Toshiba stuffs an entire PC into a dot matrix printer

On November 8, Toshiba Japan (Toshiba Tec) debuted the latest in its series of Jimucon AIO printer PCs, the Toshiba Tec Jimucon SJ-9500— per thePC Watchpost and the original release it cites, this AIO PC comes with a built-in ink matrix printer, a slot to store the included keyboard, and even a backup battery, all to further facilitate its intended use as a Japanese business PC. From word processing to Point of Sale (POS) systems, a setup like this can do quite a lot in the office— the 15-inch, 1024 x 768 LCD screen is more than enough for those tasks.

The Toshiba Tec Jimucon SJ-9500 is outfitted with dual 240 GB SSDs— one for active use and the other seemingly for backup mirroring purposes, according to the original release. These specifications, combined with just 8 GB of RAM and even anunspecifiedCPU, point toward this PC being targeted at standard office work that PCs have been great at for decades rather than high-end video editing or cutting-edge graphics. This series of Toshiba Tec "Jimucon" PCs have been sold in Japan since 1982, so this model likely works well for them— and this unit's stated sales targets are relatively modest at an expected 1000 units per year.

The I/O includes 6 USB ports, a serial port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, and, most notably for a 15-inch light workstation PC, a DisplayPort to allow use of external monitors and six total USB ports—with two in the front for ease of access. The AIO also includes a fully functional DVD drive, and the touchscreen is even paired with a touch pen. The keyboard and dust covers are also included.

As admittedly niche as this AIO PC is, we have to admit it's cool to still see PCs in such specialized form factors made by companies like Toshiba. If designs like the Toshiba Jimucon SJ-9500 are popular, they could come to the States. Shipping them internationally would probably be expensive, though, considering each unit weighs about 50 pounds. Compact in size these setups may be, but lightweight they arenot.