<s>
The	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
was	O
a	O
microcomputer	O
developed	O
by	O
Advance	O
Technology	O
UK	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
,	O
available	O
in	O
two	O
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
core	O
system	O
employed	O
the	O
Intel	B-General_Concept
8086	I-General_Concept
processor	O
,	O
aiming	O
for	O
a	O
level	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
and	O
128KB	O
of	O
RAM	O
,	O
expandable	O
to	O
256RAM	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
unit	O
and	O
to	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
768KB	O
utilising	O
the	O
expansion	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
models	O
of	O
the	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
were	O
initially	O
announced	O
in	O
1983	O
,	O
after	O
a	O
development	O
period	O
of	O
a	O
reported	O
one-and-a-half	O
years	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
launch	O
reportedly	O
scheduled	O
for	O
September	O
1983	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
pricing	O
was	O
estimated	O
at	O
£350	O
excluding	O
VAT	O
for	O
the	O
lower-specification	O
Model	O
A	O
,	O
positioned	O
as	O
a	O
competitor	O
to	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Micro	I-Device
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
Model	O
B	O
system	O
projected	O
to	O
cost	O
£	O
1,200	O
excluding	O
VAT	O
,	O
bundled	O
with	O
WordStar	O
,	O
Mailmerge	O
and	O
CalcStar	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
eventually	O
became	O
available	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
with	O
broadly	O
similar	O
pricing	O
,	O
but	O
was	O
instead	O
offered	O
with	O
the	O
Perfect	O
productivity	O
suite	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
year	O
of	O
on-site	O
service	O
was	O
included	O
in	O
the	O
price	O
of	O
the	O
Model	O
B	O
,	O
this	O
being	O
regarded	O
as	O
"	O
worth	O
several	O
hundred	O
pounds	O
"	O
and	O
superior	O
to	O
the	O
support	O
for	O
any	O
other	O
contemporary	O
microcomputer	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
the	O
DEC	B-Device
Rainbow	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Australia	O
,	O
Dick	O
Smith	O
Electronics	O
marketed	O
the	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
as	O
the	O
Challenger	O
,	O
pricing	O
the	O
Model	O
A	O
configuration	O
at	O
just	O
under	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
complete	O
Model	O
B	O
configuration	O
priced	O
at	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
just	O
under	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ferranti	O
,	O
as	O
manufacturer	O
of	O
the	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
,	O
along	O
with	O
WHSmith	O
as	O
distributor	O
,	O
were	O
threatened	O
with	O
legal	O
action	O
by	O
IBM	O
over	O
the	O
machine	O
's	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
the	O
routines	O
allegedly	O
being	O
"	O
90	O
per	O
cent	O
identical	O
"	O
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
own	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
with	O
even	O
known	O
errors	O
"	O
reproduced	O
identically	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
continue	O
distribution	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
,	O
Advance	O
Technology	O
were	O
reported	O
to	O
have	O
rewritten	O
the	O
BIOS	B-Operating_System
to	O
IBM	O
's	O
approval	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Alongside	O
the	O
8086	B-General_Concept
processor	O
,	O
a	O
slot	O
for	O
the	O
8087	O
arithmetic	O
co-processor	O
was	O
provided	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Model	O
A	O
was	O
anticipated	O
to	O
benefit	O
from	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
software	O
for	O
the	O
"	O
entry	O
level	O
cassette-based	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
"	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
sold	O
in	O
the	O
US	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Model	O
A	O
was	O
provided	O
with	O
the	O
same	O
IBM	B-Language
Cassette	I-Language
BASIC	I-Language
as	O
such	O
early	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
models	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Model	O
B	O
configuration	O
introduced	O
DOS	B-Device
and	O
enhanced	O
BASIC	O
support	O
,	O
described	O
variously	O
as	O
combinations	O
of	O
PC	B-Operating_System
DOS	I-Operating_System
and	O
GW-BASIC	B-Language
,	O
or	O
MS-DOS	B-Application
and	O
BASICA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	O
compatibility	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
was	O
almost	O
unanimously	O
regarded	O
as	O
impressive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
performance	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
when	O
running	O
software	O
was	O
"	O
significantly	O
faster	O
"	O
than	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
,	O
with	O
this	O
attributed	O
to	O
the	O
faster	O
8086	B-General_Concept
processor	O
,	O
having	O
a	O
16-bit	O
data	O
bus	O
,	O
compared	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
's	O
8088	O
processor	O
with	O
its	O
8-bit	O
data	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
regarded	O
the	O
"	O
clear	O
and	O
logical	O
upgrade	O
path	O
"	O
as	O
superior	O
to	O
machines	O
like	O
the	O
BBC	B-Device
Model	I-Device
B	I-Device
,	O
and	O
assessed	O
the	O
system	O
as	O
living	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
promise	O
of	O
a	O
home	O
computer	O
upgradeable	O
to	O
"	O
full	O
business	O
status	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
others	O
noted	O
that	O
while	O
some	O
DOS-based	O
machines	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Sanyo	O
MBC-555	O
,	O
were	O
more	O
competitively	O
priced	O
and	O
compatible	O
enough	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
PC	I-Device
to	O
be	O
worth	O
considering	O
in	O
preference	O
to	O
the	O
Advance	B-Device
86	I-Device
,	O
such	O
machines	O
were	O
not	O
necessarily	O
able	O
to	O
demonstrate	O
a	O
comparable	O
level	O
of	O
PC	O
compatibility	O
,	O
nor	O
offer	O
an	O
upgrade	O
path	O
from	O
a	O
cheaper	O
machine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Australia	O
,	O
"	O
astute	O
marketing	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
unexpanded	O
Challenger	O
below	O
the	O
"	O
psychological	O
$1000	O
barrier	O
"	O
made	O
the	O
system	O
worth	O
considering	O
for	O
those	O
"	O
on	O
a	O
tight	O
budget	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
desperately	O
keen	O
to	O
get	O
hold	O
of	O
a	O
minimal	O
8086	B-General_Concept
system	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
