Keyboard Builders' Digest / Keyboard Spotting
Sony Hit-Bit HB-F1XD
The Sony Hit-Bit HB-F1XD is probably the coolest looking home computer ever made.
Published February 20, 2022
If you did your homework after my MSX post, this Sony Hit-Bit HB-F1XD shouldn't take you by surprise. I gave this a long look when doing my research on the HB-101 and already decided I'll cover this next when @HelicityBoson reacted to the HB-101 tweet showing off his mouthwatering HB-F1XD:
I am contractually obligated to show off my Hit Bit F1XD every time I see an msx post.
— Helicity Boson (@HelicityBoson) February 4, 2022
It's so very pretty pic.twitter.com/ryn7H3Q3Y5
Indeed, the HB-F1XD is probably one of the coolest looking home computers I've ever seen. More incredible, it was released back in 1987(?) – the available data is contradictory but ads started to appear in 1987. Regardless, the design language haven't lost its appeal during these 35 years.
(Source: MSX Magazine, November 1987)
A simple dark keyset? Pretty boring you might say, even with Hiragana sublegends. That was the feature of its predecessor, the HB-F1II. What about some more accents, like an FDD drive in dazzling red? Take that!
Later, there were dark grey (F1XDJ) and light grey/creme (F1XDmkII) versions made too:
(Source: ebay)
Still, personally, I think the red one is the most kick-ass colorway – by far:
(Source: ebay)
The yellow PAUSE button and some small red stickers here and there complete the line of accents. And there's also a mysterious red hardware RESET-button which allegedly hangs the computer when pressed… Hm. A must-have feature. Confused? Me too. Someone should elucidate me.
(As of @HelicityBoson's clarification, the described behavior is that of the Pause button. "If your game doesn't have a pause function you can just HANG THE MACHINE." Which makes sense.)
Anyway, as a clear sign of the target audience, the HB-F1XD sports two awesome sliders: a SPEED-CONTROLLER slider (slow-motion) and the majestically sounding REN-SHA-TURBO which is an auto-fire feature (for joysticks and spacebar alike).
(Source: Maikon BASIC, March 1988)
The Sony HB-F1XD is probably a good candidate for the Holy Grail title on any MSX freak's wish list. And despite the fact it was marketed exclusively in Japan, there are some Sony HB-F1XDs right now on your go-to marketplace for about $300.
More info and sources: msx.org, generation-msx.nl, MSX Magazine and old-computers.com.
Published on Sun 20th Feb 2022. Featured in KBD #66.
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