternate-reality Mac". Fast Company. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Staff writer (March 2, 1994). "Canon Computer to Ship NextStation". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Bloomberg Business News. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Vranizan, Michelle (October 24, 1992). "Canon Computer Joins PC Wars". The Orange County Register: C1 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ Levin, Dan (January 1994). "Canon nabs Epson execs". NextWorld Extra. Archived from the original on March 11, 2010 – via Simson.net.
  8. ^ Elliott, Stuart (November 16, 1992). "Dentsu Americ Forms a Spinoff". The New York Times. The New York Times Company: D7 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Lewis, Peter H. (April 18, 1993). "The Executive Computer; Canon's New Laptop Packs a Nice Printer Inside". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  10. ^ Staff writer (March 10, 1994). "Canon Computer Systems Forms Advanced Technology Unit in the US for NeXTstation, PowerHouse Boxes". Computer Business Review. New Statesman Media Group. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021.
  11. ^ Staff writer (n.d.). "Canon Object.Station". Old-Computers.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Takahashi, Dean (March 29, 1994). "Canon Computer a Latecomer to PC Movement". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021.
  13. ^ Kirchner, Jake (July 1997). "The PC Magazine 100". PC Magazine. 16 (13). Ziff-Davis: 213–245 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "Canon U.S.A. Makes Strategic Move to Serve Digital Marketplace". Business Wire. January 5, 2001 – via ProQuest.
  15. ^ a b Staff writer (October 1992). "New Canon desktops, notebooks, printers". Home Furnishings Daily. 66 (43). BridgeTower Media: 115 – via Gale OneFile.
  16. ^ a b c Zimmerman, Michael R. (September 27, 1993). "Canon makes a major push into PC arena". PC World. 10 (38). Ziff-Davis: 29 – via Gale OneFile.
  17. ^ a b Staff writer (March 1994). "Canon adds 2 feature-laden PCs". Home Furnishings Daily. 68 (21). BridgeTower Media: 80 – via Gale OneFile.
  18. ^ a b c d e Staff writer (March 13, 1995). "Canon introduces Internet-ready computers for instant infobahn cruising". EDGE. 6 (251). EDGE Publishing: 5 – via Gale OneFile.
  19. ^ a b Staff writer (June 21, 1995). "Multimedia system from Canon touted as plug-and-go". Computing Canada. 21 (13). CEDROM-SNi: 47 – via Gale OneFile.
  20. ^ a b c d e f Hernandez, Alejandro; Sherri Snelling (August 30, 1995). "Canon Multimedia Systems Among First to Ship with Windows 95; Six New Next-Generation Innova Media Tower Models in Stores Now". PR Newswire – via Gale OneFile.
  21. ^ Spiwak, Marc (June 1996). "Loaded Canon is on target". Windows Magazine. 7 (6). UBM LLC: 104 – via Gale OneFile.
  22. ^ a b Staff writer (May 6, 1996). "Pipeline: Shipping". InfoWorld. 18 (19). IDG Communications: 29 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ a b c d e f Staff writer (November 25, 1996). "PC price cuts: Canon cuts prices on new multimedia computers and notebooks". EDGE. 7. EDGE Publishing: 4 – via Gale OneFile.
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