In the 80s, there were a variety of computers that were marketed specifically towards kids, or that had features and capabilities that made them appealing to children.
Some of these computers include:
- Commodore 64 – One of the most popular home computers of the 1980s, the Commodore 64 featured 64 kilobytes of RAM, a built-in keyboard, and a variety of ports for connecting peripherals like a cassette tape drive, floppy disk drive, and a color monitor. It was known for its large software library and its ability to be used for gaming, programming and home productivity.
- Atari 800 – The Atari 800 was a home computer released in 1979, it was a more advanced version of the Atari 2600 game console, it featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for both cassette tape and floppy disk storage. It was known for its great graphics and sound capabilities, as well as its wide range of games and educational software.
- Sinclair ZX Spectrum – The Sinclair ZX Spectrum was a home computer released in 1982, it was known for its affordability, and for its small size, which made it a popular choice for kids and families. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape storage. It was also popular for its programming capabilities, and for the large number of games and applications available for it.
- Apple II – The Apple II was a home computer released in 1977, it was known for its high-quality graphics and sound, and for its user-friendly design. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for floppy disk storage. It was also popular for its educational software, and for its ability to be used for business and home productivity.
- BBC Micro – The BBC Micro was a home computer released in 1981, it was developed by the British broadcaster, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a computer to be used in schools to teach children computer literacy. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape and floppy disk storage. It was known for its advanced graphics and sound capabilities, and for its wide range of educational software.
- Commodore VIC-20 – The VIC-20 was released in 1980 as a budget computer, it was known for its affordability and for its ability to be used for gaming, programming and home productivity. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape storage.
- TRS-80 – The TRS-80, also known as the Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 was a home computer released in 1977, it was known for its affordability and for its ability to be used for gaming, programming and home productivity. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape and floppy disk storage.
- Timex Sinclair 1000 – The Timex Sinclair 1000 was a home computer released in 1982, it was an enhanced version of the Sinclair ZX80, it was known for its affordability and for its small size, which made it a popular choice for kids and families. It featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape storage.
- MSX (short for “MicroSoft eXtended”) – Was another popular home computer of the 1980s. It was a standardized home computer architecture, first announced by Microsoft in 1983, and was designed to be compatible with a wide range of software and hardware from different manufacturers. The MSX featured a built-in keyboard, a variety of ports, and support for cassette tape, floppy disk and later hard disk storage. The MSX was particularly popular in Japan and Europe, and was known for its high-quality graphics and sound capabilities, as well as its wide range of games and educational software. The MSX was also popular for its programming capabilities, and for the large number of games and applications available for it. MSX was a standard for home computers during the 80s, many manufacturers like Yamaha, Sanyo, Sony, and Panasonic produced computers that adhered to this standard, allowing for a wide range of compatible software and hardware.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and other computers were also popular during the 80s, but the ones mentioned above are some of the most well-known and iconic of the era.