When it comes to the PET, I never really considered it a "Home" computer. It was more aligned towards businesses and serious hobbyists of the day. To me, the Vic 20 was the first 8 bit computer Commodore offered as a "Home" computer. What, to me, defines a home computer is the fact that: a) It would "Work" with a standard television set, b) It offered colour and sound to make it suitable as an entertainment console, and c) Most importantly is the price. The PET, while very well-priced for a computer like it in its day, was still quite expensive, costing over a thousand dollars. A "Home" computer shouldn't cost more than, say, a VCR or a decent stereo system component. This still holds true today, with the bulk of home computers priced in the mid-hundreds. As such, the Vic 20, while based on the PET, was Commodore's first true offering to the masses as a home computer.
The C64 was still largely based on the Vic 20; so much so that, prior to its introduction, it was called the Vic 64. It was basically a Vic 20 with the graphical capability and memory people wanted, but with an added bonus; the SID chip. As we all know, the C128 is essentially a beefed-up C64 with, again, the features people wanted in a C64: An 80 column screen mode, real CP/M compatibility, a better BASIC, a better keyboard, and more memory. This time, they also ensured full backwards compatibility.
The Plus/4 and C16 are, to me, of a completely different family of 8 bit computers. Where the Vic 20, C64, and C128 are a trio, the Plus/4 and C16 are a duo. While the Vic, C64, and C128 were all fully hardware compatible with each other, the Plus/4 and C16 only shared the serial bus interface.
Alan wrote:
I don't really count the Plus/4 or PET. I'd never even seen a PET, though they looked cool in photos. Like most people, probably, I was very interested in the Plus/4. That interest rapidly faded about 5 minutes after the first time I used one. I seriously considered a C16 as a replacement for my VIC, but in no time I could get a C64 for about the same price.
My sentiments exactly; I, too, considered the C16 until the prices dropped substantially on the C64; then it was like, why bother with a C16 when the C64 really did have it all?
Alan wrote:I never owned a 128, but I totally lusted after them. For me, the C128 was Commodore finally getting everything right in an 8-bit machine. I remember thinking that the C128 was just perfect. The looks, awesome BASIC, 80 columns, CP/M, quality power supply... it really was a great computer from top to bottom.
Yep, me too. I actually started saving for a 128, and when I had enough money, I realized that, add on what I could get for my entire C64 system, I could own an Amiga 500 with a 1084s monitor. In retrospect, it still cost me more by the time I had to buy a new printer, modem, second disk drive, more memory; then there was the expense of rebuilding my game and software library. A short while after I bought my A500, the prices were really dropping on the 1571's and 1581's. With access to the world of CP/M, I could only imagine the kind of system I'd have ended up with had I gone the C128 route.