Company:APF Electronics Inc.
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| Industry | Consumer electronics, video games |
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| Headquarters | Queens, NY |
Key people | Al Friedman, Phil Friedman, Ed Smith, Steve Lipper, Harry Cox, Howard Boylen, Kenny Boylen |
APF Electronics, Inc. was a publicly traded company in the United States dedicated to consumer electronics. The company's name comes from the initials of the two brothers who founded the company, Al & Phil Friedman.[1]
History
The company was founded to import stereos from Japan to the U.S., specifically quadraphonic sets and 8-track player. They moved into calculators.[2]
APF had locations in Queens, NY where they were headquartered, and in Hong Kong, where they owned a factory. In all, APF employed 300 people.[2]
Products
APF marketed calculators in the early 1970s. Models such as the Mark III and Mark V had LED displays and used C batteries.[3]
APF TV Fun was a series of classic first generation video game consoles. It is one of the first system based on the common AY-3-8500 chipset from General Instruments. There are TV Fun Model 401A and TV Fun Sportsarama. The series was first available in 1976.[4]
APF-MP1000, also called M-1000, was a second generation video game console released in 1978 at a price of $130 (~$510.00 in 2019).[5] Twelve cartridges were released in addition to the built-in game Rocket Patrol.
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APF PeCos One was a computer system released in 1978.[6] The name stood for "Personal Computing System." It came equipped with two built-in tape drives[7] and a monitor. Instead of using BASIC it used a proprietary language called PeCos 1.[8]
APF Imagination Machine was a computer module released in 1979 for $599 (~$2.11 thousand in 2019). When combined with the M-1000 console it became a computer. The module added RAM, BASIC, a 53-key typewriter keyboard, and a dual-track cassette tape deck with 1500 baud rate for digitally recorded tape programs. The specifications were the result of reverse engineering several popular computers at the time.[2]
APF Mathemagician is a tabletop handheld calculator game released in 1980. By itself, it's a math learning tool and standard calculator, but it has 6 different overlays that convert it into one of several games.[9]
APF Imagination Machine II was a computer-video game console hybrid that was in the final development stages around 1983. It was more powerful and was an all-in-one unit. The project was cancelled. It is unknown if any prototypes exist.[2]
Bankruptcy
The video game crash of 1983 caused the APF Imagination Machine II project to be cancelled and APF, by then a publicly traded company, filed for bankruptcy.[2]
References
- ↑ "APF Electronics Inc". Old Apps. oldapps.com. http://www.oldapps.com/timeline/company/apf_electronics_inc. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "APF Page". http://www.nausicaa.net/~lgreenf/apfpage.htm.
- ↑ "APF". Vintage Calculators Web Museum. vintagecalculators.com. http://www.vintagecalculators.com/html/apf.html. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ↑ "Museum of Video Games - APF Electronics Inc". Museum of Video Games. MoVG. http://www.movg.org/?cat=53. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ↑ "Tag Archives: APF Electronic Inc". Gamester81. http://gamester81.com/tag/apf-electronic-inc/. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ↑ PeCos One. computerhistory.org. 1978. http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/X710.86.
- ↑ "Company Profile: APF Electronics Inc. (New York, N.Y.)". Classic Tech: Vintage computers and related technology. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221222558/http://classictech.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/company-profile-apf-electronics-inc-new-york-n-y/.
- ↑ Loguidice, Bill. "Home Computer Designations of the Late 1970s: A Feature Article". Armchair Arcade. http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/3400. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ↑ "APF Mathemagician". Handheld Museum. http://www.handheldmuseum.com/Misc/APFMathemagician.htm. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
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