IMSAI Advert - February 1978
From Byte - The Small Systems Journal
IMSAI introduces the PCS-80/30 Integrated Video Computer
This looks a lot like the "portable" version of the Commodore 64 - the SX-64 - that would appear on the scene some seven years later, and as such was a similar early attempt, like the Osborne, at a luggable computer.
Like the SX-64, it featured an almost-useless 4" built-in screen, but ran an Intel 8080 at 3 MHz (even though the advert says 3 millihertz) on an S-100 bus.
It came with quite a lot of stuff for its $1,499 price tag, which was about £7,780 in 2025 terms.
In the UK, by early 1980, IMSAI seemed to have earned a reputation as a poisoned chalice as far as dealerships were concerned.
Guy Kewney, writing in February 1980's issue of Personal Computer World, mentioned that the closure of micro dealers Corner Store made it the third high-profile IMSAI dealer that had failed to make a profit handling that franchise[1].
This included the formerly-profitable Comart distribution chain, often seen in adverts of this era.
Date created: 01 July 2012
Last updated: 11 December 2024
Sources
Text and otherwise-uncredited photos © nosher.net 2025. Dollar/GBP conversions, where used, assume $1.50 to £1. "Now" prices are calculated dynamically using average RPI per year.
