How much did the first HOME computer system cost?

Answer 1

How far do you want to go back? Heee hee I had a ZX80 whit a massive 1k of memory yes just 1k then I really went mad becouse I got a ZX81 still only had 1k but you could add to it with a 5k modual...then I lost my head and got a commodor 64 and HO boy did I have some power then becouse I got SIMONS Basic 1 and later 2 with a 5 1/4 floppy disk drive. Ho yes we really went to town in those day's but if I had bought one of the first computers to come out it would have filled my house and next doors as it was valve driver and probably heated half the street. I think I payed about #50.00 but I can't be exactly sure.

Answer 2

"The first Apple was just a culmination of my whole life." - Steve Wozniak, Co-Founder Apple Computers

Following the introduction of the Altair, a boom in personal computers occurred, and luckily for the consumer, the next round of home computers were considered useful and a joy to use.

In 1975, Steve Wozniak was working for Hewlett Packard (calculator manufacturers) by day and playing computer hobbyist by night, tinkering with the early computer kits like the Altair. "All the little computer kits that were being touted to hobbyists in 1975 were square or rectangular boxes with non understandable switches on them..." claimed Wozniak. Wozniak realized that the prices of some computer parts (e.g. microprocessors and memory chips) had gotten so low that he could buy them with maybe a month's salary. Wozniak decided that, with some help from fellow hobbyist Steve Jobs, they could build their own computer.

On April Fool's Day, 1976, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs released the Apple I computer and started Apple Computers. The Apple I was the first single circuit board computer. It came with a video interface, 8k of RAM and a keyboard. The system incorporated some economical components, including the 6502 processor (only $25 dollars - designed by Rockwell and produced by MOS Technologies) and dynamic RAM.

The pair showed the prototype Apple I, mounted on plywood with all the components visible, at a meeting of a local computer hobbyist group called "The Homebrew Computer Club" (based in Palo Alto, California). A local computer dealer (The Byte Shop) saw it and ordered 100 units, providing that Wozniak and Jobs agreed to assemble the kits for the customers. About two hundred Apple Is were built and sold over a ten month period, for the superstitious price of $666.66.

In 1977, Apple Computers was incorporated and the Apple II computer model was released. The first West Coast Computer Faire was held in San Francisco the same year, and attendees saw the public debut of the Apple II (available for $1298). The Apple II was also based on the 6502 processor, but it had color graphics (a first for a personal computer), and used an audio cassette drive for storage. Its original configuration came with 4 kb of RAM, but a year later this was increased to 48 kb of RAM and the cassette drive was replaced by a floppy disk drive.

Answer 3

First Home Pc

Answer 4

In 1985 I spent about $3800 for an IBM compatible clone.
4Mhz (Four Mhz) , no math co processor, A CGA display which displayed all four colors (Black, White ,Red, Blue)
two 5.25 floppy drives, NO Hard drive, 640K Ram. Running DOS 3.21.

I remember thinking why I would ever need a 10meg hard drive for $350 I'd never fill it up and I could fit lots of data onto a floppy

Answer 5

June 1977: Apple II (North America) (color graphics, eight expansion slots) US$900
August 1977: Tandy Radio Shack TRS-80 (N. Am.) (first home computer for less than US$600)

Answer 6

We bought one of the first Apple computers back in 1982 and it was an Apple IIe that cost $3000.

Answer 7

The first "minicomputers" that were available to people were actually about the size of a refrigerator. Few people purchased these for home use, and they would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Answer 8

First home computer was the SCELBI, sold for around $580 US in 1974.

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/%7Ehl/c.Scelbi8H.html

http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa120198.htm

Answer 9

depends on what you call a computer system
I bought a sinclair zx81 with a thermal printer and tape deck for £150

Answer 10

In 1986 I bought my first computer for $2600.00