Amstrad
Encyclopedia
Amstrad is a British electronics company, now wholly owned by BSkyB. As of 2006, Amstrad's main business is manufacturing Sky Digital
interactive boxes.
Amstrad was founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar
. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had a substantial share of the PC market in the UK. Amstrad was once a FTSE 100 Index
constituent but is now wholly owned by BSkyB.
The company is based in Brentwood, Essex
.
technologies. Lower prices were achieved by injection moulding
plastic hi-fi turntable covers, undercutting competitors who used the vacuum forming
process.
Amstrad expanded to the marketing of low cost, low quality audio amplifier
s and tuner
s, imported from the far east and badged with the Amstrad name for the UK market.
In 1980, Amstrad went public trading on the London Stock Exchange
, and doubled in size each year during the early '80s. Amstrad began marketing their own home computer
s in an attempt to capture the market from Commodore
and Sinclair
, with the Amstrad CPC
range in 1984. The CPC 464 was launched in the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Italy. It was followed by the CPC 664 and CPC 6128 models. Later "Plus" variants of the 464 and 6128, launched in 1990, increased their functionality slightly.
In 1985, the popular Amstrad PCW
range was introduced, which were principally word processor
s, complete with printer, running the LocoScript
word processing program. They were also capable of running the CP/M
operating system. The Amsoft
division of Amstrad was set up to provide in-house software and consumables.
On 7 April 1986 Amstrad announced it had bought from Sinclair Research "...the worldwide rights to sell and manufacture all existing and future Sinclair computers and computer products, together with the Sinclair brand name and those intellectual property rights where they relate to computers and computer related products." which included the ZX Spectrum
, for £5 million. This included Sinclair's unsold stock of Sinclair QL
s and Spectrums. Amstrad made more than £5 million on selling these surplus machines alone. Amstrad launched two new variants of the Spectrum: the ZX Spectrum +2, based on the ZX Spectrum 128, with a built-in tape drive (like the CPC 464) and, the following year, the ZX Spectrum +3, with a built-in floppy disk
drive (similar to the CPC 664 and 6128), taking the 3" disks that many Amstrad machines used.
The company produced a range of affordable MS-DOS
-based, but with the GEM graphics interface, and later Windows
-based personal computers
, the first of which was the PC1512, priced at £399 in 1986. It was a success, capturing more than 25% of the European computer market. In 1988 Amstrad attempted to make the first affordable portable personal computer with the PPC512 and 640
models, introduced a year before the Macintosh Portable
. They ran MS-DOS
on an 8 MHz processor, and the built-in screen could emulate the Monochrome Display Adapter
or Color Graphics Adapter
. Amstrad's final (and ill-fated) attempts to exploit the Sinclair brand were based on the company's own PCs; a compact desktop PC derived from the PPC 512, branded as the Sinclair PC200, and the PC1512 rebadged as the Sinclair PC500.
Amstrad's second generation of PCs, the PC2000 series, were launched in 1989. However,
due to a problem with the Seagate
ST277R hard disk shipped with the PC2386 model, these had to be recalled and fitted with Western Digital
controllers. Amstrad later successfully sued Seagate, but following bad press over the hard disk problems, Amstrad lost its lead in the European PC market.
s. In 1990, Amstrad tried to enter the video game console
market with the Amstrad GX4000
, similar to what Commodore
did at the same time with the C64 GS
. The console, based on the Amstrad 464 Plus hardware, was a commercial failure, because it used 8-bit technology unlike the 16-bit Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
.
In 1993, Amstrad was licenced by Sega
to produce a system which was similar to the Sega TeraDrive
, going by the name of the Amstrad Mega PC
, to try and regain their image in the gaming market. The system didn't succeed as well as expected, mostly due to its high initial retail price of £599. In that same year, Amstrad released the PenPad
, a PDA
similar to the Apple Newton
, and released only weeks before it. It was a commercial failure, and had several technical and usability problems. It lacked most features that the Apple Newton included, but had a lower price at $450.
As Amstrad began to concentrate less on computers and more in communication, they purchased several telecommunications businesses including Betacom
, Dancall Telecom, Viglen Computers
and Dataflex Design Communications during the early 1990s. Amstrad has been a major supplier of set top boxes to UK satellite TV provider Sky
since its launch in 1989. Amstrad was key to the introduction of Sky, as it was the only manufacturer producing receiver boxes and dishes at the system's launch, and has continued to manufacture set top boxes for Sky, from analogue to digital and now including Sky's Sky+
digital video recorder
.
