<s>
The	O
Acorn	B-Device
Communicator	I-Device
is	O
a	O
discontinued	O
business	O
computer	O
developed	O
by	O
Acorn	O
Computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mentioned	O
in	O
the	O
computing	O
press	O
in	O
late	O
1984	O
as	O
the	O
C30	O
,	O
previewed	O
in	O
early	O
1985	O
with	O
estimated	O
pricing	O
between	O
£500	O
and	O
£800	O
,	O
in	O
late	O
1985	O
with	O
a	O
built-in	O
LCD	O
display	O
,	O
and	O
subsequently	O
unveiled	O
in	O
a	O
slightly	O
different	O
form	O
,	O
the	O
system	O
sold	O
in	O
very	O
low	O
numbers	O
to	O
companies	O
requiring	O
a	O
computer	O
with	O
a	O
built-in	O
modem	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
"	O
smart	O
videotex	O
terminal	O
"	O
and	O
a	O
"	O
complete	O
turnkey	O
comms	O
solution	O
"	O
featuring	O
Prestel	B-General_Concept
connectivity	O
and	O
built-in	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
capabilities	O
,	O
the	O
extensibility	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
through	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
additional	O
software	B-Application
appealed	O
to	O
customers	O
such	O
as	O
Pickfords	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Launched	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
range	O
of	O
new	O
products	O
(	O
alongside	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Cambridge	I-Device
Workstation	I-Device
)	O
targeting	O
"	O
new	O
and	O
more	O
specialised	O
market	O
areas	O
"	O
following	O
the	O
decline	O
of	O
the	O
home	O
computer	O
market	O
and	O
the	O
financial	O
crisis	O
that	O
led	O
to	O
Acorn	O
's	O
rescue	O
by	O
Olivetti	O
,	O
the	O
Communicator	O
had	O
its	O
origins	O
in	O
a	O
concept	O
mentioned	O
publicly	O
by	O
co-founder	O
Chris	O
Curry	O
as	O
early	O
as	O
April	O
1984	O
,	O
envisioning	O
a	O
communications	O
terminal	O
aimed	O
at	O
business	O
users	O
offering	O
a	O
single-device	O
solution	O
for	O
online	O
information	O
access	O
in	O
an	O
elegant	O
package	O
with	O
a	O
small	O
footprint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Acting	O
as	O
a	O
personal	O
computer	O
,	O
desirable	O
features	O
included	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
run	O
existing	O
business	O
software	B-Application
,	O
offer	O
networking	O
support	O
and	O
connectivity	O
to	O
mainframes	O
,	O
connect	O
to	O
public	O
data	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Prestel	B-General_Concept
and	O
Telecom	O
Gold	O
mailboxes	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
support	O
services	O
over	O
other	O
cable-based	O
infrastructure	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
cable	O
television	O
infrastructure	O
then	O
being	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
,	O
a	O
"	O
basic	O
keyboard	B-Device
unit	O
"	O
would	O
be	O
central	O
in	O
any	O
eventual	O
product	O
configuration	O
,	O
being	O
augmented	O
by	O
a	O
telephone	O
,	O
display	O
,	O
storage	O
,	O
printer	O
and	O
other	O
peripherals	O
and	O
accessories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
Morgan	O
had	O
proposed	O
an	O
electroluminescent	O
display	O
within	O
a	O
lid	O
folding	O
shut	O
over	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
in	O
an	O
arrangement	O
that	O
would	O
become	O
common	O
with	O
laptop	O
computers	O
,	O
cost	O
and	O
reliability	O
concerns	O
directed	O
the	O
design	O
towards	O
an	O
optional	O
LCD	O
display	O
and	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
separate	O
monitor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
the	O
industrial	O
design	O
activity	O
,	O
Ram	B-Architecture
Bannerjee	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
research	O
and	O
development	O
division	O
was	O
directed	O
to	O
find	O
existing	O
Acorn-developed	O
components	O
that	O
would	O
fit	O
in	O
the	O
physical	O
unit	O
to	O
deliver	O
"	O
a	O
smaller	O
,	O
neater	O
,	O
faster	O
,	O
sweeter	O
machine	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
From	O
August	O
1984	O
,	O
four	O
engineers	O
and	O
a	O
sales	O
and	O
marketing	O
employee	O
worked	O
from	O
Acorn	O
's	O
original	O
premises	O
to	O
reconcile	O
the	O
functionality	O
requirements	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
with	O
the	O
physical	O
constraints	O
imposed	O
by	O
the	O
product	O
design	O
,	O
eventually	O
requesting	O
only	O
a	O
minor	O
modification	O
to	O
the	O
height	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
a	O
slight	O
extension	O
