A rare Q1 Lite desktop Micro Computer,

circa 1980,

Footnotes

The Q1 Corporation in New York, owned by Daniel Alroy, was the first company to develop a complete, standalone, personal microcomputer system integrated with a screen, keyboard, printer and external floppy drives for the professional, industrial and consumer marked, with software. The first Q1 computer sold in December 1972, based on the Intel 8008 processor that was introduced on the marked only 8 months earlier, in April 1972. Daniel Alroy had an important role in the initial process of the development of the 8008. The logic design of 8008 was done by outside consultants Victor (Vic) D. Poor and Harry S. Pyle for Datapoint aiming to be implemented in the Datapoint 2200 that was under development at this time. In 1969 Datapoint asked Intel and Texas Instrument to create the large scale integration design of their logic design. Intel was not able to develop both the 4004 and 8008 at the same time, so Datapoint then asked Texas Instrument to develop chip. Texas Instrument encountered problems with development and production, which resulted in the Datapoint 2200 being made with logic circuits, not with a single chip processor - but still based on the 8008's logic design.

Daniel Alroy role here is important. When he became aware of the stalled 8008 project, he convinced Intel's CEO, Dr. Noyce, that they should take over and complete the implementation of the 8008 after finishing the 4004 project.
Daniel writes:
"I suggested that I might be the 8008's first customer. Dr. Noyce agreed to complete the development of the 8008 after first completing the 4-bit chip-set for Busicom. He added that Intel would need to obtain a release from Datapoint before the 8008 project could resume. I told Dr. Noyce that I would talk to Phil Ray, the president of Datapoint, about granting the needed release. I returned to San Antonio and met with Phil Ray, who agreed to provide Intel with the requested release."

The 8008 was released in April 1972 - and the first Q1 computer was ready for delivery only 8 months later, 11. December 1972. The first customer was Litcom Division of Litton Industries in Melville, Long Island.

The first generation 8008-based Q1 and Q1/c had a QWERTY keyboard, one-line 80-character display, built-in printer, and capability to interface with an under-desk floppy drive.
The second generation 1974 Q1/Lite ran on an Intel 8080, integrated two floppy drives into the computer's enclosure, and included an updated multi-line flat-panel plasma display. Around this time, a Q1 MicroLite was also introduced, incorporating the Lite's plasma display and printer but only one of its two floppy drives into an identical case. There also seems to have been a Q1 model with an enclosure, printer, and display identical to that of the second-generation Lite/MicroLite, but lacking both floppy drives; and yet another, with a slightly modified case, which lacked both the integrated printer and floppy drives entirely.
The third generation Q1/Lite system removed the integrated printer and floppy drives, kept the plasma display, and introduced a Zilog Z80 CPU and 16 KB of memory. At some point, a Q1 "Basic Office Machine" was also introduced, bearing resemblance to the third-generation Q1/Lite, but re-integrating a printer.