Manufacturer

HH Microcomputers (UK)

Model

Tiger

Date Launched

November 1983

Price

£2795

Microprocessor type

Zilog Z80A @ 4MHz main processor
Motorola 6809 @ 2MHz for I/O
NEC 7220 for graphics

ROM size

18 kilobytes total

Standard RAM

162 kilobytes total
(64KB main + 96KB video + 2KB I/O + 0.5KB CMOS)

Maximum RAM

162 kilobytes?

Keyboard type

Typewriter style with numeric pad

Supplied language

None
Microsoft BASIC optional

Text resolution

40 x 24 or 80 x 24 characters

Graphics resolution

512 x 512 pixels

Colours available

8
Any pixel could be set to any colour.

Sound

Not known

Cassette load speed

Not known, but a cassette interface was incorporated.

Dimensions (mm)
Weight (grams)

approx 475 x 350 x 80 (cpu unit)
approx 480 x 330 x 300 (display unit)
5900g (cpu unit)

Special features

High resolution graphics and dedicated 96KB of video RAM provided impressive display capabilities.
Monitor unit included two 720KB floppy disk drives.

Good points

CP/M compatible.
Numerous interfaces (RS232, Centronics, networking, lightpen, extra disk drives) built in.
A complete and integrated computer system requiring no further expansion for most purposes.

Bad points

The price was very high, even for a business machine.
No software was included in the price.

How successful?

Sales seem to have been low and some sources say it never went into full production. Business users were beginning to move to the new 16-bit computers.

Comments

The Tiger is a little-remembered rarity. Although it was thoughtfully designed and very usable, the end of 1983 was probably too late to launch a top-of-the-range 8-bit business machine.
The design was in fact bought from Tangerine Computers.
Read a review of the Tiger.