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CPC

12 bytes removed, 02:33, 17 March 2007
/* The Plus series */ The Archimedes wasn't in the 16-bit market, as it was 32-bit. Also, in 1990, there was only one all-in-one Arch- the A3000.
The last models in the Amstrad CPC range were the Amstrad 464 Plus and Amstrad 6128 Plus, launched together in 1990. The CPC name is said to have been dropped because of a legal dispute with a French firm, though it is also likely that "CPC 6128 Plus" was considered too unwieldy a name and one redolent of the machine's mid-80s heritage.
Described as a solution of 'too little, too late', this was Amstrad's second effort to prolong the life of its 8-bit computer series in the face of fierce competition from new 16-bit machines (notably, the Atari ST and the Commodore Amiga). The Plus series were mostly (but not quite 100%) compatible with the original CPC computers, and incorporated a list of new features, like a cartridge port for instant program loading, DMA for the AY soundchip, hardware scrolling, programmable interrupts, 16 hardware zoomable sprites (not vectorized) with an independent palette of 15 colours, and a choice of 4096 colours all in a new, sleek case which mimicked the keyboard-computer design that was ''en vogue'' in the 16-bit market (ST, Amiga, Archimedes etc). While the Amstrad Plus computers were arguably one of the best 8-bit computers ever built for the mass market, they died an early death as the 16-bit era had well and truly begun.
== The GX4000 ==
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