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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
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]

Most if not all of the notebooks in the Innova Book line were produced offshore by Taiwanese OEMs. Canon repeatedly turned to Chicony of Taipei, who lent their designs to Canon for their Innova Book 10 and Innova Book 200LS.[9][10] 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.[11] In March 1994, Canon Computer took the reins of the NeXT Computer and NeXTstation after NeXT ceased manufacturing hardware in 1993.[12] They later released the Object.Station, an x86-based workstation based on the NeXTstation design.[13]

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.[14] Innovas and Innova Books continued to be marketed until January 1997, when the company quietly left the desktop and notebook market, citing poor sales.[15] 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.[16]

Computers

Workstations

Name Processor Clock speed
(MHz) 		Hard drive
interface 		Date
Object.Station 31 Pentium 100 IDE February 1995[36]
Object.Station 41 Pentium 100 SCSI February 1995[36]
Object.Station 50 Pentium 100 SCSI June 1995[37]
Object.Station 52 Pentium 120 SCSI June 1995[37]
Power Workstation PowerPC 604 (single or dual) 100, 120, or 133 SCSI June 1995[38]

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. ^ Zimmerman, Michael R. (June 27, 1994). "Chicony sows crop of portables". PC Week. 11 (25). Ziff-Davis: 61 – via Gale OneFile.
  10. ^ DiCarlo, Lisa (March 27, 1995). "IPC releases slim notebook, big-screen unit". PC Week. 12 (12). Ziff-Davis: 45 – via Gale OneFile.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ Staff writer (n.d.). "Canon Object.Station". Old-Computers.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ Kirchner, Jake (July 1997). "The PC Magazine 100". PC Magazine. 16 (13). Ziff-Davis: 213–245 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ "Canon U.S.A. Makes Strategic Move to Serve Digital Marketplace". Business Wire. January 5, 2001 – via ProQuest.
  17. ^ a b Staff writer (October 1992). "New Canon desktops, notebooks, printers". Home Furnishings Daily. 66 (43). BridgeTower Media: 115 – via Gale OneFile.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ a b Staff writer (March 1994). "Canon adds 2 feature-laden PCs". Home Furnishings Daily. 68 (21). BridgeTower Media: 80 – via Gale OneFile.
  20. ^ 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.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ 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.
  23. ^ Spiwak, Marc (June 1996). "Loaded Canon is on target". Windows Magazine. 7 (6). UBM LLC: 104 – via Gale OneFile.
  24. ^ a b Staff writer (May 6, 1996). "Pipeline: Shipping". InfoWorld. 18 (19). IDG Communications: 29 – via Google Books.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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.
  26. ^ a b Staff writer (December 22, 1992). "Briefs: Portables, Palmtops, and Peripherals". PC Magazine. Ziff-Davis: 59.
  27. ^ a b Lee, Yvonne L. (August 15, 1994). "Canon notebooks offer built-in sound, accelerated graphics". InfoWorld. 16 (33). IDG Communications: 31 – via Google Books.
  28. ^ a b c d e Lee, Yvonne L. (November 6, 1995). "Canon portables add punch with Pentium". InfoWorld. 17 (45). IDG Communications: 43 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ a b c Harrington, Mark (November 13, 1995). "Key notebooks refreshed". Computer Retail Week. 5 (119). UBM LLC: 6 – via Gale OneFile.
  30. ^ Lee, Yvonne L. (February 13, 1995). "Innova Book 200LS line sports largest screen". InfoWorld. 17 (7). IDG Communications: 40 – via Google Books.
  31. ^ DiCarlo, Lisa (April 1, 1996). "Dell makes Latitude change; Canon aims for multimedia". PC Week. 13 (13). Ziff-Davis: 43 – via Gale OneFile.
  32. ^ a b c DiCarlo, Lisa (April 1, 1996). "Dell makes Latitude change; Canon aims for multimedia". PC Week. 13 (13). Ziff-Davis: 43 – via Gale OneFile.
  33. ^ a b Lee, Yvonne L. (May 9, 1994). "Canon ships color notebooks, ink-jet printers". InfoWorld. 16 (19). IDG Communications: 36 – via Google Books.
  34. ^ Staff writer (July 10, 1995). "Canon debuts PowerPC line". Computerworld. 29 (28). IDG Communications: 42 – via Google Books.
  35. ^ Clyman, John (August 1995). "Power Notebook: PowerPC Goes Mobile". PC Magazine. 14 (14). Ziff-Davis: 40 – via Google Books.
  36. ^ a b Kahn, Scott (February 27, 1995). "Canon object.station takes NextStep to Intel-based systems: Pentium-class action meets 486s". PC Week. 12 (8). Ziff-Davis: N3 – via Gale OneFile.
  37. ^ a b Staff writer (June 5, 1995). "Canon Preps Pentiums". CommunicationsWeek. CMP Publications: 26 – via ProQuest.
  38. ^ Quinlan, Tom (June 19, 1995). "Canon unveils PowerPC desktop, notebook systems". InfoWorld. 17 (25). IDG Communications: 40 – via Google Books.
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