Search

FAQ

US Titles

UK Titles

Memories

VaporWare

Digest

GuestBook

Classified

Chat

Products

Featured

Technical

Museum

Downloads

Production

Fanfares

Music

Misc

Related

Contact

CED in the History of Media Technology

The Coleco ADAM computer was introduced at the June 1983 Summer CES and was a remarkable value at $700 including a daisy wheel printer and tape storage. It could even be had for $100 less in a version called the Expansion Module No. 3 that turned an existing ColecoVision game console into an Adam computer. The system was unusual in being powered by the printer. Another unusual feature was a built-in word processor that would come up as the default application. The word processor could either send input to the printer as each character was typed (like a typewriter) or the document could be type on the attached monitor and sent to the printer all at once like a regular computer.

Unfortunately the ADAM had reliability problems with the tape drive that almost forced Coleco into bankruptcy (it was saved for a while by the highly popular cabbage patch dolls). RCA was working on an interface to allow the ColecoVision game console and possibly the ADAM computer to work with the SJT400 CED player, but the cancellation of player manufacture in 1984 ended development, and the ADAM computer itself came to an end in 1985. But like CED, the ADAM has a following dedicated to its continued use.