The Commodore VIC-20
| Commodore produced a large number of models of home computers during the time that they were manufacturing. In spite of the fact that they made early models such as the 2000 and PET, probably the most well known in New Zealand was their first colour model, the VIC-20. The VIC-20 which was initially manufactured in 1980 , then updated in 1981. The display was 22 columns by 23 rows which by today's standards were very chunky! This equalled 506 screen locations. Software loading accessories included a cassette unit and optional (expensive at the time) 1540 170K floppy drive. |
The Commodore VIC-20 |
 Commodore SX-64 |
The C64 emerged in 1982 providing 40 columns by 25 rows making 1000 screen locations, double that of the VIC-20. Two joystick ports were now provided and an in-built RF modulator allowing a TV set to be used in place of a computer monitor. The C64 was made in various forms including the SX-64 portable, also known as the 'Executive'. This version was released in January 1983 complete with 5" colour monitor and 1541 floppy drive built in. The keyboard was detachable, forming the lid to cover the screen and disk drive. I believe the cost in US dollars was around $1600.00 at the time. The C64C which was released in June 1986 sported the now common beige case colouring used on most modern computers. The 1541-II floppy drive was also released to match the new look C64. |
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With other manufacturers developing newer ideas Commodore released their C16 and Plus/4 models in an attempt to compete. These computers still maintained the 40 x 25 format but sported the later version 3.5 Commodore BASIC with extra commands, a change to black cases and miniature DIN connectors for the joysticks and cassette ports. Matching black peripherals such as the 1531 datasette and 1551 floppy drive were available. The C16 had 16K RAM expandable to 64K and the Plus/4 came standard with 64K RAM and the added bonus of built-in Wordprocessor, Database and Spreadsheet in ROM. Unfortunately they were NOT C64 compatible and little software for these two machines was immediately available. Probably due to both of these reasons these two versions didn't 'take on'. |
 The Commodore C64C  The Commodore Plus/4 [Note the unusual cursor controls] |
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Possibly as a result of the lack of success with the C16 and Plus/4 Commodore produced their C128 and C128D computers. The difference between the two was that the C128 looked like a larger version of the C64 and had external power pack and floppy drive while the C128D was self-contained with built-in power supply and 1571 double head 5.25" floppy drive. The keyboard was detachable and clipped up under the computer for transporting. Commodore had now upgraded to BASIC V7.0 and provided three modes of operation, total C64 compatibility, a new C128 mode in either 40 or 80 columns and CP/M capability.
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