VTech Genius IQ 128

The Genius IQ 128 by VTech was released in 1996, one of the last computers that was not a Mac or a PC. The machine is designed around the 68000 processor and was equipped with 256kByte of RAM. It also had 128kByte of internal flash memory for storage.

The computer was really marketed to children, the idea was to introduce children to word processing and spreadsheets and BASIC programming, which really in 1996 was not all that popular anymore. The computer had 2MByte of ROM with a bunch of built-in applications:

• Word Processor
• Spreadsheet
• Graphing Application
• Creative Drawing
• 11 Trivia Activities
• Presentation Software
• Typing software
• Word processing
• Programming in Basic
• Music

The machine is more toy than productive computer, and was clearly not meant to be used by anyone for professional purposes. It lacked the ability to load other software than the built-in programs and was limited to what was provided in ROM. The box clearly lists the intended target audience as children 9 and up, or 4th grade and up. The computer came with a manual that had various exercises in it to provide computer training.

Interestingly the IQ-128 could be connected to a IMB-PC compatible computer using a PC-LINK cable. The PC was to be started in MS-DOS mode, and a disk with an A:\INSTALL program would then be loaded. The PC-LINK cable would connect the IQ-128 to the serial port on the PC to exchange data. The same could be done between two IQ-128 computers.