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COLECO ADAM Computer - 64K of user RAM

The Coleco Adam was designed and built in the early 80s as a complement to the Colecovision video game system. Released in October 1983, the Coleco Adam Computer was available in two versions, as an add-on to the very popular ColecoVision game system, or as a stand-alone home computer system.

At $600, the Adam was a great deal, including Zilog Z80-A @ 3.58MHz, 64K of user RAM, a letter-quality printer and high speed built-in storage. Data storage is via built-in cassette drives. Coleco sold high quality tapes specifically made for the Adam, capable of withstanding the high-speed 20 ips (inches per second) read/write and 80 ips rewind speeds.

The Adam is an interesting and capable machine. It does not have an operating system in ROM, however it does have a built-in word processor, which is the mode in which the system starts. This, along with the inclusion of a high quality daisy wheel printer would seem to indicate a business/productivity focus in the design. The system is also designed to be a capable game system, and in fact runs standard ColecoVision cartridge games. Perhaps this is why Coleco marketed the machine as a "Family Computer" - something for everyone.

Data storage was via one or two digital tape drives, each storing 250k bytes of data. Although the tapes looked like standard cassettes, they were not, and only preformatted tapes from Coleco could be used. Coleco stopped shipping systems in January 1985, after only one year.