In 1997, Amstrad PLC was wound up, its shares being split into Viglen and Betacom instead. Betacom PLC was then renamed Amstrad PLC.
The same year, Amstrad supplied set top boxes to Australian broadcaster Foxtel
, and in 2004 to Italian broadcaster Sky Italia
.
and e-mail
devices, called the E-m@iler. This was followed by the E-m@iler Plus in 2002, and the E3 Videophone in 2004. Amstrad’s UK E-m@iler business is operated through a separate company, Amserve Ltd which is 89.8% owned by Amstrad and 10.2% owned by DSG International plc (formerly Dixons
plc).
Amstrad has also produced a variety of home entertainment products over their history, including hi-fi, televisions, VCRs
, and DVD
players. Recently, Amstrad has also started producing animatronic Alan Sugar heads.
Sugar commented that he wished to play a part in the business, saying: “I turn 60 this year and I have had 40 years of hustling in the business, but now I have to start thinking about my team of loyal staff, many of whom have been with me for many years.”
and reopened in 2010 as a Premier Inn hotel.
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
interactive boxes.
Amstrad was founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar
Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstrad had a substantial share of the PC market in the UK. Amstrad was once a FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
constituent but is now wholly owned by BSkyB.
The company is based in Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town and the principal settlement of the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the east of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, 20 miles east north-east of Charing Cross in London, and near the M25 motorway....
.
1960s and 1970s
Amstrad was founded in 1968 by Lord Sugar. Amstrad entered the market in the field of consumer electronics. During the 1970s they were at the forefront of low-priced hi-fi, TV and car stereo cassetteCompact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
technologies. Lower prices were achieved by injection moulding
Injection moulding
Injection molding is a manufacturing process for producing parts from both thermoplastic and thermosetting plastic materials. Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity...
plastic hi-fi turntable covers, undercutting competitors who used the vacuum forming
Vacuum forming
Vacuum forming, commonly known as vacuuforming, is a simplified version of thermoforming, whereby a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto or into a single-surface mold , and held against the mold by applying vacuum between the mold surface and the sheet.The vacuum...
process.
Amstrad expanded to the marketing of low cost, low quality audio amplifier
Audio amplifier
An audio amplifier is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power audio signals to a level suitable for driving loudspeakers and is the final stage in a typical audio playback chain.The preceding stages in such a chain are low power audio amplifiers which perform tasks like pre-amplification,...
s and tuner
Tuner
Tuner may refer to someone or something which adjusts or configures a mechanical, electronic, or musical device.- Electronic :* Antenna tuner, a device to adjust the resonance frequency of an antenna or transmission line...
s, imported from the far east and badged with the Amstrad name for the UK market.
1980s
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
, and doubled in size each year during the early '80s. Amstrad began marketing their own home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
s in an attempt to capture the market from Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
and Sinclair
Sinclair Research Ltd
Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. Originally incorporated in 1973 as Ablesdeal Ltd., it remained dormant until 1976, and did not adopt the name Sinclair Research until 1981....
, with the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
range in 1984. The CPC 464 was launched in the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain and Italy. It was followed by the CPC 664 and CPC 6128 models. Later "Plus" variants of the 464 and 6128, launched in 1990, increased their functionality slightly.
Amstrad PCW
The Amstrad PCW series was a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. When it was launched, the cost of a PCW system was...
range was introduced, which were principally word processor
Word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
s, complete with printer, running the LocoScript
LocoScript
thumb|right|400px|The opening Disc Management screen in LocoScript 1.40. The "hidden files" are the LocoScript software.The word processing software package LocoScript by Locomotive Software was introduced as one of the programs bundled with the Amstrad PCW, a personal computer launched in 1985...
word processing program. They were also capable of running the CP/M
CP/M
CP/M was a mass-market operating system created for Intel 8080/85 based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc...
operating system. The Amsoft
Amsoft
Amsoft was a wholly owned subsidiary of Amstrad, PLC, founded in 1984 and re-integrated with its parent company in 1989. Its purpose was to provide an initial infrastructure of software and services for users of Amstrad's range of home computers, the Amstrad CPC and, from 1986, the Sinclair ZX...
division of Amstrad was set up to provide in-house software and consumables.
