"The Birth of the New Standard"
Introduced in August 1984 and discontinued in 1987, the IBM Personal Computer AT (model 5170) created a new standard in the computer market of the 1980s. Shortly after its release, it was vastly imitated by other PC manufacturers. Based on the 16-bit Intel 80286, the IBM AT offered many innovations such as EGA graphics, 16-bit expansion slots, and the 1.2MB 5.25" floppy disk drive. In April 1986, IBM upgraded the 5170 by replacing the 6 Mhz CPU with an 8 MHz 80286.
- The IBM AT sold more than 100,000 units
- It was initially sold for $6,000 ($16,700 in today's money)
"Atari's Line of Personal Computers"
Introduced in January 1987 and discontinued in 1990, the Atari PC line of computers was an attempt by Atari to enter the IBM PC-compatible market. Later in 1987, the first Atari PC became known as the Atari PC1, and in the same year, Atari released the PC2 with a larger case and 5 expansion slots. There were 3 more Atari PC models. The PC3 again with 8088, the PC4 with the 80286, and the PC5 with the 80386.
- The Atari PC1 was initially sold for $699 ($1,900 in today's money)
"Setting the Standards for the IT Industry"
Released in August 1981, the IBM Personal Computer was IBM’s first microcomputer and the hardware platform that created the standard for PC compatibles. The IBM PC used an open architecture and the PC-DOS from Microsoft. Later, in 1984, IBM released the considerably improved IBM AT based on 80286 and a 16-bit AT bus.
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
In the early 80s, IBM was already established as the leader in high-end business solutions by supplying mainframes to large corporations and governments.
"The Japanese Multimedia PC"
Manufactured by Fujitsu from early 1989 to 1997, FM Towns is a Japanese multimedia computer based on x86 Intel CPUs and a CD-ROM drive. The computer offered a 24-bit color palette, hardware graphics, and sound capabilities similar to an arcade system
- About 500,000 FM Towns were ever sold
- The initial price was 338,000 yen (something like $3,000 in today’s money)