Tandy 2000


The Tandy 2000 is a personal computer introduced by Radio Shack on November 28, 1983, at COMDEX/Fall'83. Based on the 8 MHz Intel 80186 microprocessor running MS-DOS. By comparison, the IBM PC XT used the older 4.77 MHz Intel 8088 processor, and the IBM PC/AT would later use the newer 6 MHz Intel 80286. Due to the 16-bit data bus and more efficient instruction decoding of the 80186, the Tandy 2000 ran significantly faster than other PC compatibles, and slightly faster than the PC AT. The Tandy 2000 was the company's first computer built around an Intel x86 series microprocessor; previous models used the Zilog Z80 and Motorola 6809 CPUs.
While touted as being compatible with the IBM XT, the Tandy 2000 was different enough that most existing PC software that was not purely text-oriented failed to work properly.
The Tandy 2000 and its special version of MS-DOS supports up to 768 KB of RAM, significantly more than the 640 KB limit imposed by the IBM architecture. It uses 80-track double-sided quad-density floppy drives of 720 KB capacity; the IBM standard at the time of the introduction of the Tandy 2000 was only 360 KB.
The Tandy 2000 has both "Tandy" and "TRS-80" logos on its case, marking the start of the phaseout of the "TRS-80" brand.

History

The introduction of IBM's Model 5150 Personal Computer in August 1981 created an entirely new market for microcomputers. Many hardware and software companies were founded specifically to exploit IBM's and Microsoft's new presence as a standard-setter for small computers, and most other established manufacturers shifted focus to it as well.
By this date Tandy/Radio Shack had been in the small-computer market for four years, since its August 1977 introduction of the TRS-80 Model I. The new computer division followed in October 1979 with the TRS-80 Model II—a high-end business-oriented system. In 1983 the TRS-80 Model 4 succeeded the Model III in the consumer and educational markets. In the business segment the TRS-80 Model 12 and Model 16 succeeded the Model II, adding higher-end features. Thus far Tandy/Radio Shack's computer lines occupied their own niches in the market because of their proprietary system software and applications. Tandy attempted to monopolize software and peripheral sales by not offering third-party products in company stores. Until the IBM PC was introduced, the nearest thing to an industry standard in small computers was CP/M-80; no single manufacturer dominated.
By 1983 the IBM PC, and Tandy's discouraging of third-party products, had halved the company's market share and stopped profit growth. Tandy's motive for moving into the new MS-DOS domain was twofold: to capitalize on the new market, and to leverage sales opportunities afforded by their solid position in small computers. Marketing management believed that many Tandy customers would prefer to stay with Tandy products when they made the jump onto the burgeoning IBM/Microsoft bandwagon; it was figured that the company was well-positioned in this regard because of its large base of customers in both the consumer and business markets. Tandy's large presence as a computer retailer, with several thousand Radio Shack stores throughout the US, was deemed an advantage as well. All other PC manufacturers, especially IBM, relied mainly on sales to corporate accounts, not consumer retail as did Tandy/Radio Shack. Thus the company would become the market leader offering the hottest new trend—affordable 16-bit computers running MS-DOS—directly to the computing public.
Therefore, Tandy would have to produce an IBM-style computer running the emerging industry-standard MS-DOS. The company decided to distinguish it from similar products by producing a better computer. The new machine would be aimed at the mid-price market between high-end consumers and low-end businesses. This was deemed prudent in order not to seriously cannibalize their current product lines serving both market segments. Most other big-name computer manufacturers made the same leap into the PC/MS-DOS market:
Computer nameManufacturerDate introducedCPUclock rateMax RAMFloppy disk capacityNotable features
Olivetti M24/AT&T 6300Olivetti, marketed by AT&T1983 80868 MHz 640 KB360 KB true IBM compatible; optional 640x400 color graphics
Zenith Z-100Zenith Data SystemsJune 198280884.77 MHz768 KB360 KBoptional 8 color 640x255 graphics, external 8" floppy drives
HP-150Hewlett-PackardNov 198380888 MHz640 KB270 KB primitive touchscreen
Compaq PortableCompaqJan 198380884.77 MHz640 KB360 KBtrue IBM compatible
Compaq DeskproCompaq198480868 MHz640 KB360 KBtrue IBM compatible
MPC 1600Columbia Data ProductsJune 198280884.77 MHz640 KB360 KBtrue IBM compatible, credited as first PC clone
Eagle PC / 1600 seriesEagle Computer198280864.77 MHz640 KB360 KB750×352 mono graphics
TI Professional ComputerTexas InstrumentsJan 198380885 MHz256 KB320 KB720x300 color graphics
DEC RainbowDigital Equipment Corporation198280884.81 MHz768 KB400 KB132x24 text mode, 8088 and Z80 CPUs
Wang PCWang LaboratoriesAug 198580868 MHz512 KB360 KB800x300 mono graphics
MBC-550Sanyo198280883.6 MHz256 KB360 KB 640x200 8 color graphics
Apricot PCApricot Computerslate 198380864.77 MHz768 KB720 KB800x400 mono graphics, 132x50 text mode
TS-1603TelevideoApr 198380884.77 MHz256 KB737 KBkeyboard had palm rests, 16 function keys; built-in modem
Tandy 2000Tandy CorporationNov 1983801868 MHz768 KB720 KBredefinable character set, optional 640x400 8-color or mono graphics

