Word: coleco
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...even thousands of dollars apiece for computers that turned out to be high-tech white elephants. Owners of low-cost home computers have been particularly hard hit. Among them, they have 2 million Texas Instruments 99/ 4As, 1 million Commodore VIC 20s, 700,000 Timex Sinclair 1000s, 200,000 Coleco Adams, 135,000 Franklin Aces and now at least 250,000 IBM PCjrs--all of them orphans...
...some ways, people with machines orphaned by IBM are better off than those who bought from firms that filed for bankruptcy (such as Franklin, Gavilan, Osborne and Victor) or simply quit the computer field (Coleco, Mattel, Timex). IBM's higher-priced models are still enormously successful, which ensures a steady stream of IBM compatible software, some of which will run on the PCjr. Moreover, the giant company has promised to continue to provide parts and service "as long as the product is around...
Other companies have also made an effort to help owners of their orphans. Texas Instruments maintains a toll-free number (800-TI-CARES) to provide help for people who bought its model 99/4A, and those with Coleco's Adam can still have it repaired by Honeywell, which has agreed to honor Coleco's service contracts for at least four years...
...wake of IBM's decision, questions arose once again about the future of the highly competitive home-computer field. The PCjr is only the latest machine headed for a home-computer graveyard crowded with models from such companies as Coleco, Timex and Mattel. The industry has suffered from fierce price competition, rapid product obsolescence and shifting consumer tastes...
Adam has made life tough for Coleco. The company will take an estimated $110 million write-off against 1984 earnings because of the flop. Indeed, Adam might have driven Coleco to its knees were it not for the company's success with another product: the Cabbage Patch Kids. Coleco last year sold $500 million worth of Cabbage Patcheria, and the pudgy dolls have been the hottest toys for the past two Christmas seasons. Coleco hopes that it will now do better by staying in the cabbage patch...