Keen Computers takes you into the future with the Apple II

This is a third-party advert for the Apple II, one of the "1997 Trinity" of computers that changed the landscape of computing. 

Apple, true to form ever since, was the most expensive of the three - this 16K model retailed for £985, or about [[985|1979]] in [[now]] terms.  And that was without a monitor.

At this time, Apple was vigorously competing against its US rivals: Tandy had the benefit of its large existing Radio Shack shop network, and Commodore had its calculator outlets, so Apple countered by flooding the market wherever and with as many machines as it could. 

This pushed Commodore's PET down to third place in the sales race in the US, whilst the TRS-80 was number one. 

However, this left few computers for the UK - supplies were sporadic and the machines were especially overpriced. 

Several suppliers were vying to be the number one, including Tim Keen, who ended up complaining about lack of machines directly to Apple. 

Supplies were so bad that another distributor - Mike Sterland's Personal Computers - had around 40 gutted Apple II's in its warehouse as they were the only source of spare parts. 

Eventually, the various disputes between distributors were settled and Apple planned to increase shipments to around 1,500 per month[source: "Apple upset", p.31, Personal Computer World, September 1979].

By the latter half of 1979 however, Keen faced additional competition when Microsense entered the market as a third dealer. It was thought that Keen could "no longer delegate the bulk of sales to sub dealers and collect a small percentage" of every machine sold. 

Dr. Tim Keen's company became the subject of rumour with speculation that it might even go bust, however the company responded by expanding its market by taking on the [@Corvus] Winchester disk and Commodore's [#PET]. 

It was intending to keep the Apple in its "up market" slot whilst having the PET as a "useful source of volume sales" - the PET was the best-selling micro in the UK's small business market at the time[source: "Keen to sell PETs", PCW, March 1980, p. 37].

