Olivetti Envision


The Olivetti Envision was an Italian multimedia personal computer produced in 1995. It came with a choice of two processors: Intel 486 DX4 100 MHz or Intel Pentium P75.
It had an infrared keyboard and internal modem, and it was compatible with audio CDs, CD-ROMs, Photo CDs and Video CDs. Preinstalled software allowed the computer to work as a fax or answering machine when connected to a telephone line.
The Envision had three possible operating modes:
  • Simple ;
  • Intermediate ;
  • Advanced.
Designed by M. De Lucchi, the declared goal for this device was to convince non-computer-savvy people that computers were not impossibly hard to use and could be bought and used like normal home appliances. For this reason, it was intentionally designed to resemble a videocassette recorder more than a computer, and it was equipped with two SCART sockets, a TV-like remote control, and a slot that could host a satellite TV decoder card.
The Olivetti Envision was discontinued in 1996 due to poor sales caused by its excessive price, many software bugs and limited expandability.

Technical specifications

Sources:CPU: Intel 486 DX4 @ 100 MHz or Intel Pentium @ 75 MHzRAM: 8 MBGraphics: Trident TGV9470 Resolutions: 1024 x 768 with 256 colors, 800 x 600 with 65,536 colors Audio: Crystal Semiconductor Corporation CS4231 + Oak Mozart OTI 605 Connectors: 3 expansion slots, 2 SCART, audio out, MIDI, VGA out, serial, parallel, modemStorage: 1.4 MB 3.5” floppy disk; 635 MB hard disk, CD-ROM driveKeyboard: 83 keys infrared keyboard