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Commodore Amiga 1000

The Amiga 1000 was Commodore's first multimedia personal computer model.

Created by Jay Miner, who also created the Atari 800 years earlier, when he was already working at his company, he took out a loan from Atari to develop the new model, which he couldn't repay. Commodore then acquired Amiga Corp. and paid off the loan.

Technical specifications of computer Commodore Amiga 1000

Manufactured by: Commodore
Launched: 1985
Price: 1295 USD
Manufactured in USA
CPU: Motorola 68000 @ 7.09MHz
Memory: 256 KB ~ 8 MB
Support: Diskette 3½" DD
Hard drive: None
Operating system: AmigaOS 1.0

The Amiga stood out from the PCs of the time, which had low-resolution, color-blind displays, no sound system, and the MS-DOS command-line operating system.

High screen resolution and color gamut.
Great sound quality with four channels (2+2 stereo) for digital audio playback.
Advanced operating system. While the most common operating system on PCs was Microsoft's MS-DOS, which didn't offer multitasking and featured a black screen for entering text commands that the user needed to be familiar with, AmigaOS is a real-time operating system with preemptive multitasking and a graphical user environment.

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Contemporary computers of Commodore Amiga 1000

Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128K

Manufacturer: Sinclair
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 3.54 MHz

The implementation of the decree on tariffs on microcomputer imports, which imposed a tax of 5,800 pesetas on devices imported from the EEC, led Investronica (exclusive importer of the ZX Spectrum) to decide to manufacture them in Spain.

Dragon 200E

Manufacturer: Dragon
CPU: Motorola 6809 @ 0.9 MHz

A variant of the Dragon 200 modified specifically for the Spanish market, which expanded the ROM character set to include lowercase letters, letters specific to Spain such as ñ, ü, ç, and accented vowels, along with other symbols.
This was achieved at the expense of reverse video characters, since the original version of this computer only allowed capital letters.

Amstrad CPC 6128

Manufacturer: Amstrad
CPU: Z80A @ 4 MHz

Innovations: It replaced the typical tape media found on computers of the time with a single-sided 3" floppy disk drive, a format that no other major manufacturer would use.
The software on floppy disks usually had a version running in CP/M 2 on one side and a version for CP/M 3 on the other.

The model was initially launched in the United States (June 13, 1985) imported and distributed by Indescomp, Inc. of Chicago, and was the first Amstrad sold in North America, a hostile region for European computers.
Two months later (August 15, 1985), it entered the European market, replacing the CPC 664.
In Spain, it was distributed by Indescomp (later renamed Amstrad España, after its acquisition by the British manufacturer Amstrad Consumer PLC), with a keyboard that included the letter Ñ.
Aside from the British market, this same model was distributed by Awa (in Australia) and Schneider (in Germany).
Amstrad's split with Schneider led Schneider España to distribute the Schneider CPC 6126 in the Spanish market, with the keyboard and manuals in Spanish.

Amstrad CPC 472

Manufacturer: Amstrad
CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz

An Amstrad distributed by Indescomp (the brand's distributor in Spain, which would later become the subsidiary Amstrad Spain) exclusively for the Spanish market. It was identical to the CPC 464, but had a printed circuit board in the ROM socket that included an 8KB RAM chip, increasing the original CPC 464's memory from 64KB to 74KB, theoretically to accommodate the new commands and routines of the new BASIC 1.1 it incorporated.
But this was only a ruse to avoid the 15,000-peseta tariff that all microcomputers imported into Spain with 64KB or less of RAM had to pay starting in August 1985.
Subsequently, all computer keyboards sold in Spain were required to be adapted to Spanish, so the Ñ key had to be added to the computer, and the translated ROM version of BASIC 1.0 was used.
A few months later, Spain joined the European Economic Community, so the import tax had to be eliminated.
Amstrad then incorporated the Ñ key into the original CPC 464 model and stopped selling the CPC 472 model.

Xerox 6085 PCS

Manufacturer: Xerox
CPU: Xerox Mesa @ 8 MHz

Bull Micral 30

Manufacturer: Bull
CPU: Intel 8088 @ 4.77 MHz

Innovations: This computer was the first French IBM compatible PC-XT.

