TI-99/4A

The TI-99/4 and TI-99/4A are home computers released by Texas Instruments (TI) in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Based on TI's own TMS9900 microprocessor originally used in minicomputers, the TI-99/4 was the first 16-bit home computer. The associated TMS9918 video display controller provides color graphics and sprite support which were only comparable with those of the Atari 400 and 800 released a month later. The TI-99 series also initially competed with the Apple II and TRS-80. The calculator-style keyboard of the TI-99/4 and the high price were cited as weak points. TI's reliance on ROM cartridges and their practice of limiting developer information to select third parties resulted in a lack of software. The TI-99/4A was released in June 1981 with a simplified internal design, full-travel keyboard, and improved graphics. At half the price of the original model, sales picked up significantly and TI supported the 4A with peripherals, including a speech synthesizer and a "Peripheral Expansion System" box to contain hardware add-ons. TI released developer information and tools, but the insistence on remaining sole publisher continued to starve the platform of software. Architectural quirks of both models reduced the performance benefits of the 16-bit CPU. The 1981 US launch of the TI-99/4A followed Commodore's VIC-20 by several months. Commodore CEO Jack Tramiel began a price war by repeatedly lowering the price of the VIC-20. In late 1982, TI was shipping 5,000 computers a day from their factory in Lubbock, Texas. By 1983, the 99/4A was selling at a loss for under US$100. Even with the increased user base created by the heavy discounts, TI lost US$330 million in the third quarter of 1983 and announced the discontinuation of the TI-99/4A in October 1983. Production ended in March 1984. The TI-99/4 was intended to fit in the middle of a planned...