HP 2640

The HP 2640A and other HP 264X models were block-mode "smart" and intelligent ASCII standard serial terminals. They were produced by Hewlett-Packard using the Intel 8008 and 8080 microprocessors. They never achieved the fame of the VT100 among programmers but included sophisticated features not found in theVT100, such as offline forms, multipages, and (some models) (in some models) looked vaguely like a microwave or toaster box. The 2640 series was discontinued in February 1977, but the 2640B remained in production until August 1981. The HP catalogs usually refer to the terminal model as simply "2640A" (both with a blank after the "HP"), or " 2640". The incorrect "HP2640" and " HP2640a" are often seen outside of HP. This is because it gave the character length as a punched card, which is still seen in the modern command window of a modern HP computer. It also determined that the combination of a 4:3 aspect ratio with the 80-character display that was standard at the time required the characters to have a very high profile.