Apple IIe
Apple IIe, 1984 case with British keyboard layout and Enhanced IIe upgrade sticker on power light
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| Developer | Apple Computer |
|---|---|
| Type | Desktop |
| Release date | January 1983 |
| Discontinued | November 1993 |
| Operating system |
Apple DOS 3.3 ProDOS |
| CPU | 6502 @ 1.023MHz |
| Memory | 64 KB RAM (up to 1 MB) |
The Apple IIe (styled as Apple //e) is the third model in the Apple II series of personal computers produced by Apple Computer. The e in the name stands for enhanced, referring to the fact that several popular features were now built-in that were available only as upgrades or add-ons in earlier models. It also improved upon expandability and added a few new features, which, all combined, made it very attractive to first-time computer shoppers as a general-purpose machine. The Apple IIe has the distinction of being the longest-lived computer in Apple's history, having been manufactured and sold for nearly 11 years with relatively few changes.
Apple Computer planned to discontinue the Apple II series after the introduction of the Apple III in 1980; the company intended to clearly establish market segmentation by designing the Apple III to appeal to the business market, leaving the Apple II to home and education users. Management believed that "once the Apple III was out, the Apple II would stop selling in six months", cofounder Steve Wozniak later said.
By the time IBM released the rival IBM PC in 1981, the Apple II's technology was already four years old. After the Apple III initially struggled, management decided in 1981 that the further continuation of the Apple II was in the company's best interest. After 3 1⁄2 years of the Apple II Plus, essentially at a standstill, came the introduction of a new Apple II model — the Apple IIe (codenamed "Diana" and "Super II"). The Apple IIe was released in January 1983, the successor to the Apple II Plus. The Apple IIe was the first Apple computer with a custom ASIC chip, which reduced much of the old discrete IC-based circuitry to a single chip, reducing cost and the size of the motherboard. Some of the hardware features of the Apple III (e.g. bank-switched memory) were borrowed in the design of the Apple IIe, and some from incorporating the Apple II Plus Language card. The culmination of these changes led to increased sales and greater market share of home, education and small business use.
One of the most notable improvements of the Apple IIe is the addition of a full ASCII character set and keyboard. The most important addition is the ability to input and display lower-case letters. Other keyboard improvements include four-way cursor control and standard editing keys (Delete and Tab), two special Apple modifier keys (Open and Solid Apple), and a safe off-to-side relocation of the "Reset" key. The auto-repeat function (any key held down to repeat same character continuously) is now automatic, no longer requiring the "REPT" key found on the previous model's keyboard.
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