On 7 April 1986 Amstrad announced it had bought from Sinclair Research "...the worldwide rights to sell and manufacture all existing and future Sinclair computers and computer products, together with the Sinclair brand name and those intellectual property rights where they relate to computers and computer related products." which included the ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, for £5 million. This included Sinclair's unsold stock of Sinclair QL
Sinclair QL
The Sinclair QL , was a personal computer launched by Sinclair Research in 1984, as the successor to the Sinclair ZX Spectrum...
s and Spectrums. Amstrad made more than £5 million on selling these surplus machines alone. Amstrad launched two new variants of the Spectrum: the ZX Spectrum +2, based on the ZX Spectrum 128, with a built-in tape drive (like the CPC 464) and, the following year, the ZX Spectrum +3, with a built-in floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
drive (similar to the CPC 664 and 6128), taking the 3" disks that many Amstrad machines used.
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
-based, but with the GEM graphics interface, and later Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
-based personal computers
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, the first of which was the PC1512, priced at £399 in 1986. It was a success, capturing more than 25% of the European computer market. In 1988 Amstrad attempted to make the first affordable portable personal computer with the PPC512 and 640
PPC 512
The Amstrad PPC512 and Amstrad PPC640 were the first portable IBM PC compatible computers made by Amstrad. They were a development of the desktop PC-1512 and PC-1640 models. As portable computers, they contained all the elements necessary to perform computing on the move...
models, introduced a year before the Macintosh Portable
Macintosh Portable
The Macintosh Portable was Apple Inc.'s first attempt at making a battery-powered portable Macintosh personal computer that held the power of a desktop Macintosh...
. They ran MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
on an 8 MHz processor, and the built-in screen could emulate the Monochrome Display Adapter
Monochrome Display Adapter
The Monochrome Display Adapter introduced in 1981 was IBM's standard video display card and computer display standard for the PC. The MDA did not have any pixel-addressable graphics modes...
or Color Graphics Adapter
Color Graphics Adapter
The Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
. Amstrad's final (and ill-fated) attempts to exploit the Sinclair brand were based on the company's own PCs; a compact desktop PC derived from the PPC 512, branded as the Sinclair PC200, and the PC1512 rebadged as the Sinclair PC500.
due to a problem with the Seagate
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
ST277R hard disk shipped with the PC2386 model, these had to be recalled and fitted with Western Digital
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world. It has a long history in the electronics industry as an integrated circuit maker and a storage products company. Western Digital was founded on April 23, 1970 by Alvin B...
controllers. Amstrad later successfully sued Seagate, but following bad press over the hard disk problems, Amstrad lost its lead in the European PC market.
1990s
In the early 1990s, Amstrad began to focus on portable computers rather than desktop computerDesktop computer
A desktop computer is a personal computer in a form intended for regular use at a single location, as opposed to a mobile laptop or portable computer. Early desktop computers are designed to lay flat on the desk, while modern towers stand upright...
s. In 1990, Amstrad tried to enter the video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
market with the Amstrad GX4000
Amstrad GX4000
The GX4000 was Amstrad's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was based on the still-popular CPC technology. The GX4000 was actually a modified CPC 6128 Plus computer...
, similar to what Commodore
Commodore International
Commodore is the commonly used name for Commodore Business Machines , the U.S.-based home computer manufacturer and electronics manufacturer headquartered in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which also housed Commodore's corporate parent company, Commodore International Limited...
did at the same time with the C64 GS
Commodore 64 Games System
The Commodore 64 Games System was the cartridge-based game console version of the popular Commodore 64 home computer. It was released by Commodore in December 1990 as a competitor in the booming console market...
. The console, based on the Amstrad 464 Plus hardware, was a commercial failure, because it used 8-bit technology unlike the 16-bit Mega Drive and Super Nintendo
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
.
In 1993, Amstrad was licenced by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
to produce a system which was similar to the Sega TeraDrive
Sega TeraDrive
The TeraDrive was a 16-bit PC with an integrated Mega Drive, manufactured by IBM for Sega. The system was only released in Japan, as Sega was hopeful that by integrating its then popular Mega Drive console into an IBM PC would be an attraction for potential customers wishing to purchase a PC. The...
, going by the name of the Amstrad Mega PC
Amstrad Mega PC
The Mega PC was manufactured and released by Amstrad in 1993 under licence from Sega. It was similar, but unrelated to the Sega TeraDrive. Essentially just a standard Amstrad PC with Sega Mega Drive hardware bundled inside, the system was wired to share the dual-sync monitor and speakers, with the...
, to try and regain their image in the gaming market. The system didn't succeed as well as expected, mostly due to its high initial retail price of £599. In that same year, Amstrad released the PenPad
PenPad
The term PenPad was used as a product name for a number of Pen computing products by different companies in the 1980s and 1990s. The earliest was the Penpad series of products by Pencept, such as the PenPad M200 handwriting terminal, and the PenPad M320 handwriting/gesture recognition tablet for...
