Multitech Advert - May 1983

First launched in 1982, the Micro-Professor MPF II was Multitech Corportion's update to its earlier MPF1 machine, although this time it was aimed more at the home and Apple II market than at developers.

Because it was also an Apple II clone - at least at the software layer - it had also switched away from the previous Z80 CPU to MOS Technology's 6502 processor.

However, although much regular Apple software would work, there were differences in the video and keyboard memory mapping, meaning that Apple games wouldn't work.

Multitech seems to have got around this by either porting existing games or writing some of its own, as the advert nevertheless claims some 120 games were available.

The machine itself was housed in what Your Computer called an "unattractive" casing, which looks very similar to the modems the company became perhaps more famous for.

It included a Chiclet-style calculator keyboard, which apparently still managed to have a more positive feel than the rubber keys of Sinclair's Spectrum, one of its closer competitors.

In another Spectrum crossover, it was also possible to enter one-key BASIC commands with a Shift+Ctrl+key combination.

Its 12K BASIC was compatible with Applesoft BASIC, but it was unusual in also having Chinese-localised BASIC available, using the Dragon symbol system for input.

Tim Langdell's review in the October 1982 edition of Your Computer concluded that:

"The MPF-II offers excellent value at around £200. The fact that it is compatible with the Apple II means that an enormous amount of software is already available for it. It is the only £200 mirocomputer with true high-resolution colour graphics and offers a BASIC which until now is to be found only on machines as expensive as thenApple II or a BBC Micro. It would make an excellent training machine, especially with its good, built-in monitor, but also a good home computer for the games player or a low-cost computer for the small businessman. Clearly, anyone who has been attracted by the Apple's facilities but not by its price will seriously consider this micro as an inexpensive alternative^[1]".

Despite the positive reviews and its Apple II compatibility, sales of the £200 (about £850 in 2025) MPF-II in the UK appeared to be minimal^[2].