The Acorn Businesss Computer 210 was a Xenix machine running on a 32016 16-bit processor with a 6502 processor for I/O functions. The computer came with a color monitor, a 10MByte Hard Disk Drive, and a 720kByte 5.25" Floppy Disk Drive. The machine was equipped with 512kByte or 1MB of RAM.

The ABC-210 was also released as the Cambridge Work Station, which is essentially the same computer, but with a bigger harddrive, 20MByte instead of 10MByte for the ABC-210. Also, the Cambridge Workstation was shipped with the Panos Operating System, rather than Xenix like the ABC-210.

The ABC 210/CWS was the sixth in a series of eight ABC computers:

• ABC Personal Assistant

  6502 CPU @ 2MHz, 64kB RAM, 640kB FDD

• ABC Terminal

  6502 CPU @ 2MHz, 64kB RAM, No disk, VT100 terminal emulator in ROM

• ABC 100

  Z80 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 64kB RAM, dual 720k 5.25" FDD, CP/M 2.2

• ABC 110

  Z80 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 64kB RAM, 720k 5.25" FDD, 10 MB HDD, CP/M 2.2

• ABC 200

  32016 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 512kB RAM, Dual 720k 5.25" FDD, Xenix

• ABC 210

  32016 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 1MB RAM, 720k 5.25" FDD, 10MB HDD, Xenix

• ABC 300

  80286 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 1MB RAM, Dual 720k 5.25" FDD, DOS 286+GEM

• ABC 310

  80286 CPU, 6502 I/O CPU, 1MB RAM, 720k 5.25" FDD, 10MB HDD, DOS 286+GEM

The 6502 is an 8-bit MicroProcessor designed by MOS Technology. The team was led by Chuck Peddle and had also worked on the Motorola 6800. The 6502 is a simplified, but faster and cheaper design than the 6800.

The 6502 was introduced in 1975 and was the cheapest microprocessor on the market. Together with the Zilog Z80, the 6502 helped start the home computer revolution of the 1980s. The 6502 was used in a wide range of devices: the Atari 2600, the 8-bit Atari home computers, the Apple II, the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, the BBC Micro and many others. All used the 6502 or a variation of it.

The 6502 is a 1MHz design, while the 6502A is designed for 2MHz. The 6502A is 100% compatible with the original 6502.

Commodore soon bought MOS Technology, but conitnued to sell the microprocessor to competitors and licensed the design to other manufacturers.