, a PDA
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
similar to the Apple Newton
Apple Newton
The MessagePad was the first series of personal digital assistant devices developed by Apple for the Newton platform in 1993. Some electronic engineering and the manufacture of Apple's MessagePad devices was done in Japan by the Sharp Corporation...
, and released only weeks before it. It was a commercial failure, and had several technical and usability problems. It lacked most features that the Apple Newton included, but had a lower price at $450.
As Amstrad began to concentrate less on computers and more in communication, they purchased several telecommunications businesses including Betacom
Betacom
Founded in 1966, Betacom is an electronics company specialising in audio and visual products. In 1992 Sir Alan Sugar's Amstrad purchased a 29.9% stake in the company from Canon Street Investments PLC. A rights issue and subscription increased Amstrad's shareholding in Betacom to 71.3%...
, Dancall Telecom, Viglen Computers
Viglen
Viglen Ltd provides IT products and services, including storage systems, servers, workstations and data/voice communications equipment and services.- History :...
and Dataflex Design Communications during the early 1990s. Amstrad has been a major supplier of set top boxes to UK satellite TV provider Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
since its launch in 1989. Amstrad was key to the introduction of Sky, as it was the only manufacturer producing receiver boxes and dishes at the system's launch, and has continued to manufacture set top boxes for Sky, from analogue to digital and now including Sky's Sky+
Sky+
Sky+, or Sky Plus, is a personal video recorder service for Sky in the UK. Launched in September 2001, it allows the user to record, pause and instantly rewind live TV. The system performs these functions using an internal hard drive inside the Sky+ set top box...
digital video recorder
Digital video recorder
A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...
.
In 1997, Amstrad PLC was wound up, its shares being split into Viglen and Betacom instead. Betacom PLC was then renamed Amstrad PLC.
The same year, Amstrad supplied set top boxes to Australian broadcaster Foxtel
Foxtel
Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....
, and in 2004 to Italian broadcaster Sky Italia
Sky Italia
Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together...
.
Recent times
In 2000, Amstrad released the first of its combined telephonyTelephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
and e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
devices, called the E-m@iler. This was followed by the E-m@iler Plus in 2002, and the E3 Videophone in 2004. Amstrad’s UK E-m@iler business is operated through a separate company, Amserve Ltd which is 89.8% owned by Amstrad and 10.2% owned by DSG International plc (formerly Dixons
Dixons
Dixons is an online retailer in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is owned by Dixons Retail plc.With its origins in a photographic shop opened by Charles Kalms, the chain had a store in most towns and cities across the UK and Ireland...
plc).
Amstrad has also produced a variety of home entertainment products over their history, including hi-fi, televisions, VCRs
Video recorder
A video recorder may be any of several related devices:*Digital video recorder ; Personal video recorder *DVD recorder*Videocassette recorder *Video tape recorder...
, and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
players. Recently, Amstrad has also started producing animatronic Alan Sugar heads.
BSkyB takeover
In July 2007, BSkyB announced a takeover of Amstrad for £125m, a 23.7% premium on its market capitalisation. BSkyB had been a major client of Amstrad, accounting for 75% of sales for its 'set top box' business. Having supplied BSkyB with hardware since its inception in 1988, market analysts had noted the two companies becoming increasingly close in recent years.Sugar commented that he wished to play a part in the business, saying: “I turn 60 this year and I have had 40 years of hustling in the business, but now I have to start thinking about my team of loyal staff, many of whom have been with me for many years.”
2008
It was announced on 2 July 2008 that Sugar had stepped down as Chairman of Amstrad, which had been planned since BSkyB took over in 2007. The former Amstrad headquarters building in Brentwood was subsequently sold by Sugar's property arm AmspropAmsprop
Amsprop is the property company of Alan Sugar. Amsprop now holds the majority of Sugar's £800 million wealth and owns several office building freeholds in Mayfair and other parts of London...
and reopened in 2010 as a Premier Inn hotel.
Home computers
- CPC464 (64 KBKilobyteThe kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
RAM, cassette drive) - CPC472 (same as CPC464 but with 72 KB instead of 64 KB)
- CPC664 (3 inch internal disk variant of CPC464)
- CPC6128 (128 KB version of the CPC664 with 3 inch disk)
- 464 Plus (CPC464 with enhanced graphics and sound)
- 6128 Plus (CPC6128 with enhanced graphics and sound)
- GX4000Amstrad GX4000The GX4000 was Amstrad's short-lived attempt to enter the games console market. The console was released in Europe in 1990 and was based on the still-popular CPC technology. The GX4000 was actually a modified CPC 6128 Plus computer...