of	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
"	O
to	O
accommodate	O
another	O
row	O
of	O
function	O
keys	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
uses	O
a	O
16-bit	B-Device
Western	B-General_Concept
Design	I-General_Concept
Center	I-General_Concept
65816	I-General_Concept
chip	O
rather	O
than	O
the	O
8-bit	O
MOS	B-General_Concept
Technology	I-General_Concept
6502	I-General_Concept
or	O
variants	O
,	O
which	O
were	O
used	O
by	O
virtually	O
all	O
of	O
Acorn	O
's	O
previous	O
microcomputer	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
128KB	O
or	O
512KB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
could	O
be	O
fitted	O
,	O
expandable	O
to	O
1024KB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
display	O
capabilities	O
,	O
it	O
employs	O
the	O
ULA	O
originally	O
developed	O
for	O
the	O
Electron	B-Device
(	O
reputed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
largest	O
ULA	O
or	O
gate	O
array	O
ever	O
developed	O
at	O
that	O
time	O
)	O
and	O
supported	O
a	O
monochrome	O
version	O
of	O
Teletext	O
using	O
software	B-Application
emulation	O
for	O
access	O
to	O
services	O
such	O
as	O
Prestel	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
General	O
expansion	O
capabilities	O
were	O
provided	O
by	O
an	O
"	O
Electron-style	O
expansion	O
connector	O
"	O
as	O
also	O
featured	O
in	O
the	O
Master	O
Compact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
separate	O
file	O
and	O
print	O
server	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
style	O
as	O
the	O
Communicator	O
itself	O
"	O
offering	O
floppy	O
and	O
hard	O
drive	O
support	O
plus	O
a	O
Centronics	O
printer	O
interface	O
,	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
6512	O
CPU	O
and	O
having	O
64KB	O
RAM	B-Architecture
plus	O
64KB	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
means	O
by	O
which	O
Communicator	O
machines	O
,	O
fitted	O
with	O
a	O
standard	O
Econet	B-Device
module	O
,	O
would	O
access	O
files	O
and	O
print	O
documents	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distinct	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
FileStore	O
E01	O
base	O
unit	O
and	O
E20	O
hard	O
disc	O
unit	O
were	O
made	O
for	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
Communicator	O
,	O
these	O
having	O
a	O
different	O
colour	O
but	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
the	O
E01	O
unit	O
,	O
also	O
providing	O
different	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
Communicator	O
provided	O
an	O
office	O
software	B-Application
suite	O
,	O
including	O
View	O
(	O
word	O
processor	O
)	O
,	O
ViewSheet	B-Language
(	O
spreadsheet	B-Application
)	O
,	O
Videotex	O
and	O
VT100	O
terminal	O
emulation	O
,	O
plus	O
Econet	B-Device
local	O
area	O
networking	O
,	O
a	O
telephone	O
line	O
input	O
port	O
for	O
connection	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
switched	O
telephone	O
network	O
(	O
PSTN	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
RS423	O
serial	O
port	O
for	O
connection	O
to	O
serial	O
printers	O
or	O
other	O
computers	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
Centronics	O
parallel	O
port	O
to	O
connect	O
a	O
printer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
software	B-Application
that	O
bound	O
the	O
packages	O
together	O
was	O
a	O
mixture	O
of	O
BBC	B-Language
Basic	I-Language
and	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
software	I-Application
development	O
team	O
was	O
led	O
by	O
Paul	O
Bond	O
,	O
who	O
led	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
original	O
Acorn	O
MOS	O
,	O
a	O
keen	O
pilot	O
who	O
would	O
occasionally	O
fly	O
team	O
members	O
in	O
his	O
Cessna	O
when	O
things	O
were	O
quiet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
hardware	O
specifications	O
of	O
the	O
Communicator	O
,	O
observed	O
from	O
manufactured	O
units	O
,	O
include	O
the	O
G65SC816	O
CPU	O
,	O
ULA	O
,	O
512KB	O
of	O
dynamic	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
32KB	O
of	O
static	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
6522	O
VIA	O
,	O
AM2910PC	O
modem	B-Application
,	O
SCN2641CC1N24	O
UART	O
,	O
and	O
SAA5240	O
teletext	O
decoder	O
and	O
display	O
generator	O
,	O
(	O
with	O
2KB	O
of	O
static	O
RAM	B-Architecture
presumably	O
employed	O
for	O
page	O
storage	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
components	O
chosen	O
and	O
the	O
capabilities	O
provided	O
are	O
