Atari
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Atari 130XE
The 130XE was the successor to Atari's 800XL
model, costing
£170.
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Atari 400
Following the successful Atari 2600 games
console, Atari
announced two home computers in October 1980, the 400 and 800. The 400
was the cheaper of the two models, costing £395.
It is surprising to note that both machines
contained
custom graphics and I/O processors (ANTIC and POKEY respectively), a
design
feature rarely seen in most early machines.
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Atari 600XL
In June 1983 Atari announced a number of
machines set
to replace its 400 and 800 models. The 600XL (released in November
1983)
was the replacement for the 400, costing £159.
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Atari 800
The Atari 800 was the higher-end model of
Atari's first
foray into the home computer field. Announced in October 1980 along
with
the lower specification Atari 400, the 800's most notable difference
was
its full, typewriter keyboard.
It is surprising to note that both machines
contained
custom graphics and I/O processors (ANTIC and POKEY respectively), a
design
feature rarely seen in most early machines.
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Atari 800XL
The 800XL was the successor to Atari's earlier
800 model.
Released in November 1983, it cost £249.
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Atari ST
When introduced, the ST was often referred to
as Atari's
"Macintosh killer", a 16-bit computer with a graphical operating
environment (Digital Research's GEM) clearly aimed to compete with the
rather more expensive Apple Mac. The machine typically came as a bundle
containing the computer itself, a 360k 3½" floppy drive, mouse
and 12" monochrome monitor for £749. A 720k floppy drive and
colour monitor were also available.
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Atari STFM
The Atari STFM was the most popular of Atari's
16-bit
micros, available as either the 520STFM with 512KB RAM or the 1040STFM
with 1MB. Unlike its predecesors, the STFM contained a built in TV
modulator,
a 3½" disc drive (initially with a 360k capacity, but increased
to 720k on later models) and had both the operating system (TOS) and
the
graphical user interface (GEM) stored in ROM.
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Atari STM
The second model in the ST range, the STM was
virtually
identical to the original ST, but with a built-in TV modulator (but
still
with an external floppy drive.) The machine cost £400 when
released.
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Falcon
The Falcon was Atari's last machine in the ST
series.
Armed with more memory, a 32-bit processor and greatly improved
graphics
capability, the machine was designed to compete directly with the
Commodore
Amiga series of machines and the Apple Macintosh. Unfortunately the
machine
did not sell particularly well.
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Mega ST
Although Atari's ST range was selling well,
its styling
leaned more toward the home rather than the business market. In order
to
make the machine more appealing to business users, the Mega ST range
was
introduced. Basically the same as the other models, the main difference
was the use of a separate system unit and keyboard.
The machine was available in either 1MB or 4MB
models.
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Camputers
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Lynx-128
Released in March 1984, shortly before the
company's demise,
the Lynx-128 was the same as its predecessors, the Lynx-48 and Lynx-96,
but with more memory and a higher maximum graphics resolution. It cost
£399.95.
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Lynx-48
Released in March 1983 and costing £225,
Camputer's
Lynx was a very capable machine that sadly didn't sell in any great
numbers.
It could run CP/M (once the memory was upgraded) and came with a
structured
version of the BASIC language (albeit with the rather curious feature
that
allowed floating point line numbers).
Production of the Lynx was stopped in June
1984 when Camputers
went into liquidation.
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Lynx-96
Released in June 1983 and costing £299,
the Lynx-96
was the next model up from the 48k Lynx-48.
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Cano
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Canon V-20
Released in May 1984 at the price of
£280, the V-20
was Canon's MSX offering.
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Coleco
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Coleco Adam
Released in June 1983, the Adam was available
as either
a stand-alone computer or as an upgrade to the ColecoVision games
console.
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