appliance computer

plural appliance computers

1. datedcomputingA computer sold to consumers as a unit ready to be switched on and used, rather than a kit for self-assembly.

   While consumer computers offer color graphics, joysticks, and other video game spinoffs, their computational ability is not nearly as powerful as that of some similarly priced appliance computers.

   1988, Random House Value Publishing, Home Computers, →ISBN, page 53

   1 more example

   While the MK14 was providing British enthusiasts with an affordable way to explore microprocessors, the first “appliance computers,” the Commodore PET2001 and Apple II, were being released in the USA.

   2014, Gerard Alberts, Ruth Oldenziel, Hacking Europe: From Computer Cultures to Demoscenes, page 53