The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 and manufactured until 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1.79 MHz, roughly twice that of similar designs, and were the first home computers designed with custom co-processor chips. This architecture allowed the Atari designs to offer graphics and sound capabilities that were more advanced than contemporary machines like the Apple II or Commodore PET, and gaming on the platform was a major draw – Star Raiders is widely considered the platform’s killer app. Machines with similar performance would not appear until the BBC Micro in late 1981 and the Commodore 64 in 1982.

The original Atari 400 and 800 models were released with a series of plug-n-play peripherals that used Atari’s unique “SIO” serial bus system. Over the following decade several versions of the same basic design were released, including the XL and XE series of computers and matching peripherals. All of these used the same basic logical design, with various changes to the physical layout to lower production costs as chipmaking and manufacturing processes improved over time. The early machines were expensive to build, but dependable. Later models like the XEs were greatly cost-reduced and generally not as robust. Sub-models of these later designs were sold into the eastern European market after sales of the main lineup had ended.

Overall, the Atari 8-bit computer line was a commercial success, selling two million units during its major production run between late 1979 and mid-1985, putting its sales on par with machines like the Sinclair ZX Spectrum and TI-99/4A. Its primary competition in the worldwide market was the Commodore 64, by far the best selling computer of the 8-bit era. Atari also found a strong market in Eastern Europe and had something of a renaissance in the early 1990s as these countries joined a uniting Europe. Some estimates place sales during this period at another two million units.

Atari 400 inside the package:

Package Contents:

• Atari 400 Home Computer.
• Manuals.
• External Power Supply.
• 48k Ram Expansion Kit (this one was added by me and not included in the original packaging)

Atari 825 – 80 Column printer:

Atari introduced with its Atari 400 and 800 series computers its first 80 Column printer.   The Atari 825 which actually a repackaged Centronics 737 printer.   Earlier models had limited capabilities, the later 825 models with the extended basic character set had the capability of producing the Atari ATASCII graphics character set.  The Atari 825 required the use of the Atari 850 interface module to allow it to communicate with the Atari 400 and 800 computer because it had a Centronic parallel interface on it instead of the Atari SIO interface which the Atari 820 and Atari 822 printers had built in.

The B Key 400:

The B Key 400 is a replacement keyboard for the keyboard membrane of the Atari 400.

Atari The Communicator:

The Atari Communicator package include everything that you need to connect to a Bulletin Board System (BBS) through the telephone line.

The Atari 830 Acoustic Modem was sold separately and also in the Communicator Package.

Package Contents:

• External Power Supply.
• Manuals.
• Sio Cable.
• Telelink I Cartridge software.
• Atari 830 Acoustic Modem (Up to 300 BPS – Bell 103/113 modem compatible)
• Atari 850 Interface Module (4 x Serial Port RS232C and 1 x 8-Bit Parallel Centronics port)

Atari The Communicator II:

The Atari Communicator II package includes everything that you need to connect to a Bulletin Board System (BBS) through the telephone line.

Package Contents:

• External Power Supply.
• Manuals.
• Sio Cable.
• Telelink II Cartridge software.
• Telephone Cable.
• Atari 835 Direct-Connect Modem

 Atari The Programmer:

The Atari Programmer package includes everything that you need to start programming in Basic language.

Package Contents:

• Basic Cartridge software.
• Manuals.
• A box of floppy disks (this one was added by me)

Atari The Bookkeeper:

The Atari Bookkeeper include a package of Financial Software and a CX85 Numerical Keypad.

Atari introduced the Atari CX-85 numeric keypad which plugged into one of the available front joystick ports on the Atari 800 and using a special driver will allow the numeric keypad to be used with any Atari program or for programming in BASIC or other programming languages.

The Atari CX85 Numerical Keypad is the ideal tool for entering numbers into your Atari 800 Home Computer. Styled after a standard 10-key adding machine, the keypad is instantly familiar and easy to use.

Package Contents:

• Manuals.
• 4 x Floppy Disk with software (Accounting / Business / Finance / Income)
• Atari CX85 Numerical Keypad.

Gallery with all photos in High Resolution:

source: wikipedia