Shortly after IBM's introduction of its 286-based PC/AT, one reviewer remarked, "The bottom line is that the Tandy 2000 is still one of the hottest single-user machines on the market, and a full year after its introduction, its superiority remains unchallenged."
Applications software compatible with the MS-DOS operating system would run properly on the Tandy 2000. This means that the software had to access the computer's hardware strictly through calls to the operating system's BIOS. However, programs written to run under the similar PC DOS operating system on an actual IBM PC computer often bypassed calls to the operating system because the IBM BIOS was poorly designed and implemented. To function with adequate speed of execution, and to perform operations not provided for by the IBM BIOS, applications programmers often coded their programs to directly address the hardware of the IBM PC. Therefore, any computer such as the Tandy 2000 that had hardware that differed in its details from an IBM PC would not execute programs the same way, which most often manifested incorrect results by those programs.
Tandy engineers tested one hundred of the most popular PC programs and half were found to be incompatible with the 2000s hardware. Tandy's marketing department failed to appreciate that similar non-compatible computers from DEC, TI and Eagle were not successful. Its strategy of offering a high-performance PC was the origin of the Tandy 2000's technical specifications. Some of the rival computers improved the PC hardware and matched the Tandy 2000 in one or two dimensions, but none offered across-the-board enhancement. Except as noted, they ran MS-DOS but were incompatible with the IBM PC at the hardware level. The copycat computers competed primarily on lower pricing and, like Tandy, exploiting their installed customer bases.
Tandy described the 2000 as having a "'next generation' true 16-bit CPU", and with "More speed. More disk storage. More expansion" than the IBM PC or "other MS-DOS computers". While admitting in 1984 that many MS-DOS programs did not support the computer, the company stated that "the most popular, sophisticated software on the market" was available, either immediately or "over the next six months".
Two models of Tandy 2000 were introduced: a dual-drive floppy-only model for and the 2000HD with a single floppy drive and a half-height 10 MB hard drive for. The dual-floppy model had 128 KB RAM and the hard-drive-equipped 2000HD had 256 KB. For comparison, at this time the low-end TRS-80 Model 4 with two floppy drives cost and the high-end Model 16 with two floppy drives cost.
Tandy executive Ed Juge said that within six months Tandy realized that it had erred with the 2000. By early 1985 InfoWorld reported that Tandy introduced the Tandy 1000 because it "found that the market prefers true PC compatibility" to the 2000s incomplete compatibility. The Tandy 2000 received a lukewarm welcome by the market and the computer press because of its inability to run most popular MS-DOS applications. This was not anticipated by Tandy because, at the time, it was accepted practice for new software to be created for each new computer that came to market. This is also why so many of the other PC-style computers by other manufacturers were not hardware-compatible with the IBM PC. Though the company supported the machine with hardware add-ons and software tailored specially for it, the computer failed to gain popular acceptance and was never developed further. It would not be until late 1986, with the introduction of the Tandy 3000, that Tandy offered a PC-style computer with performance comparable with the Tandy 2000.
The Tandy 2000 was marketed through early 1988 with continual price cuts. Eventually they were closed out for $999 and the remaining unsold computers were converted into Radio Shack store operations terminals.