Commodore Intl to Introduce New Products at Las Vegas Show

Dow Jones News Service

January 6, 1983

N.Y. - IRVING GOULD, CHAIRMAN OF COMMODORE INTERNATIONAL LTD., SAID THE COMPANY PLANS TO INTRODUCE SEVERAL NEW PRODUCTS AT THE CONSUMERS ELECTRONICS SHOW IN LAS VEGAS, WHICH BEGINS TODAY.

GOULD SAID COMMODORE WILL INTRODUCE SEVERAL NEW MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS, A NUMBER OF NEW MICROCOMPUTER PERIPHERAL DEVICES AND SEVERAL NEW SOFTWARE PACKAGES.

GOULD SAID THAT AMONG THE MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS TO BE INTRODUCED ARE THREE PORTABLE SYSTEMS, EACH OF WHICH HAS 64K BYTES, OR 64,000 CHARACTERS, OF BUILT-IN USER RAM, OR RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY.

IN ADDITION, ALL THREE SYSTEMS HAVE BUILT-IN FIVE-INCH TELEVISION DISPLAY MONITORS, TWO OF WHICH ARE IN COLOR, AS WELL AS ONE OR TWO BUILT-IN FLOPPY DISC DRIVES WHICH PROVIDE, RESPECTIVELY, 170K BYTES AND 340 K BYTES OF ADDITIONAL MASS STORAGE CAPACITY.

ALL THREE MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS WILL HAVE COMPATIBILITY WITH THE COMMODORE 64 PERSONAL COMPUTER AS TO SOFTWARE AND PERIPHERALS.

GOULD SAID THE PRICE OF THESE MACHINES WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW ANY COMPARABLE PRODUCT NOW ON THE MARKET.

EACH SYSTEM, DEPENDING UPON ITS CONFIGURATION, IS EXPECTED TO RETAIL FROM $995 FOR A SYSTEM WITH A BUILT-IN FIVE-INCH MONOCHROME DISPLAY MONITOR AND SINGLE DISC DRIVE TO $1,495 FOR A SYSTEM WITH A BUILT-IN FIVE-INCH COLOR DISPLAY MONITOR AND DUAL DISC DRIVES.

INITIAL SHIPMENTS ARE EXPECTED TO COMMENCE IN ABOUT 90 TO 120 DAYS, HE SAID.

GOULD ALSO NOTED THAT AS A RESULT OF THE DEMAND FOR THE $595 COMMODORE 64 PERSONAL COMPUTER, THE COMPANY IS EXPANDING ITS CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION FOR THIS COMPUTER TO INCLUDE SEVERAL OF THE LARGEST MASS MERCHANDISERS IN THE WORLD, AND IS SIMULTANEOUSLY BEGINNING INITIAL SHIPMENTS OF ITS NEW P500 NEW SERIES MICROCOMPUTER, TO BE RENAMED THE COMMODORE 128, TO ITS REGULAR COMPUTER DEALER NETWORK.

THE COMMODORE 128, WHICH HAD 128K BYTES, OR 128,000 CHARACTERS, OF BUILT-IN USER MEMORY, WILL HAVE A SUGGESTED RETAIL SELLING PRICE OF $795.