★ PEOPLES ★ AMSTRAD DOMINATES CHRISTMAS SHOPPING (POPULAR COMPUTING WEEKLY) ★ |
| Amstrad dominates Christmas shopping (Popular Computing Weekly) |
THE main High Street chain stores have noticeably reduced their computer ranges for the Christmas selling period. Amstrad machines will dominate the shelves, while Commodore, with its Connoisseur's Compendium, has a much lower profile in the largest stores. Boots is concentrating on the Spectrum Plus 2 for the games sector. It is selling the machine with a joystick, six games, and six Boots C15 blank tapes for £ 159.95. The store also has the Kempston mouse plus Art Studio package for the Spectrum at £69.95. At the other end of the home market, Boots is stocking the Amstrad PCW 8256/8512, at their usual prices of £458.85 and £573.85 respectively. Commodore's only presence in Boots will be through a Boots exclusive Compendium, which comprises the old-style 64, C2N tape deck, joystick, Currah speech synthesiser, Trojan light pen, a programming book, five games, and six blank tapes -all for £199.99. W H Smith is stocking Amstrad products exclusively: the CPC 464 and 6128, PCWs 8256 and 8512 and the Spectrum Plus 2. "The Spectrum Plus 2s are selling very well indeed." John Rowland, Smith's merchandise controller, commented; W H Smith is not, however, selling the Amstrad PC. Rowland feels that the Commodore Connoisseur's Compendium containing the 64C is "too expensive". "However," he says, "We are selling off some old 64s, in Music packs." The John Lewis Group is stocking the full Amstrad range from the Spectrum Plus 2 up to the PC1512 range. The group is still uncertain about Commodore's computers and is not stocking any from Atari. Lasky's is selling two versions of the Spectrum Plus 2 - in a joystick plus six games bundle for £159.99 and the computer on its own at £149.99. Lasky's has one of the wider ranges this year with the BBC Master 128 at £499.99 and the Master Compact at £459.99, Amstrad's 6128 in both colour and black and white versions, the PCWs, and single disc versions of the PC 1512. It also has the Commodore Connoisseur's Compendium at £249.99. Finally, Dixons is also going for a wide range and has a number of older computers at special offer prices: the Atari 800XL, plus joystick, software and a data recorder at £69.99, the Electron, with software and a data recorder at £79.99, the Spectrum Plus, software, data recorder and joystick at £109.99, the Spectrum 128, with a similar pack at £139.99, and the QL at £119. Of the newer machines, its Spectrum Plus 2 comes with a 10 pack of software and a joystick for £159.99. It is also stocking the CPC464 and 6128, the PCWs, and, of course, the PC1512s. Dixons is selling the Commodore 64C at £249.99, and selected branches have the Acorn Master Compact. For further details of computers available this Christmas, turn to our Hardware Buyers' Guide, which starts on page 23. Popular Computing Weekly (1986-11)
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