TRS-80 Color Computer
16K TRS-80 Color Computer | |
| Developer | Tandy Corporation |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Motorola |
| Release date | September 1980 |
| Introductory price | US$399 (equivalent to $1,520 in 2024) |
| Discontinued | 1991 |
| Operating system | Color BASIC / OS-9 |
| CPU | 6809E @ 0.895 / 1.79 MHz |
| Memory | 4 / 16 / 32 / 64 / 128 / 512 KB |
| Graphics | MC6847 video display generator |
| Sound | 6-bit DAC |
The RadioShack TRS-80 Color Computer, later marketed as the Tandy Color Computer, is a series of home computers developed and sold by Tandy Corporation. Despite sharing a name with the earlier TRS-80, the Color Computer is a completely different system and a radical departure in design based on the Motorola 6809E processor rather than the Zilog Z80 of earlier models.
The Tandy Color Computer line, nicknamed CoCo, started in 1980 with what is now called the Color Computer 1. It was followed by the Color Computer 2 in 1983, then the Color Computer 3 in 1986. All three models maintain a high level of software and hardware compatibility, with few programs written for an older model being unable to run on the newer ones. The Color Computer 3 was discontinued in 1991.
All Color Computer models shipped with Color BASIC, an implementation of Microsoft BASIC, in ROM. Variants of the OS-9 multitasking operating system were available from third parties.