The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, cover

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, cover

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, Apple II+ table

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, Apple II+ table

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, Apple II+ arguments

The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system, Apple II+ arguments

In July 1982, Atari offered its dealers a small booklet entitled "The salesperson's guide to the Atari 400 home computer system". An equivalent brochure, entitled "The Atari 800 Home computer system salesperson's guide", was also distributed for the Atari 800.

The aim of this booklet for the 400 was multiple:

At the time of writing this booklet, Atari identified the following computers as plausible competitors of the Atari 400:

It is strange and almost comical — in retrospect — to realise that Atari seemed genuinely concerned about a gaming console, the Mattel Intellivision, and its upcoming keyboard expansion. The availability of this keyboard became a joke, a running gag in the industry and even within Mattel. According to Wikipedia, the Mattel Intellivision keyboard component debacle was ranked as No. 11 on GameSpy's "25 dumbest moments in gaming".

Historical context

Note that at this very moment, in July 1982:

{1} Please read the "256 Colours" article in the knowledge base for all the details.
{2} Please read the "CTIA/GTIA" article in the knowledge base for all the details.

Comparison table, part #1

Standard featureAtari 400Apple II+Commodore VIC-20Tandy TRS-80 colorTexas Instruments TI 99/4A
Memory (RAM)16K16K5K16K16K
Maximum RAM16K48K {3}32K32K52K
Display (text)40 x 2440 x 2422 x 2332 x 1632 x 24
Highest resolution320 x 192280 x 192176 x 18464 x 32256 x 192
Graphics modes92112
Text modes31112
Colors128 {4}1616816
Sound registers (voices)41413
Keys (keyboard)6152665348
Lower case lettersYesNoYesNoYes
Cartridge slots10111
Controller jacks41121
Custom chips30101

{3} [This footnote appears in the original brochure] 64K with accessory card.
{4} 128 colours with CTIA, 256 colours with GTIA and its 3 additional graphic modes.

Comparison table, part #2

Standard featureAtari 400Intellivision without keyboardIntellivision with keyboard
User-ProgrammableYesNoYes
Programmable memory16KNone16K
Maximum programmable memory16KNone{5}
Display (text)40 x 24n/a39 x 24
Highest resolution320 x 192160 x 192160 x 192
Graphics modes911
Text modes301
Colors128 {6}1616
Sound registers (voices)433
Keys (keyboard)61060
Lower case lettersYesNoYes
Cartridge slots111
Controller jacks42 controllers built-in2 controllers built-in
Custom chips300

{5} [This footnote appears in the original brochure] As of this printing (July 1982), the manufacturer has not specified the method or availability of equipment to expand this unit beyond 16K.
{6} 128 colours with CTIA, 256 colours with GTIA and its 3 additional graphic modes.

Atari 400 vs. Apple II+

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Apple II Plus Computer Strong Points:

Atari 400 vs. Commodore VIC-20

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Commodore VIC-20 Computer Strong Points:

Atari 400 vs. Tandy TRS-80 color

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Tandy TRS-80 color Computer Strong Points:

Atari 400 vs. Texas Instruments TI 99/4A

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Texas Instruments TI 99/4A Computer Strong Points:

Atari 400 vs. Intellivision without keyboard

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Mattel Intellivision Strong Points:

Atari 400 vs. Intellivision with keyboard

ATARI 400 Computer Strong Points:

Mattel Intellivision Computer Strong Points:


Knowledge base article: kb-promo-0001-atari-400-sales-person-guide-comparison-with-competitors.
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