The company released TRS-80 Model II in 1979 and the Model III in 1980. The success of the TRS-80 motivated Radio Shack to launch an entire line of home computers. It outsold both the Apple II and the Commodore PET by an enormous margin. It went on to sell over 100,000 before the end of 1977. Instead, the TRS-80 sold over 10,000 units in its first month. The company only expected to sell the computers in the hundreds. The TRS-80 succeeded beyond Radio Shack’s highest anticipations.
In February 1977, their prototype received the blessing from Tandy Corporation (Radio Shack’s parent company) CEO Charles Tandy, and the computer was dubbed the “Tandy Radio Shack, Z-80,” shortened to TRS-80. The pair then traveled to California to visit National Semiconductor and ended up recruiting one of their unhappy workers, Steve Leininger, onto the project. The latter was the brainchild of Radio Shack employee Don French when he was inspired to design his own personal computer after buying a kit for the MITS Altair.įrench pitched the concept of selling home computers to Radio Shack’s vice president John Roach. August 3, 1977: Radio Shack Releases TRS-80Īugust 6, 1997: Microsoft Invests $150 Million in AppleĪugust 12, 1981: IBM Personal Computer Goes on SaleĪugust 16, 1995: Internet Explorer LaunchesĪugust 18, 1947: Hewlett-Packard IncorporatedĪugust 3, 1977: Radio Shack Releases TRS-80 REPORT/ġ977 saw the release of three nascent home computer industry pioneers: The Apple II, Commodore PET, and the TRS-80.
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