See below for specifications and information on this system.
Specifications and information
| Key Dates: | Announced June, 1979 Ships November, 1979 Peripheral Expansion Box (PEB) announced January, 1982 |
| Original Price: | $1500 |
| CPU: | Texas Instruments TMS9900 |
| Memory: | 16K RAM, 26K ROM |
| Display: | 32 characters by 24 lines text, 152x192 16 color graphics |
| Operating System: | ROM BASIC, assisted by Enhanced BASIC in a cartridge, and a disk management cartridge |
| Input/Output: | Built-in keyboard, cartridge port, expansion port for Peripheral Expansion Box (PEB), composite video monitor output |
| Bus: | Proprietary |
| Cards Installed in PEB: | 32K RAM, floppy disk controller, serial port, flex cable interface |
| Other Items in Collection: | Peripheral Expansion Box, pair of joysticks, various cartridges |
| Items Needed: | Floppy disk software |
Here's a shot of the complete TI 99/4A system with Peripheral Expansion Box (PEB) with one 5 1/4" floppy disk drive, 32K RAM expansion, RS-232 card, Flex Cable Interface, and Disk Manager 2 cartridge.
Here's the TI 99/4A original color display box:
Texas Instruments Advertisements
Here are some classic advertisements from TI. Click a thumbnail to see a larger version of the picture.
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"Two Bytes Are Better Than One" in this silly ad for the TMS 9900 microprocessor circa May 1977. |
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By late 1982, the IBM PC was out, the Apple II was king of the home market, and even Bill Cosby couldn't save the 99/4A system, despite the recent announcement of the Peripheral Expansion Box pictured here. |