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History
APF Electronics Inc. was a publicly traded company in the United States dedicated to consumer electronics. The company’s name comes from the initials of the two brothers who founded it, Al and Phil Friedman. It was based in Queens, New York. Phil Friedman was an American who grew up in Japan, and his big brother, Albert, had worked at Olympic Radio before becoming president of Delmonico International, a stereo and television company. In July 1968, the two brothers founded APF Electronics.
The company was founded to import stereos from Japan into the U.S., specifically quadraphonic sets and 8-track players, and it then moved into calculators. In the early 1970s, APF marketed calculators such as the Mark III and Mark V, which had LED displays and used C batteries. By 1972, APF Electronics was a leading manufacturer of electronic calculators.
APF’s first step into video games came in 1976. The APF TV Fun series was APF’s first excursion into the video game market, and the company had been a calculator and small electronics developer before it. It was one of the first systems based on the common AY-3-8500 chipset from General Instrument, and it was available from 1976. Most or all TV Fun consoles were manufactured in Japan. A 1976 issue of Popular Mechanics listed the original APF TV Fun at $90, for one or two players. More than 400,000 units were sold in the first year, which led APF to develop other models, and by 1977 APF had released six other models.
After the release of the Fairchild Channel F in 1976, APF saw the potential of cartridge-based consoles and decided to work on its own. Ed Smith, an engineer at APF, remembers that his first project was building the prototype for what became the MP1000.
By the time the MP1000 was on the market, Ed Smith and his team were already about three months into the design of the computer module that would become the Imagination Machine. During the conception of the MP1000, APF management had heard that both Atari and Mattel were planning a computer add-on for their upcoming consoles. Around that time, Irving Boylen, APF’s head of engineering, led the design of the PeCos One, the first personal computer made by APF. Short for Personal Computer One, it used a proprietary language called PeCos 1 instead of BASIC, which was a version of JOSS. Although this choice was not well received by consumers and the PeCos One was quickly discontinued, it gave APF the necessary expertise to go forward with another project: the Imagination Machine. Thinking that if they could beat Atari to the punch, they could get a bigger piece of the pie, APF worked tirelessly on its new venture. vintagecomputingwikiwand
During the conception of the MP1000, APF management heard that both Atari and Mattel were planning a computer add-on for their upcoming console. Around that time, Irving Boilen, APF’s head of engineering led the design of the PeCos One, the first personal computer made by APF. Short for Personal Computer One, the computer used the JOSS Language (an acronym for JOHNNIAC Open Shop System) instead of the popular BASIC language. Although this choice was not well received by the consumers and the PeCos One was quickly discontinued, this gave the necessary expertise to APF to go forward with another project : the Imagination Machine. Thinking that if they could be Atari to punch, they could get a bigger part of the cake, APF worked tirelessly on their new venture.
Release
By mid-1979, as the sales of the MP1000 were slowing down, APF was finally ready to release its personal computer extension. Almost a year after the release of its console, APF released the Imagination Machine. Although it was less powerful than the other personal computers of the time, like the Apple II, the Imagination Machine was sold for $599, less than half the price of the Apple II. The Imagination Machine used the Motorola 6800 CPU of the MP1000 and came bundled with the console (renamed the M1000). If you already had the console, you could purchase the Imagination Machine for $499. A lot of external peripherals, like a floppy drive and a printer, were also available from the start.
Although well received by journalists, the Imagination Machine was not well received by the public. This was mostly because APF decided to sell the computer through the same channel as the MP1000. This meant that store clerks with no technical background or qualifications were tasked with selling a fairly complex product. With no understanding of the inner workings, customers were very uneasy about the idea of having a video game machine perform serious tasks like their personal finances. Another problem was the inclusion of a tape drive directly in the system. Apple had just released its Disk II drive, which made the Imagination Machine feel a bit outdated. In the end, APF was able to move fewer than 20,000 units.
Demise
Wanting to distance itself from the “toy” feel of the Imagination Machine, APF designed an updated version of the computer called the Imagination Machine II. The new model included the circuitry of the M1000 directly in the device and added more memory, which made it look more professional. By January 1981, the Imagination Machine II was presented at the Consumer Electronics Show, but it didn’t generate a lot of attention. APF had spent a lot of money developing the MP1000 and the Imagination Machine and now had more than $7 million in debt. The bank didn’t think the Imagination Machine had a future, especially after the release of the IBM Personal Computer in August 1981. The video game industry was still perceived as a fad, so the bank asked APF to center its activity around the calculator line, which was still successful, or to repay the loan immediately. The APF management refused to change its strategy and handed the company back to the bank, which proceeded with the foreclosure.
Games & Software
The marketing documents speak of 30 pieces of software for the Imagination Machine, but so far, they haven’t all been identified. As the Imagination Machine included an MP1000, it is possible that the documentation also counted the MP1000’s 12 cartridges and the built-in games of the system. Only three cartridges were released specifically for the Imagination Machine. All other software was on audio tape.
- Cartridges
- APF Basic
- Artist and Easel
- Budget Manager
- Audio Tapes
- [MA-125] Music Composer/Player Piano
- [MA-150] Typing Tutor
- [MA-200] Math Tutor
- [MA-225] Perception 1
- [MA-250] Space, Size and Surface Guide
- [MA-275] Personal Business Machine
- [MA-325] Artist and Easel
- [MA-350] Bar Charts
- [MA-375] The Word Factory
- [MA-400] Spelling Duel
- [MA-425] Electronic Files
- [MA-475] Billboard
- [MA-550] Jumbled Up Things
- [MA-575] Space Destroyers
- [MA-???] Lunar Lander
- [MA-???] Diagnostic
- [MA-???] Basic Tutor
- [MA-???] Computer Lab
- [MA-???] Adventure Castle
- [MA-???] Checkbook/Financial Manager
- [MA-???] Budget Manager II
- [MA-???] Demo8
Imagination Machine Peripherals
The Imagination Machine had several peripherals available on release day. The appeal of the Imagination Machine was its low cost. Adding multiple peripherals would make the price of the machine significantly higher, which would make it a less appealing option than a high-end machine like the Apple II. Because of this, the peripherals for the system are extremely rare.
- Building Block – $200: An extension needed to plug in multiple peripherals.
- 8K RAM addition – $99.95
- Floppy interface – $199.95
- Mini Floppy – $349.95
- Printer – $399.95
- Modem – $199.95
- BASIC ROM Cartridge – $49.95
Technical Specifications
Since the Imagination Machine used the MP1000/M1000 CPU and RAM, their technical specifications are identical except where noted otherwise.
- CPU: Motorola 6800
- Speed: 3.5 MHz
- RAM: 1 KB
- The Imagination Machine has an additional 8 KB of RAM (for a total of 9 KB)
- This can be extended to 16 KB (for a total of 17 KB)
- Resolution: 256 × 192 pixels / 32 × 16 characters, 8 colors