While the 1200XL never got a PAL version due to its short life and I never saw one until the mid 2010s, I had one shipped to Europe and converted it to PAL (plus some upgrades). I find it pleasant to look at and to type on but the recessed cartridge port is a bit inconvenient as several modern cartridges don‘t fit. While no longer that important the 1200XL wasn’t that attractive as an alternative to the 800XL as one might think as it lacked the PBI port. Personally I would have preferred for Atari to go with the existing Axlon „standard“ for switching extra RAM and keep the option to use 4 joysticks.
I had one, in fact I still have it packed away in its original box in the back of a closet along with a box of peripherals and software (that and an old Sega Genesis). I’m not sure why I kept it, moving it from apartment to apartment, house to house over the decades. I haven’t turned on the 1200XL since the 80s. I guess I’ve kept it for sentimental reasons. It was my first computer.
I had been interested in computers since the 70s (yup playing Pong on an arcade machine in California during a family vacation). Finally, around 83 I had graduated college and had a little money and saw it in a department store. It looked futuristic and cool and had the Atari brand.
My two strongest memories are playing games on it and learning to program. Yes, that includes the obligatory “Hello World” program. Now memory may be faulty (it has been decades) but I remember that I didn’t have any storage peripheral, so I had to write down my programs and type them in each time I wanted to use them. Maybe it eventually had a storage option but if so, I don’t remember owning one. That really hindered my programing interest at the time.
In terms of games, I know I had a bunch of games but for the life of me I cannot remember if they were the 1200XL or my second computer which was an early third-party PC. My memory is playing Pong, Seven Cities of Gold, MULE and so many others. I guess I could go and look to see what software is in the box. I do know that true productivity software had to wait until my second computer.
Anyway, since you asked, that is my memory of the 1200XL.
Me and my 2 brothers had a 1200xl that my mom got us for 595$ back in 1984,I have the receipt still today is how I know this, any way 🐧 pengo and qix were awesome
I must have benefited from the release of the 1200XL because my dad bought me an Atari 800 when there was a big sale. I believe I got a few other items included with the 800, such as Centipede. Perhaps the 410 cassette drive as well.
The 1200XL was the first computer we owned at home. Our school system had a couple of Apple IIs, which were reserved for the science teacher's class, and two Ataris - 800 & 400 - in the library. During recess we used to goof around with the library ones, so when it came time to get the first family computer, we chose an Atari. Right around the time we were looking into Ataris, the 1200XL came out. It looked more advanced - by looks - and the keyboard was definitely more ergonomic. We brought it home, along with an 810 disk drive. We used them endlessly. I don't remember the software compatibility issues that much, but I do remember that connecting to a printer was challenging. The Ape-Face interface, connected to a Star Micronics Dot matrix printer often spit out dingbats, which messed with homework.
One more thing. At least some 1200XLs had a splash screen with a large rainbow-colored Atari logo. I am not sure if that was part of the self-test or predated the self-test.
While the 1200XL never got a PAL version due to its short life and I never saw one until the mid 2010s, I had one shipped to Europe and converted it to PAL (plus some upgrades). I find it pleasant to look at and to type on but the recessed cartridge port is a bit inconvenient as several modern cartridges don‘t fit. While no longer that important the 1200XL wasn’t that attractive as an alternative to the 800XL as one might think as it lacked the PBI port. Personally I would have preferred for Atari to go with the existing Axlon „standard“ for switching extra RAM and keep the option to use 4 joysticks.
I had one, in fact I still have it packed away in its original box in the back of a closet along with a box of peripherals and software (that and an old Sega Genesis). I’m not sure why I kept it, moving it from apartment to apartment, house to house over the decades. I haven’t turned on the 1200XL since the 80s. I guess I’ve kept it for sentimental reasons. It was my first computer.
I had been interested in computers since the 70s (yup playing Pong on an arcade machine in California during a family vacation). Finally, around 83 I had graduated college and had a little money and saw it in a department store. It looked futuristic and cool and had the Atari brand.
My two strongest memories are playing games on it and learning to program. Yes, that includes the obligatory “Hello World” program. Now memory may be faulty (it has been decades) but I remember that I didn’t have any storage peripheral, so I had to write down my programs and type them in each time I wanted to use them. Maybe it eventually had a storage option but if so, I don’t remember owning one. That really hindered my programing interest at the time.
In terms of games, I know I had a bunch of games but for the life of me I cannot remember if they were the 1200XL or my second computer which was an early third-party PC. My memory is playing Pong, Seven Cities of Gold, MULE and so many others. I guess I could go and look to see what software is in the box. I do know that true productivity software had to wait until my second computer.
Anyway, since you asked, that is my memory of the 1200XL.
It paired nicely with the 1010 tape drive or 1050 disk drive for storage
Thanks for sharing!
Me and my 2 brothers had a 1200xl that my mom got us for 595$ back in 1984,I have the receipt still today is how I know this, any way 🐧 pengo and qix were awesome
Qix is still one of my favorites!
I must have benefited from the release of the 1200XL because my dad bought me an Atari 800 when there was a big sale. I believe I got a few other items included with the 800, such as Centipede. Perhaps the 410 cassette drive as well.
The 1200XL was the first computer we owned at home. Our school system had a couple of Apple IIs, which were reserved for the science teacher's class, and two Ataris - 800 & 400 - in the library. During recess we used to goof around with the library ones, so when it came time to get the first family computer, we chose an Atari. Right around the time we were looking into Ataris, the 1200XL came out. It looked more advanced - by looks - and the keyboard was definitely more ergonomic. We brought it home, along with an 810 disk drive. We used them endlessly. I don't remember the software compatibility issues that much, but I do remember that connecting to a printer was challenging. The Ape-Face interface, connected to a Star Micronics Dot matrix printer often spit out dingbats, which messed with homework.
Talk about memories....
The 1200XL was a dream machine when I was 12/13 years old and derping on my Atari 400.
One more thing. At least some 1200XLs had a splash screen with a large rainbow-colored Atari logo. I am not sure if that was part of the self-test or predated the self-test.
I did not know this.