} Much Apple software depends on various machine code routines that are a part of BASIC in ROM, and it is likely that the Laser would not have been as successful had it not had compatible ROM entry points. Central Point—the most prominent dealer[3]—sold the Laser 128 and accessories with full-page magazine advertisements, claiming that "a computer without expansion slots is a dead-end that stays behind as technology advances". [10][1][3] Apple carefully studied the Laser 128[11] but unlike its efforts directed at Franklin, Apple was unable to force the Laser 128 off the market. If you see a Laser 128 with either a Sears printer or a Magnavox monitor, that’s an indicator the unit may have come from Sears. [13], inCider in November 1988 stated that the Laser 128EX/2 "has everything you can possibly put into an 8-bit Apple II ... in terms of standard equipment, it's more than a match for the IIc Plus". In 2020 at least, it seems one comes available about every 1-2 weeks on Ebay. Unlike the Apple IIc, it has a numeric keypad, a Centronics printer port, and two Laser 128-only graphics modes. I can’t find mention of it in any magazine prior to early 1986, and Mike Brown, the president of its US distributor, said they chose the name to sound like the Commodore 128. The Laser 128 computer’s appeal was Apple compatibility at a Commodore price. The VTech Laser 128 was the most popular of them all. The Laser 128 was a hugely successful machine for what it was, and one that was legitimately reverse engineered in a clean-room environment, allowing the company to remain active on the market throughout the late ’80s (despite Apple’s attempts to sue). This shrewd combination of moves enabled them to legally manufacture a machine that was almost fully compatible with the Apple II lineup. It appeared quite sleek in comparison to the clunky lines of the original Apple II. What to do when your Excel worksheet won't scroll. We had a few boxed Apple II mice out in my dad’s storage shed as recently as a few years ago, although rain and mice got to most of what little was left (I got the boxed software years ago). [3] A+ similarly found that the computer was compatible with 28 of 30 popular Apple II programs, while only about half worked with the Franklin Ace. Licensing BASIC greatly reduced the amount of code that had to be reimplemented. var url = 'https://www.retrothing.com/2007/12/vtech-laser-128.html'; The EX and EX/2 models are harder to come by. But the expansion chassis was bulky, boxy, and unweildy. These days, VTech remains a well known manufacturer of telephones and electronic learning toys such as the V.Smile system. Bundled with the expansion chassis or the matching external disk drive, it can sell for $150. [13] The Laser 128's popularity ensured that most major software companies tested their software on the Laser as well as on Apple hardware. var title = 'The Most Popular Apple II Clone'; Its ports on the back mimicked the IIc. The Laser 128 is hardly common today, but it sold well enough that software publishers started testing their software on it to make sure it worked. The company had been producing various Z80-based home PCs since the early 1980s without achieving great success.By the late 1980s, the IBM PC market was beginning to pick up steam and there were a variety of extremely capable all-in-one 16-bit platforms on the market such as the Commodore Amiga 500 and the Atari ST. [1] inCider called the computer "amazingly Apple-compatible", estimating 95% compatibility. The Laser 128 was highly compatible, but didn’t quite match Apple’s reliability. There’s no question the Laser 128 was always less common than the Apple IIc, but a larger percentage of Apple IIc computers survived as well. var link = 'http://twitter.com/home?status=' + encodeURIComponent(title + ' ' + url); Not all IIe expansion cards worked in its expansion slot, since the IIe’s slots weren’t completely interchangeable. Save laser 128 computer to get e-mail alerts and updates on your eBay Feed. The Laser 128 also has a single Apple IIe-compatible expansion slot, which gives it better expansion capabilities than a IIc, but cards remain exposed; the slot is intended for an $80 expansion chassis with two slots compatible with the Apple's Slot 5 and Slot 7. Sears sold the Laser 128 in its catalogs alongside its own dot matrix printer and a couple of different models of Magnavox monitors. The magazine also disliked the keyboard's feel and called the computer "homely", but concluded that "The Laser is a remarkably compatible, competent performer. The Apple product was slightly faster and the difference in price between the two computers was much smaller than the IIc's more than $300 premium over the Laser 128, but the 128EX/2's memory was more easily expandable, important to AppleWorks users. Most expansion cards worked properly but the magazine found "mixed results" with software compatibility, stating that "graphics programs I tested revealed flaws in the Laser 128's compatibility with both the Apple IIc and II+". The Ace 2000 was a clean-room design, and sported poor compatibility as a result. The Apple II was one of the most frequently cloned personal computer platforms of the 1980s, boasting over two dozen imitators. [8], By 1988, VTech had purchased a majority share in Central Point Software and formed Laser Computer as a division of the company. It was available via mail order and in some retail stores like Sears. Video Technology Laser 128 / 128EX / 128EX2 [old-computers.com], Posted by James Grahame on December 21, 2007 in Classic Computing With a little patience, you can get a IIc for about what you’d pay for a Laser 128. The Laser 128 was one of very few that challenged Apple on its home turf and held up to Apple’s legal challenges. Where to connect the red wire to a light switch, Fix your dead SSD with the power cycle method, Connect a 2-wire light fixture without ground, Where the red wire goes in a light fixture. