Features of the new machine include 64 kilobytes of built-in random access memory (RAM) and a built-in RS232 port and disk drive controller. The machine is supposed to come with a host of other features, including expandability to one megabyte of RAM in 64K increments and plug-in ports for such central processing unit chips as the Mostek 6502 chip used in Apple and Atari computers, the Intel 8088 chip used in the IBM-PC and the Z8OA used in Osborne and Timex computers.

According to Dana Webb, in charge of public relations for CorComp. the machine will be unveiled at the winter Consumer Electronics Show. Webb characterizes the new computerasa “modular unit.” Users will have a choice of three keyboards: typewriter style, mylar and word- processing style with a built-in numeric keypad and programmable computer function keys. Each will be priced differently.

The keyboard will be separate from the Cor-Comp peripheral exl)ansion box that is the brains of the new system. Webb describes the PEB as a "slimline version of the Texas Instruments (peripheral expansion) box.” It will include a motherboard with two cartridge slots and a processor slot.

The system will come with what Cor-Comp calls ‘‘Improved Extended BASIC” in ROM (read only memory). It will also have what Webb calls ‘a true Extended BASIC compiler” and an operating system that allows the user the option of choosing screen display formats. Webb says the user will be able to chose from 32-, 40-. 80- or 132-column displays. The user will also be able to choose screen color, he says. The screen will include 25 rows, with the bottom row dedicated to command lines.

The system will feature numerous built-in utilities, Webb said, including a word processor. spelling checker, spreadsheet, mail-merge to the word processor, menu planner, text filer and database manager. It will also have a built-in text-to-speech capability, real-time clock, two game controller ports—one Atari compatible, the other Apple compatible—hard disk capability and networking capability for multi-user systems. The disk drive controller card will accept up to four double-sided, quad- density drives, Webb said.

Planned for the system are plug-in cards for CP/M, Logo and Pascal. Other standard features, Webb says, are a built-in light pen, graphics code generator and music code generator. Cor-Comp is setting up its own distribution network, Webb says, eschewing the major chains that TI used. “We don’t expect to use any mass merchandising yet, or probably in the future,” he says. Another Cor-Comp official indicated that the company has already turned down bids by such companies as Sears to distribute the machine.

Anumber of mail-order houses that currently stock Cor-Comp’s other hardware products, including a 32K memory expansion card and RS232 card for the T199/4A, expect to sell the new computer when it hits the market. Among these are Unisource Electronics of Lubbock, Texas, and Tenex Computer Marketing Systems of South Bend, Indiana. Neither had received any information from CorComp about the Phoenix by late December. The International 99 Users Group of Bethany, Oklahoma, is said to have one of the machines and is supposed to be in the process of testing it. However, Charles La Fara, president of the JUG, declined to comment when asked about the Phoenix.

Phoenix To Hatch Soon (from Home Computer Compendium March 1984)

Cor-Comp Inc. the California-based company that says it has developed the successor to the TI99/4A, is beginning to firm its plans for delivery of the new machine, the 99/64. At the same time, company officials are planning a publicity drive that may get under way in mid-February. However, as with everything regarding the 99/64, all dates and deadlines are projections. As an example, in December Cor-Comp officials indicated that the new computer would be on the market sometime during the first quarter of 1984. Now, however, that seems unlikely. The 99/64, which is supposed to be fully compatible with all TI99/4A software and hardware, is a feature-laden machine. It was described in the February edition of the Compendium.

The computer is dubbed the ‘Phoenix’ after the mythical bird of ancient Egypt. According to company spokeswoman Betty Loeffel, 1,000 of the machines will be distributed by the end of March as display models for vendors. The company is calling this model ‘the silver edition.’ If all goes according to plan, Loeffel says, the computer will go into mass production by April, with delivery to dealer shelves to follow. Meanwhile, in late January, the company was scheduled to introduce several new hardware products to go along with the 32K expansion memory card and RS232 card it already markets for the TI home computer.

Ready for delivery late last month, according to Loeffel, were a peripheral expansion box and a disk controller card. A bundled system that includes the PEB, memory card, RS232 card and disk controller card is priced at only $300, Loeffel says. The peripheral expansion box is supposed to be similar in appearance to the TI PEB and includes an opening for a disk drive. According to Loeffel, who is the company’s chief financial officer, CorComp is able to price the bundled system at $300 because of cost-cutting production techniques. For example, the company has been able to reduce the cost of producing its RS232 card by 48 percent through such techniques, she says. Loeffel says the company is referring all inquiries about the new computer to its vendors. “Our phones have been ringing constantly,” she says. “You wouldn’t believe it. We can’t get off the phone.” JK

Phoenix Distributors

Here is a list of the national distributors of the 99/64 computer, according to a spokesman for Cor-Comp Inc. Sales of the new machine will also be conducted by some 1,000 local vendors throughout the country. The list may not be complete.

• R&S Distributing, Bridgeport, New Jersey (800) 257-0453
• Unisource Electronics, Lubbock, Texas (806) 745-8835
• Microsphere Inc., South Bend. Indiana (219) 272-7488
• Microtronics, Oak Park, Michigan (313) 968-0050
• Computech, Springfield, Missouri (417) 869-1684
• C&R Distributing Ackworth, Georgia (404)928-8791

Here is a list of some of the features that the Cor-Comp 99/64, aka Phoenix, will offer, according to Cor-Comp Inc. A more complete description of the machine was published in last months edition of the Compendium. The basic system is expected to be priced in the $600-$700 range.

• Keyboard: choice of tnree styles (mylar, word-processing with numeric keypad and typewriter styles.) Each will be priced differently.
• Memory: 64K RAM, expandable in 64K increments to one megabyte.
• Disk controller:built-in card, capable of controlling up to four double-sided, quad-density drives.
• RS232: built-in RS232 port.
• Cartridges: two slots for cartridges, compatible with all TI cartridge software.
• Processor slot: one slot for a second processor chip, such as the Mostek 6502 used in Apple and Atari computers, the Intel 8088 chip used in the IBM-PC and the Z8OA used in Osborne and Timex computers.
• Game Ports: two game controller ports, one Atari compatible the other Apple compatible.

Whither Has the Phoenix Flown? (from Home Computer Compendium April 1984)

Things are changing very quickly at Cor-Comp as it becomes apparent that the company will not he able to deliver its 99/64 computer to dealers this spring. In January company officials had said that demonstrator models of the TI-compatible machine would be at dealers’ stores by early spring. A new management team came on board in February and immediately began passing the word that production of the computer has been delayed. A former Cor-Comp official indicated in early February that the 99/64, dubbed the Phoenix, “was sent back to R and D.”

The new company officials are saying very little about the machine, except to express satisfaction in the interest being shown in the computer. Spokesperson Jacki Sagouspe indicated that the marketing of the machine has been delayed. However, she said, the company’s peripheral expansion box may be marketed this spring. The company also will market a disk drive controller card and an RS232 card for the box. The company also sells a 32K memory card. It is not certain at this point whether the box will be physically compatible with TI-manufactured cards. Although company officials told the Compendium in early February that the box, with several cards, would retail for about $300, that may change before it actually reaches dealer shelves. JK