(games console based on 464 Plus) - Sinclair ZX SpectrumZX SpectrumThe ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
+2 (Re-engineered ZX Spectrum 128 with tape drive) - Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3 (as ZX Spectrum +2 but with 3 inch disk drive instead of tape drive)
Word processors
- PCW8256Amstrad PCWThe Amstrad PCW series was a range of personal computers produced by British company Amstrad from 1985 to 1998, and also sold under licence in Europe as the "Joyce" by the German electronics company Schneider in the early years of the series' life. When it was launched, the cost of a PCW system was...
(Z80, 3.5 MHz, 256 KB RAM, single 180 KB 3" floppy drive, dot-matrix printer, green screen) - PCW8512 (same as PCW8256 but with 512 KB RAM, 180 KB 3" A: drive, 720 KB 3" B: drive)
- PCW9512 (Z80, 3.5 MHz, 512 KB RAM, single or dual 720 KB 3" floppy drives, daisywheel printer, "paper white" screen)
- PcW9256 (Z80, 3.5 MHz, 256 KB RAM, single 720 KB 3.5" floppy drive, dot-matrix printer, "paper white" screen)
- PcW9512+ (same as PCW9512 but with single 3.5" 720 KB floppy drive)
- PcW10 (same as PcW9256 but with 512 KB RAM and a built-in parallel port)
- PcW16 (Z80, 16 MHz, single 1.44 MB 3.5" floppy drive, new machine not directly compatible with old PCWs)
Notepad computers
- NC100Amstrad NC100The Amstrad NC100 was an A4-size, portable Z80-based computer, released by Amstrad in 1992. It featured 64 KB of RAM, the Protext word processor, various organiser-like facilities , a simple calculator, and a version of BBC BASIC.Its screen was small, eight rows by 80 columns, and not backlit, but...
(Z80, 64 KB RAM, 80×8 character LCD) - NC150 (NC100 with 128 KB RAM, floppy disk interface and NC200 firmware — sold in France and Italy)
- NC200 (Z80, 128 KB RAM, adjustable 80×16 character LCD, 3.5 in floppy disk drive)
PC compatibles
- PC1512 (Intel 8086Intel 8086The 8086 is a 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and mid-1978, when it was released. The 8086 gave rise to the x86 architecture of Intel's future processors...
, 8 MHz, 512 KB RAM, CGAColor Graphics AdapterThe Color Graphics Adapter , originally also called the Color/Graphics Adapter or IBM Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter, introduced in 1981, was IBM's first color graphics card, and the first color computer display standard for the IBM PC....
graphics) - Marketed in the United States as the PC5120 - PC1640 (Intel 8086, 8 MHz, 640 KB RAM, MDAMonochrome Display AdapterThe Monochrome Display Adapter introduced in 1981 was IBM's standard video display card and computer display standard for the PC. The MDA did not have any pixel-addressable graphics modes...
/HerculesHercules Graphics CardThe Hercules Graphics Card was a computer graphics controller made by Hercules Computer Technology, Inc. which, through its popularity, became a widely supported display standard. It was common on IBM PC compatibles connected to a monochrome monitor . It supported one high resolution text mode and...
/CGA/EGAEnhanced Graphics AdapterThe Enhanced Graphics Adapter is the IBM PC computer display standard specification which is between CGA and VGA in terms of color and space resolution. Introduced in October 1984 by IBM shortly after its new PC/AT, EGA produces a display of 16 simultaneous colors from a palette of 64 at a...
colour graphics) - Marketed in the United States as the PC6400 - PPC512 (Portable using NEC V30 processor, 512 KB RAM, non-backlit supertwist CGA, one or two 720 KB 3.5" floppy drives) - released around the same time as the PC1512.
- PPC640 (Portable using NEC V30 processor, 640 KB RAM, non-backlit supertwist CGA, one or two 720 KB 3.5" floppy drives, internal modemModemA modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
) - released around the same time as the PC1640. - Sinclair PC200 (integral desktop PC for home computer market based on PPC512)
- PC-20 the Australian version of the Sinclair PC200
- Sinclair PC500 (rebadged PC1512)
- PC1286
- PC1386 (Intel 80386SX CPU, 20 MHz, 1 MB RAM)
- PC2086 (Intel 8086 CPU, 8 MHz, 640 KB RAM, VGA graphics) launched 1989
- PC2286 (Intel 80286Intel 80286The Intel 80286 , introduced on 1 February 1982, was a 16-bit x86 microprocessor with 134,000 transistors. Like its contemporary simpler cousin, the 80186, it could correctly execute most software written for the earlier Intel 8086 and 8088...
