TRS-80 Color Computer (1980)

CPU: 0.895 MHz Motorola 6809e
RAM: 4K-512K
Price: $399.00 without monitor (about $1250 today)

The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer (later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer and sometimes nicknamed the CoCo) is a line of home computers based on the Motorola 6809 processor. The Tandy Color Computer line started in 1980 with what is now called the CoCo 1 and ended in 1991 with the more powerful CoCo 3. All three CoCo models maintained a high level of software and hardware compatibility, with few programs written for the older model being unable to run on the newer ones.

Despite bearing the TRS-80 name, the Color Computer is a radical departure from the earlier TRS-80; in particular it has a Motorola 6809E processor, rather than the TRS-80's Zilog Z80. The machines in the Color Computer line are not compatible with software made for the earlier TRS-80.

(Photo: RadioShack)