When Did Intel Introduce the First Commercial Processor?

The Intel 4004, released in 1971, was the world's first commercial processor available for purchase as an individual product, and it was one of the company's first steps toward becoming the empire that it is today. Although the 4004 had a fraction of the power found in today's processors, it was a tiny chip that could do as much work as a computer that just a few decades prior would have filled an entire room.

Background

Before designing the first commercial processor, Intel was a company that focused on the production of memory chips. Their intention in creating the 4004 was not to convert Intel into a processor company, but rather to use the 4004 as a means of selling more of its companion products, the 4001, 4002, and 4003. Both the 4001 and 4002 were memory chips.

Designers

The engineers who designed the Intel 4004 were Marcian Hoff, Federico Faggin, Stan Mazor, and Masatoshi Shima. Faggin would go on to found processor company Zilog, which became famous for its Z80 processor. The Z80 is still in production today, more than 30 years after its release.

Sales Model

Intel's model for selling the 4004 was particularly effective, as it allowed the company to market it to other buyers in spite of the fact that it was designed for a specific customer. Masatoshi Shima, then an employee of Japanese manufacturer Busicom, had approached Intel about designing the chips for its new line of calculators. Intel offered to sell the chips to Busicom at a reduced price with the provision that Intel could then market them to other companies for products other than calculators. Busicom agreed, and the 4004 along with its companion chips were sold to the public.

Specifications

Being the first commercial processor, the Intel 4004 was a revolution at the time. However, looking at its specifications underscores how far the processor industry has progressed since then. The maximum speed reached by the 4004 was just 750 KHz. In contrast, today's processors regularly exceed 3 GHz in speed--that's 3 million KHz.

Legacy

Sales of the 4004 were strong enough for Intel to continue refining its processor designs. Intel's next major milestone could occur in 1974 with the release of the 8080 processor, which built upon the 4004's accomplishments. The 8080 was used in the world's personal computer, the Altair 8800. The 4004 was produced until 1981, and is popular with collectors today.

References

• Antique Chip Collectors: Intel 4004
• Intel's First Microprocessor: the Intel 4004
• Intel 4004 Fun Facts