Synertek was one of the suppliers of the 6502 processor, and the SYM-1 was intended as a chip evaluation board for hardware developers that were interested in programming and interfacing a 6502.

The SYM-1 was a single board computer. It had a hexadecimal display and a hex keypad for programs and data entry. It was originally called the VIM-1 until MOS Technology objected to the name.

It was actually quite a copy of the MOS KIM-1 offering same functionalities plus some enhanced features and connection capabilities, including a true serial RS232 interface instead of a 20mA current loop in the KIM. It also shared same I/O connectors with another 6502 development system - the Rockwell AIM-65

A ROM chip contained the hexadecimal monitor (written by Manny Lemas, the co-founder of Microcomputer Associates) as well as standard I/O routines. Several programming language and utility software were later released. Among them: RAE-1 (Resident Assembler and Editor), FORTH and various flavors of BASIC, of which a powerful single precision version that needed the use of a video terminal.

Like other evaluation boards of the times, the SYM-1 was delivered with a full set of documentations which covered all of the 6502 hardware and software capabilities.

It was reported to us that the Sym card also came in a 6809 version that supported Motorola compatibility.