EACA Colour Genie

Your move! The Colour Genie is a somewhat out of place in my collection for the the notable and famous, as it is neither of those. However it is a model that is now hard to find.

This computer is from EACA, the same Hong Kong-based family as the Dick Smith System 80/Video Genie etc. It was introduced in 1982 with the hope that its full-stroke keyboard, Z80-driven colour, sound and extended BASIC (similar to the Level II BASIC of the TRS-80 Model 1) would win hearts and minds.

It didn't.

Setting aside the fact that anyone who vaguely had anything to do with electronics was starting to crowd the market with home computers of their own, three things conspired against the Colour Genie. First, EACA was never wealthy and did not have the financial resources to promote the Colour Genie in western countries to any extent. Second, apart from BASIC (and then only if you didn't use sound or graphics commands), the computer was incompatible with its previous sibling the System 80/Video Genie/PMC-80. Hence no software except the most basic kind (excuse the pun) was available. Third, the hardware was mediocre compared to other home computers of the time, many of whom sported custom sound and graphics chips. All these things meant that history was to consign the Colour Genie to the status of "also-ran".

It's fun to drag out and play with though. Its colour text is not very clear even using direct composite video. It kind of bleeds making it a little blurry. Some of the Colour Genie emulators even have this built in as an option to give it that "authentic" feel.

The unit I have (pictured above) is in good condition and works just fine. Also housed with the computer is a small collection of tape software I've rescued to PC hard drive, much of it of German origin? Oddly enough, the Colour Genie seems to have cultivated a small but loyal following in that country. This is probably due to the local distributor Trommeschlager Computer GmbH (TCS), who did a good job promoting the unit as they had the Video Genie before. The two original manuals and a book completes the package, along with some interesting club newsletters. I've also got a second working (but somewhat yellowed) Colour Genie as a spare.

I remember seeing a Colour Genie in a shop in 1982 and thinking it looked quite sexy compared to the Tandy Colour Computer it was sitting next to. I even considered it briefly as a natural upgrade to the System 80. In hindsight, not buying it was a good call. However, I am glad I now own one of these rare models.

Want to know more about this micro? Google is your friend.

This page last edited 30th August, 2008

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