Apple IIc Plus

The Apple IIc Plus is the sixth and final model in the Apple II line of personal computers, produced by Apple Computer. The "Plus" in the name was a reference to the additional features it offered over the original portable Apple IIc, such as greater storage capacity (a built-in 3.5-inch floppy drive replacing the classic 5.25-inch), increased processing speed, and a general standardization of the system components. In a notable change of direction, the Apple IIc Plus, for the most part, did not introduce new technology or any further evolutionary contributions to the Apple II series, instead merely integrating existing peripherals into the original Apple IIc design. The development of the 8-bit machine was criticized by quarters more interested in the significantly more advanced 16-bit Apple II<small>GS</small>.

History

The Apple IIc Plus was introduced on September 16, 1988 at the AppleFest conference in San Francisco, with less fanfare than the Apple IIc had received four years earlier. Described as a little more than a "turbocharged version of the IIc with a high-capacity 3½ disk drive" by one magazine review of the time, some users were disappointed. Many IIc users already had add-ons giving them something rather close to what the new model offered.

Before the official release of the machine, it had been rumored to be a slotless version of the Apple II<small>GS</small> squeezed into the portable case of the Apple IIc. Apple...
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