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    Acorn,  Acornsoft,  ACT/Apricot,  ACT/Computhink,  Aculab,  Advance,  Advance Memory Systems,  Ai Electronics,  Alpha Micro,  Altos,  Amstrad,  Apple,  Asda,  Atari,  BASF,  BCL,  Bendix,  Bondwell,  British Micro,  Bromcom,  Bywood,  C/WP-Cortex,  CAL,  Cambridge Computer,  Camputers,  Canon,  Casio,  Casu Electronics,  Cifer,  Climax International,  Coleco,  Columbia,  Comart,  Commodore,  Compaq,  Compucolor Corporation,  Compukit,  CompuServe,  Computer Facilities,  COMX,  Corvus,  Cromemco,  Cyber Electronics,  DAI,  Data General,  Dataindustrier/Luxor,  Dell,  Digital,  Digital Group,  Digital Research,  Dragon Data,  Durango,  Dynabyte,  EACA/Genie,  ECD,  Elliott,  Enterprise/Elan,  Epson,  Equinox/Parasitic,  Euro-Calc/Plessey,  Exidy,  Ferranti,  Fortronic,  Fortune,  Franklin,  Fujitsu,  Future,  GEC,  Gemini Micro,  Globe Business Machines,  Goldstar,  Goupil,  Gulfstream/Bytec,  Hayes,  Haywood,  Heathkit,  Hewlett-Packard,  HH,  Hitachi,  Hotel Microsystems,  Iasis,  IBM,  ICL,  Imagine,  IMSAI,  Intel,  Intertec,  IO Research,  Iotec,  ITCS,  Ithaca InterSystems,  ITT,  Jarogate,  Jupiter Cantab,  Kaypro,  Laskys,  Limrose,  LSI,  Mattel,  Memotech,  Metacomco,  MicroDaSys,  Micromation,  Micronet,  Micronix,  Microsoft,  Microtanic, Midwest Scientific Instruments (MSI),  Miracle Technology,  Mission,  MITS,  Mitsubishi,  Morrow Designs,  MOS Technology,  Multitech,  Namal,  Nascom/Lucas,  NCR,  NEC,  Netronics,  Newbury Laboratories,  Newbury/Grundy,  Newtons Laboratories,  North Star,  Noval,  Novation,  Ohio Scientific,  OKI,  Olivetti,  Olympia,  Onyx,  Opus,  Orb Micro,  Oric,  Osborne,  Pace,  Panasonic,  Pearcom,  PerSci,  Philips,  Polymorphic,  Portico,  Prism,  Processor Technology,  Psion,  Quantum,  Qume,  RAIR,  Rank Xerox,  RCA,  Research Machines,  Rockwell,  Sanyo,  Schneider,  Scicon,  Seiko,  Semi-Tech/Pied Piper,  Sharp,  Shelton,  Shugart,  Sinclair,  Sirius/Victor,  Smoke Signal,  Sord/CGL,  Soroc,  Space Byte,  Spectravideo,  SWTPC,  Tandata,  Tandon,  Tandy/Radio Shack,  Tangerine,  Tatung,  Tava,  TDI/Sage,  Telcon/Zorba,  TeleVideo,  Texas Instruments,  TLF,  Torch,  Toshiba,  Toyo Menka,  Transam,  Transtec,  Triumph-Adler,  Tulip/Compudata,  Tycom,  U-Micro,  Vector Graphic,  Victor,  VisiCorp,  Wang,  Wells American,  Wicat,  Wren Computers,  Xcalibur,  Yamaha,  Zen,  Zenith Data Systems,  Zilog

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A history of the microcomputer industry in 300 adverts

adverts home | a-z index | industry connections | timelines | by year | next 15 adverts | previous 15 adverts

Zenith Data Systems advert thumbnail

Zenith Data Systems

August 1980

The profesionals - Zenith Data Systems

Only months after Zenith had purchased the Heath Company from Schlumberger - forming Zenith Data System - comes this advert for a terminal and two micros. Actually, the Z89 micro...

Apple advert thumbnail

Apple

8th December 1983

Now we've removed the biggest obstacle between you and the famous Apple IIe

This is a curious and apparently one-off advert from Apple positioning the Apple IIe as part of a Professional Home Computer Package. It's also possibly the only Apple advert that...

Epson advert thumbnail

Epson

July 1988

The 3 best takeaways of all time

Here's an amusing advert from Epson for its "PC Portable", otherwise known as the Q150A, which was launched at the beginning of 1988 - with the hard-disk version being launched in...

Amstrad advert thumbnail

Amstrad

March 1987

How much computer can you buy for £450?

It's another advert for Amstrad's PC 1512, this time featuring a nice bit of analogue Photoshopping showing competitors' micros chopped up to represent how much you could get for ...

Intertec advert thumbnail

Intertec

October 1982

SuperBrain II: Summa Cum Laude!

This advert appears to be about the only one that Intertec ever did itself that actually features its SuperBrain micro, which was fairly omnipresent from its launch in 1979 and fo...

TeleVideo advert thumbnail

TeleVideo

August 1986

Introducing the TeleCAT-286. AT performance for £2695 complete.

TeleVideo - the terminals company founded in San Jose, California, in 1975 - was one of relatively few companies from that era which survived through the era of the IBM PC and bey...

TeleVideo advert thumbnail

TeleVideo

May 1982

To become the leader in terminals, Televideo had to give you more

TeleVideo was one of several companies - like Intertec - that had started out as terminal manufacturers, in its case in 1975. However unlike most other manufacturers from the 197...

VisiCorp advert thumbnail

VisiCorp

May 1982

That's it! The VisiSeries from VisiCorp

Any history of the early microcomputer industry would not be complete without a mention of VisiCalc - the first ever "killer app". Not only did VisiCalc create an entirely new ca...

ACT/Apricot advert thumbnail

ACT/Apricot

May 1988

Above all else, there is Apricot

This advert from Apricot shows the company clearly aiming at the Desktop Publishing market that Apple was coming to own since the 1985 release of Aldus Pagemaker, and Apple's even...

Cambridge Computer advert thumbnail

Cambridge Computer

August 1990

Now you can write 450 A4 pages into an A4-size computer

It's over three years since the launch of Clive Sinclair's Z88 portable computer, and not much has changed, except that the price is finally back to its original launch price of £...

Cambridge Computer advert thumbnail

Cambridge Computer

March 1988

A new kind of computer to revolutionise the way you work

Here's a nice advert ticking all the mobile-worker cliché boxes, not least the one of the dude on the train who's actually lucky enough to get a group of four seats all to himself...

Psion advert thumbnail

Psion

November 1989

Psion MC400

Launched in 1989, the Psion MC 400 - for Mobile Computer - was Psion's first entry into the nascent "netbook" market. Although based on a CMOS version of Intel's 8086 - the 80C86 ...

Psion advert thumbnail

Psion

December 1991

If only all personal computers were this big

The Psion Series 3 - launched in 1991 - was an update of the popular Organiser II (itself an update of the original Organiser), which by 1989 had sold a combined 300,000 and prope...

Ohio Scientific advert thumbnail

Ohio Scientific

July 1977

Announcing a computer that thinks in BASIC for only $298

Ohio Scientific seemed to only ever advertise variations of its Challenger series of sometimes-fridge-sized microcomputers, however here is the exception that proves the rule - th...

Sord/CGL advert thumbnail

Sord/CGL

November 1982

PIPS: We've cracked the BASIC problem

Sord seems to be advertising in reverse as it's starting out advertising software before any of its actual hardware, but that's probably because this is really an advert for poten...

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