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CPC
,/* The Plus series */
The last models in the Amstrad CPC range were the [[Plus|Amstrad 464 Plus]] and [[Plus|Amstrad 6128 Plus]], launched together in 1990. The CPC name is said to have been dropped because of a legal dispute with a French firm, though it is also likely that "CPC 6128 Plus" was considered too unwieldy a name and one redolent of the machine's mid-80s heritage.
Described as a solution of 'too little, too late', this was Amstrad's second effort to prolong the life of its 8-bit computer series in the face of fierce competition from new 16-bit machines (notably, the [[Atari|Atari ST]] and the Commodore [[Amiga]]). The Plus series were mostly (but not quite 100%) compatible with the original CPC computers, and incorporated a list of [[ASIC|new features]], like a cartridge port for instant program loading, DMA for the [[AY]] soundchip, hardware scrolling, programmable interrupts, 16 hardware zoomable sprites (not vectorized) with an independent palette of 15 colours, and a choice of 4096 colours all in a new, sleek case which mimicked the keyboard-computer design that was ''en vogue'' in the 16-bit market (ST, Amiga etc).
While the Amstrad Plus computers were arguably one of the best 8-bit computers ever built for the mass market, they died an early death as the 16-bit era had well and truly begun.
