Compucolor Corporation Advert - July 1977
From Byte - The Small Systems Journal
Now $2750 - America's lowest-priced personal computer system with color graphics
The Compucolor 8001 was an Intel 8080-based personal computer which upped the ante compared to other machines like the Cromemco and the IMSAI 8080 by having a real keyboard, 34 I/O ports and a colour display, when most other machines had this as only an optional extra.
It retailed for $2,750 or about £15,800 in 2024 terms.
It's also curious for what appears to be a fairly unique feature in having "continuous tape memory". This was a mass-storage device which stashed up to 1MB of data on to a continuous-loop 8-track tape - the chunky cartridge-style tapes popular in cars before being usurped by compact cassettes.
This was a generous amount in 1977, although high-density double-sided 8" floppies were offering capacities of a similar range.
Date created: 01 July 2012
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