The PCW series was (and almost certainly still is) unique. The concept was a simple one. A dedicated device that was designed to replace the typewriter. This may not seem so revolutionary today as it did in 1985 as there are dedicated word processors on the market today. However, these modern word processors are really nothing more than re-engineered typewriters. The PCW scored because it was also a very powerful personal computer capable of running a wide range of business software. And it came with a printer as standard. This was no mere bundle - it was an integral part of the whole design. And it was cheap - a mere £299. Name me a computer manufacturer that can produce a good quality computer with a printer and a decent word processing package for that kind of money today!

So what did you get for your money? The PCW comprises a monitor with a clear, crisp mono green display (which is what is required for word processing - much better on the eyes that modern fancy colour screens). Integrated into the monitor is the computer itself plus a disk drive. Attached by one cable is a good quality keyboard and another cable connects to the printer. Here again, the PCW scores over modern PC's - it doesn't need reams of cabling hanging out of the back to be tripped over or damaged.

At the heart of the PCW is the Zilog Z80a processor running at around 4Mhz - doesn't need a fan to keep it cool so it is quite happy to live in the same box as the monitor (unlike modern processors). The disk drive is an Hitachi 3 inch device which though not a standard size was generally reliable and was capable of holding 173k of data per side. The printer was a good solid dot matrix device which for the time was an expensive thing to buy on its own. The keyboard was not a standard PC one but nevertheless is recognisable and easy to use with dedicated keys for a variety of different operations. The screen itself was capable of displaying 90 columns by 32 lines with a good qulaity font for even the most tired eyes. It came with the Locoscript Word Processor which was (and still is) a very powerful package and effectively came for free. Its main screen also doubled as a file manager that included groups and a deleted file recovery system (limbo files). The underlying operating system is CP/M which meant that it could run a wide variety of business software including household names such as Supercalc and Wordstar. Also bundled free was a version of BASIC called Mallard that was a superset of MBASIC and included extra commands for some very sophisticated database functions. Memory as standard is 256k with 61k available to run programs (32k when using BASIC) and the rest is available as a RAMdisk M: drive which is effectively a small but very fast disk drive.

In operation, it lacked something which these days we take for granted. The PCW didn't have a hard drive and hence was a floppy only computer. Inserting either a CP/M or Locoscript disk into the drive and pushing the power button would load the appropriate environment and within a few seconds you could begin work. Power down was equally quick. The disadvantage was that the floppy disks were of a limited capacity. There was however an answer.

The 8256 was designed to be upgradable. Extra memory could be fitted on the board as could an extra drive. However, it was obvious that it had always been Amstrad's intention to provide an upgraded model once the 8256 became established. So...

Amstrad PCW 8512

With the success of the 8256 came a new model with more memory and an extra disk drive. The extra memory meant that the M: drive was much larger and hence more useful. The second drive was capable of storing up to 720k of data although the size of the A: drive remained the same. In all other respects the 2 machines were identical and it wasn't posssible to upgrade the 8512 any further. However...

Amstrad PCW 9512

The success of the PCW series lead Amstrad to upgrade the range further. This time the stalwart dot matrix printer was replaced by a daisy wheel printer which gave better quality but was unable to print graphics (not necessarily a problem for a dedicated word processor). The case was revamped and more in keeping with a more standard PC configuration with the monitor on top of a system case that house the motherboard and disk drive (now a 720k as standard) with space for another 720k drive. The amount of memory was the same as for the 8512. The monitor was now also paper white rahter than green. Altogether, a nice upgrade and if you didn't like the provided printer then it could be disconnected and another could be added using the standard 25 way parallel printer port at the back of the machine.

Amstrad PCW 9256+/9512+

The 9512 was then given a further boost by incorporating a 3.5 inch floppy instead of the 3 inch variety. The 9256+ was essentially a 9512 with less memory and the 9512 exactly the same as its predecessor apart from the new disk drive.

Amstrad PCW16

That just about wraps it up for the PCW series except that in 1996 Amstrad brought out one last PCW. However, this was so different from any of the other PCW's that it warrants an article all of its own and can be found here.