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The LASER 128 EX adds higher speed, 3.5" drive support, and a built-in memory board to the standard LASER 128. Many Apple programs relied in the Basic ROM, so having the routines all at the same addresses ensured they could run. | Permalink. The LASER 128 EX/2 also includes a built-in clock, support for MIDI devices, and optionally includes an internal 3.5" drive. As collectors, we frequently know little or nothing about the history or provenance of the machines we acquire. inCider magazine wrote that year that "Laser will never sell as many computers or have as big a distribution network as Apple, but there's no doubt that the 128 [has] won a place in the Apple market, and irritated Apple in the process". Most were produced in other countries where Apple had little or no legal recourse to stop them. The magazine concluded that while the "128EX/2 is a slick machine, the most fully loaded II compatible you can buy", the 5 1/4-inch version of the EX/2—or the older EX for those who did not need a 3 1/2-inch drive—"may be bargain hunters' best bet". Franklin had copied the Apple ROMs and operating system, which resulted in a famous lawsuit from Apple, which Franklin lost. Sears featured it in its 1988 Christmas catalog priced at $399. (A $499 version of the 128EX/2 with a 5.25-inch drive was available.)[9]. The diagram(s) below can help you find the right part. Given the high degree of compatibility and a price less than half that of the IIc, the magazine concluded that the Laser 128 "is a real bargain". However, there were other dealers who also sold it, and if you find a Laser 128 for sale, the other peripherals with it can give you some idea of where it might have been purchased. It seems to have worked. [12] Despite its physical resemblance to the IIc, software sees the Laser 128 as an enhanced IIe with 128K RAM and Extended 80-Column Text Card. HP Elitebook won't turn on? InfoWorld in May 1986 stated that "we can see why" Apple opposed the Laser 128's importation to the United States. The Commodore 128 on the page before sold for $499. I seem to recall a list price of $595, but couldn't find anything definitive on the web. "These computers are compatible with the Apple IIe computer. I was using a fully expanded “Apple II,” but there’s no way I could have afforded an actual Apple at … Hardware-wise, the Laser 128 was mostly compatible with IIe and IIc accessories. It ended Central Point's mail order sales of the 128, only selling through dealers such as Sears. It's the filter. There were more than 160 different Apple II clones produced throughout the world during the Apple II’s heyday. Here's a fix. It wasn’t until the very end that they extended their inventory and added hardware. [9], Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Sculley's strategy seems to be doing the job for Apple", "Video Technology's Laser Works with Apple software", "HOT-Boot a perfect toy for high-tech jokesters", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Laser_128&oldid=982833945, Articles needing additional references from June 2014, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 October 2020, at 17:03. VTech followed up the Laser 128 by releasing an IBM-PC clone in the same form factor, followed by several more traditional IBM-PC 8088 and 80286-based clones. But the competing Franklin Ace 2000 series, which was also Apple compatible, only worked with about 50% of the titles on the market. There were two additional models released later, 1987’s Laser 128EX and 1988’s Laser 128EX/2. It cost half as much and worked with all of the major titles people bought Apples to run. Central Point Software sold it for $399 by mail order, as did Computer Direct, a large Chicago-based mail order house from the 1980s. The Commodore 128 came out in 1985. Microsoft made most of its money by keeping the rights to the software that it sold to others. Apple took the Laser 128 seriously, responding with the Enhanced IIe and the IIc+. If you’d like help, we invite you to call our customer service number at the top of the page, or click chat. It’s unclear how many Commodore owners they converted, but if nothing else, they put an end the the $299 Spartan accessory that made the C-64 compatible with an Apple II+. Fix it in a minute flat. Selling price varies depending on condition, whether it works, and what it’s bundled with, but the bare computer in working condition is worth around $100. Chip won't work on your credit card? This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. By comparison, at the time I wrote this, there were no fewer than 10 Apple IIc computers available for sale, though the asking prices weren’t all very realistic. This allowed Vtech to beat Franklin compatibility-wise and prevented Apple from keeping the machine from the market. The Apple magazines generally criticized its styling, calling its appearance utilitarian and homely. Mechanical keyboard key stopped working? The Laser 128 wasn’t 100% compatible, but the various Apple models weren’t quite 100% compatible with each other either. Vtech was buying chips from the same suppliers Apple did, so they didn’t have Commodore’s margins. In spite of the name, there wasn’t anything optical about it. Vintage Computers & Mainframes - apply Category filter. However, Apple chose to incorporate a cutting-edge 3 1/2 inch floppy drive. title = title.substr(0, (limit - 3)) + '...'; VTech responded with the Laser 128EX (1987), with a 3.6 MHz CPU, and the $549 Laser 128EX/2 (1988), with a 3.5-inch disk drive and MIDI port. My dad likes to say that the only month the store made a profit was the month they sold a Laser 128, and that would have been right before the store closed in ’86. My parents owned a computer software store from the fall of ’85 through the summer of ’86. [1] Writing that "it's cheap and it works", inCider in December 1986 stated that the Laser 128 "[deserved] a look from anyone considering a Commodore. [6] BYTE's tests were less favorable. Still, there was enormous interest in classic 8-bit platforms such as the Commodore 64C and the Apple IIc line because of the huge array of affordable software titles on the market, and the older systems tended attract budget-conscious consumers. Like IBM with PC DOS, Apple did not have an exclusive license for the Applesoft dialect of BASIC, and VTech was free to license it.
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