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Atari Announces New Products at CES
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Las Vegas, NV, Jan. 8 -- In a dramatic press conference held this 
morning at the Consumer Electronics Show, spokesmen for the Atari 
Corporation introduced a panoply of new products for 1987. 
Highlights included three significant new additions to Atari's 
flagship ST line of high-performance personal computers, a 
revolutionary low-cost laser printer, and an IBM PC-compatible 
personal computer of radically new design.
     The new ST computers, dubbed "Mega STs 1, 2, and 4" 
incorporate one, two, and four megabytes of RAM, respectively. 
Encased in a newly-designed system unit with integral 800K 
microfloppy drive and detachable, ergonomic keyboard, the new 
machines are visibly different from Atari's current 520ST and 
1040ST models, while remaining 100% compatible with them. 
Additional enhancements to the Mega machines include a battery-
backed realtime clock, internal mounting space for an additional 
circuit board, and full external routing of the 68000 bus, making 
their architecture "wide open" for further enhancements. "We took 
all our customer's suggestions on how we could improve the ST, and 
incorporated them in this series," said Neil Harris, Atari's 
Director of Marketing Communications. Delivery of the new 
machines, via computer specialty stores, is expected to begin 
shortly at a price-point of "about $1000."
     The new Atari laser printer, shown in a prototype version, 
will match or exceed the performance of present laser printer 
systems while costing only about half as much -- about $1500. 
Atari has accomplished this enormous cost-saving by exploiting the
power inherent in their ST computers. Coupled with a 2- or 4-
megabyte Mega ST, the laser printer will form the output stage of 
a desktop publishing system costing less than $3000 total.
     Atari's new IBM PC-compatible machine, the Atari PC, is a 
radical departure from present "PC clone" designs, offering top-
of-the-line compatibility and features at a record-breaking price 
of under $500. Housed in a system unit similar to the Mega ST with 
integral 5-1/4" floppy drive and detachable XT-style keyboard, the
PC/XT compatible Atari PC sports 512K RAM standard (expandable to 
640K on the motherboard), an additional 256K of graphics-dedicated 
RAM, a custom graphics chip providing enhanced EGA, CGA, IBM 
Monochrome, and Hercules graphics capabilities, and a Microsoft 
compatible mouse. It operates at the IBM standard 4.77 Mhz or at a 
high-speed 8 Mhz "turbo mode," and provides for the addition of an 
8087 math coprocessor at either speed. A monochrome monitor 
designed for use with the Atari PC was also announced. Costing 
under $200, the monitor supports all Atari PC graphics modes, 
including the high-resolution, multicolor EGA mode in grey-scale. 
Shipments of the Atari PC will begin in March.
     The new products -- perceived by some as the fulfillment of 
promises made over a year ago by Atari CEO Jack Tramiel -- are 
universally hailed as milestones for the Atari Corporation. One 
informed onlooker commented: "It's as if Atari, in one fell swoop, 
had stepped to the leading edge in three markets: high-performance 
workstations, desktop publishing systems, and the lucrative PC-
compatible game. They're going to be the company to watch in 
1987."
     With somewhat less fanfare, Atari also announced a new 
slimline 20-megabyte Winchester drive for its ST line, 
incorporating an extra port for daisy-chaining with other DMA-
compatible peripherals, such as the new laser printer. At the same 
time, Atari announced price reductions on existing ST models. A 
520ST CPU will now be available for under $300 retail, a 1040ST 
with monochrome monitor for around $799, and a 1040ST with color 
monitor for around $999.
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