Comment by jhallenworld
4 years ago
I would argue that the TRS-80 model 1 was more significant as the first home computer: $400 instead of $1300. Like the Apple-][ it also was usable out of the box, it just lacked color.
http://www.trs-80.org/was-the-trs-80-once-the-top-selling-co...
That’s possibly changing the subject from personal computer to home computer (IMO, there’s a subtle difference, but I doubt one can give a good definition of that difference)
If you think these are synonyms, the TRS-80 may have been more significant, but it wasn’t the first. The race was close, though. Apple II in June, TRS-80 in August, PET in December 1977.
And of course, the ideal first would be the Honeywell Kitchen Computer from 1969, but unfortunately none of them seem to have been sold, if the product even existed for real (https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?st=1&c=927). Now, _that_ would be a collectors item.