Triumph-Adler Advert - May 1982

This computer doesn't seem to exist, or at least there doesn't seem to be any information on it, although ribbons for its printer still seem to be available.

Also available, according to the advert, were the TA 1610 - a "stand-alone interactive computer" - which retailed for £5,995 plus VAT - about £34,200 in 2026 - or the 1620 which could support up to four terminals for the bargain price of £8,495 - that's around £42,100 in 2026.

Both of these were pitched as "cheaper" solutions for businesses which didn't need the top-of-the-range system.

Evidence that Adler computers even existed, at least in 1980, in the form a photo of the Triumph Adler 1100C, installed with an enclosed printer, two floppy disk units and a screen/keyboard - all for £8,500, or £55,600 in 2026. From Personal Computer World, April 1980

It's interesting therefore to draw a comparison with Commodore, as both Commodore and Triumph-Adler - a German company originally, before it was bought by the US Royal Typewriter Company in 1969 - were originally manufacturers of typewriters, with the Triumph part of the merged T/A company even producing mechnical calcuators, as did Commodore.

Triumph-Adler went on to purchase Pertec, the disk drive company which had bought MITS a couple of years before. MITS was the company that launched the microcomputer industry with its Altair 8800 at the beginning of 1975.

In 1979, Volkswagen, somewhat improbably, purchased a majority stake in the Triumph/Royal typewriter group and in 1986 it was sold on to Italian typewriter/computer company Olivetti - the same company that had recently rescued Acorn from its financial difficulties.

The advert itself primarily refers to the 1630 system, which seems to be one of the popular-at-the-time micro systems whose job was to run a bunch of terminals, like the RAIR Business Computer or perhaps ICL's DRS 200.

It was unusual in seeming to offer only customised software that would be "specifically written by one of the finest teams of software specialists in the country".

The 1630's starting price of £25,300 including VAT is a not-inconsiderable £125,500 in 2026 money - and that's without any sofware.

Perhaps it's no wonder it didn't seem to do that well.

The 1630 and its siblings appeared about a year after the company's much more successful Alphatronic range of micros, which was launched in the spring of 1981.

This range continued until at least 1984, with the launch of the Alphatronic PC - a version aimed at the home market and based on the long-in-the-tooth Z80 processor.

This sold well in its home market of Germany, but at around £400 in the UK was up against the much better BBC Micro, and way above the price of micros like Sinclair's ZX Spectrum.