broadly	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
BT	O
Merlin	O
M2105	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
Acorn	B-Device
Electron	I-Device
,	O
with	O
an	O
upgraded	O
CPU	O
,	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
teletext	O
circuitry	O
,	O
the	O
provision	O
for	O
Econet	B-Device
,	O
and	O
the	O
omission	O
of	O
speech	O
synthesis	O
hardware	O
apparently	O
refining	O
the	O
Communicator	O
as	O
a	O
product	O
offering	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
general	O
category	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
archived	O
Acorn	O
product	O
documentation	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
indeed	O
a	O
ULA	O
,	O
although	O
the	O
system	O
documentation	O
refers	O
to	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
video	O
ULA	O
,	O
despite	O
it	O
also	O
providing	O
support	O
for	O
the	O
keyboard	B-Device
and	O
sound	O
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
system	O
documentation	O
notes	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
32KB	O
of	O
video	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
accessed	O
at	O
1MHz	O
)	O
,	O
512KB	O
or	O
1MB	O
of	O
system	O
RAM	B-Architecture
(	O
accessed	O
at	O
2MHz	O
)	O
,	O
32KB	O
of	O
non-volatile	O
RAM	B-Architecture
,	O
up	O
to	O
512KB	O
of	O
internal	O
ROM	B-Device
,	O
and	O
up	O
to	O
3.5MB	O
of	O
ROM	B-Device
accessible	O
via	O
the	O
expansion	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
modem	B-Application
,	O
asynchronous	O
serial	O
port	O
,	O
Econet	B-Device
port	O
,	O
printer	O
port	O
,	O
and	O
expansion	O
bus	O
connector	O
are	O
noted	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
an	O
IIC	O
bus	O
providing	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
real-time	O
clock	O
and	O
the	O
DTMF	O
dialler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Support	O
was	O
present	O
to	O
access	O
dynamic	O
and	O
non-volatile	O
RAM	B-Architecture
using	O
a	O
RAM	B-Architecture
filing	O
system	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Spectar	O
II	O
variant	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
supported	O
a	O
memory	O
card	O
filing	O
system	O
allowing	O
"	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
up	O
to	O
eight	O
ASTRON	O
Data	O
Cards	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
development	O
system	O
for	O
the	O
Communicator	O
as	O
intended	O
for	O
original	O
equipment	O
manufacturer	O
(	O
OEM	O
)	O
use	O
was	O
centred	O
on	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Master	I-Device
128	O
with	O
ARM	O
second	O
processor	O
,	O
floppy	O
and	O
hard	O
drives	O
,	O
a	O
monochrome	O
monitor	O
,	O
and	O
an	O
external	O
ROM	B-Device
expansion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
provided	O
development	O
tools	O
included	O
the	O
TWIN	O
editor	O
,	O
MASM	O
assembler	B-Language
(	O
supporting	O
the	O
65SC816	O
instruction	O
set	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
65TURBO	O
emulator	O
for	O
running	O
the	O
tools	O
and	O
utilities	O
written	O
for	O
6502-based	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
either	O
a	O
potential	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Model	O
B	O
in	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
range	O
or	O
to	O
be	O
presaging	O
the	O
arrival	O
of	O
a	O
16-bit	B-Device
BBC	O
"	O
Model	O
C	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
Communicator	O
's	O
heritage	O
draws	O
much	O
from	O
the	O
Electron	B-Device
and	O
its	O
BT	O
Merlin	O
M2105	O
derivative	O
,	O
giving	O
some	O
substance	O
to	O
contemporary	O
speculation	O
about	O
a	O
successor	O
to	O
the	O
Electron	B-Device
being	O
readied	O
for	O
launch	O
,	O
despite	O
such	O
speculation	O
ultimately	O
proving	O
to	O
be	O
about	O
the	O
Master	O
Compact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1986	O
,	O
Acorn	O
co-founder	O
Chris	O
Curry	O
was	O
reported	O
to	O
have	O
recruited	O
the	O
team	O
responsible	O
for	O
developing	O
the	O
Communicator	O
-	O
12	O
employees	O
in	O
all	O
including	O
technical	O
project	O
manager	O
Ram	B-Architecture
Bannerjee	O
-	O
for	O
his	O
new	O
company	O
,	O
General	O
Information	O
Systems	O
,	O
with	O
one	O
potential	O
application	O
of	O
the	O
machine	O
or	O
a	O
follow-on	O
product	O
suggested	O
as	O
being	O
the	O
online	O
submission	O
of	O
news	O
stories	O
by	O
journalists	O
and	O
other	O
newspaper	O
contributors	O
.	O
</s>