Tandy Portable 200

Manufacturer: Tandy
CPU:

Atari 65XE

Manufacturer: Atari
CPU: MOS Tecnology 6502 @ 1.79 MHz

A repackaged 800XL with a new case and keyboard.
The US and Canadian versions of the 65XE had no PBI or expansion ports.

The 65XE was called the 800XE in Germany and Czechoslovakia, to capitalize on the popularity of the 800XL model in Europe.

Its bigger brother, the 130XE, came with 128KiB of RAM and an Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI) instead of a PBI.

Commodore 128

Manufacturer: Commodore
CPU: MOS Tecnology 8502 @ 2 MHz

Commodore's last 8-bit computer, introduced three years after the successful Commodore 64, with which it was almost completely compatible.

It was intended to compete with the Apple Macintosh and the IBM PC.

The C128's principal hardware designer was Bill Herd.

Atari 130XE

Manufacturer: Atari
CPU: MOS Tecnology 6502 @ 1.79 MHz

The 130XE was the same as the 65XE, but came with 128KiB of RAM and an Enhanced Cartridge Interface (ECI) instead of a PBI.

Amstrad CPC 664

Manufacturer: Amstrad
Launched: Apr 1985
CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 4 MHz

Innovations: It replaced the tape media with a 3" floppy disk drive.

This was the logical evolution of the CPC 464 model.
But it had a short life, being replaced after six months by the CPC 6128, which had twice the RAM, allowing it to run programs that couldn't be run with the CPC 464's limited memory.

Atari ST

Manufacturer: Atari
Launched: Jun 1985
CPU: Motorola 68000 @ 8 MHz

Innovations: It was the first computer to include a color graphical interface (Digital Research's GEM), and its high resolution in monochrome mode made it ideal for desktop publishing and CAD.
It also included a MIDI interface, making it a common device in music studios.
It was also the first series of personal computers to include up to one megabyte of RAM from the factory.

The ST family (which stands for Sixteen/Thirty-two, referring to the internal and external bus of the Motorola 68000 processor it included) is the successor to the Atari 8-bit family.
It rivaled the Commodore Amiga and the Apple Macintosh, for which it was a cheaper alternative.

It included the 260, 520, 1040, and Mega models, which were released between 1985 and 1991.

Enterprise 64 | 128

Manufacturer: Enterprise
Launched: Jun 1985
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz

Innovations: It was capable of working with 256 colors and had a maximum resolution of 672x256 pixels (672x512 in interlaced mode):
The most commonly used modes were 672x512 pixels in two colors and 256x160 pixels with 16 colors. The 180x80 pixel mode allowed the use of all 256 colors.
It had three sound channels plus one for white noise.

At the height of the 8-bit home computer boom, Locumals, a Hong Kong company, decided to enter the newly emerging market, creating a computer that sought to overtake its competitors. It ended up being a resounding failure.
Despite having superior technical specifications, brands like Amstrad and Spectrum were already established in the market, which, combined with continuous delays in its release (two years after its introduction in 1983), spelled doom.
Only in Hungary, where the remnants of the production ended up after the closure, did it have any impact.
In Germany, it is known as the Mephisto PHC.

Amstrad PCW 8256

Manufacturer: Amstrad
Launched: Sep 1985
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz

Model of the first generation of the Amstrad PCW series of office-oriented computers, which came to replace the typewriter and the expensive proprietary word processors on the market, along with the 8512. Both were launched in 1985, and have no more differences than the RAM memory chips fixed in sockets and a second disk drive as standard in the 8512.

Amstrad PCW 8512

Manufacturer: Amstrad
Launched: Sep 1985
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz

This Amstrad PCW model was the superior version of the PCW 8256, both launched in 1985, and has no differences other than the RAM memory chips fixed in sockets and a second disk drive as standard on the 8512.

Tandy TRS-80 Model 4D

Manufacturer: Tandy
Launched: Oct 1985
CPU: Zilog Z80 @ 4 MHz

The Model 4D with the Deskmate Productivity Suite included was introduced in early 1985. It has a revised CPU board using faster gate array logic and includes the floppy disk controller and RS-232C circuitry, all on a single board.
It has two internal double-sided floppy disk drives and is the last model descended from the 1977 Model I.
It retailed for $1,199 upon its introduction in 1985.
During 1987-1988, retail stores removed the Model 4D from display, but it was available by special order until 1991.

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