CPU, 12.5 MHz, 1 MB RAM, VGA graphics) launched 1989 - PC2386 (Intel 80386DX CPU, 20 MHz, 4 MB RAM, VGA graphics) launched 1989.
- PC3086 ( 8 MHz 8086 CPU, 640 KB RAM)
- PC3286 (16 MHz 80286 CPU, 1 MB RAM)
- PC3386SX (20 MHz 80386SX CPU, 1 MB RAM)
- PC4386SX (20 MHz 80386SX CPU, 4 MB RAM)
- PC5086 (8 MHz 8086 CPU, 640 KB RAM)
- PC5286 (16 MHz 80286 CPU, 1 MB RAM)
- PC5386SX (20 MHz 80386SX CPU, 2 MB RAM, VGA graphics) launched 1991
- PC6486SX
- PC7000 series: PC7286, PC7386SX, PC7486SLC
- PC8486
- PC9486 (25 or 33 MHz 80486SX)
- PC9555i (120 MHz PentiumPentiumThe original Pentium microprocessor was introduced on March 22, 1993. Its microarchitecture, deemed P5, was Intel's fifth-generation and first superscalar x86 microarchitecture. As a direct extension of the 80486 architecture, it included dual integer pipelines, a faster FPU, wider data bus,...
)
- ALT286 (laptop; 16 MHz 80286 CPU, 1 MB RAM)
- ALT386SX (laptop; 16 MHz 80386SX CPU, 1 MB RAM)
- ACL386SX (laptop; 20 MHz 80386SX CPU, 1 MB RAM, colour TFTTFT-Games:*Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, an expansion to the video game Warcraft III*The Fantasy Trip, a role playing game designed by Steve Jackson*Task Force Talon, a faction from the video game Act of War: Direct Action-Electronics:...
LCD) - ANB386SX (notebook; 80386SX CPU, 1 MB RAM)
PC accessories
- Amstrad DMP1000 9-pin dot matrixDot matrixA dot matrix is a 2-dimensional array of LED used to represent characters, symbols and images.Typically the dot matrix is used in older computer printers and many digital display devices. In printers, the dots are usually the darkened areas of the paper...
printer - Amstrad DMP3000, DMP3160, DMP3250di 9-pin dot matrix printer (different printing speed), the special model 3250di (dual interface) having both serial and parallel ports
- Amstrad SM2400 2400 baudBaudIn telecommunications and electronics, baud is synonymous to symbols per second or pulses per second. It is the unit of symbol rate, also known as baud rate or modulation rate; the number of distinct symbol changes made to the transmission medium per second in a digitally modulated signal or a...
internal modemModemA modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
(came with Mirror software)
See also
- AmsoftAmsoftAmsoft was a wholly owned subsidiary of Amstrad, PLC, founded in 1984 and re-integrated with its parent company in 1989. Its purpose was to provide an initial infrastructure of software and services for users of Amstrad's range of home computers, the Amstrad CPC and, from 1986, the Sinclair ZX...
- PC-1512PC-1512The Amstrad PC1512 was Amstrad's mostly IBM PC-compatible computer system, first manufactured in 1986. It was later succeeded by the PC1640.It launched for £499 and sold very well, as it was one of the first cheap PCs in Europe...
- Amstrad ActionAmstrad ActionAmstrad Action was a monthly magazine, published in the United Kingdom, which catered to owners of home computers from the Amstrad CPC range and later the GX4000 console....
- Amstrad NC150
- Amstrad NC200
- Amstrad NC100Amstrad NC100The Amstrad NC100 was an A4-size, portable Z80-based computer, released by Amstrad in 1992. It featured 64 KB of RAM, the Protext word processor, various organiser-like facilities , a simple calculator, and a version of BBC BASIC.Its screen was small, eight rows by 80 columns, and not backlit, but...
Further reading
- Sugar, Alan. What You See Is What You Get - My Autobiography (2010) hardback ISBN 978-230-74933-7
- Thomas, David. Alan Sugar — the Amstrad Story (1991), paperback ISBN 0-330-31900-0.