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The Laser 128 was a clone of the Apple IIc, first released by VTech in 1984. Unlike the Apple II clones from Franklin Computer Corporation, VTech reverse-engineered the Apple ROMs rather than copying them. Apple Computer challenged VTech in court, but unlike its efforts directed at Franklin, Apple was unable to force the Laser 128 off the market. As its name suggests, the Laser 128 had 128 kilobytes of RAM. Like the Apple IIc, it was a one-piece semi-portable design with a carrying handle and a single built-in 5.25-inch floppy disk drive. Unlike the Apple IIc, it had a numeric keypad and a single Apple IIe-compatible expansion slot, which gave it better expansion capabilities than a IIc. It retailed for about $700, which was substantially less than the price of an Apple IIc. Apple countered the Laser 128 with its upgraded Apple IIc Plus. VTech responded with the Laser 128EX and the EX2. The Laser 128 was aggressively marketed, both by mail order firms and also in retail and catalog stores such as Sears. Even though its ROM was not derived from Apple's ROM, the Laser 128 series had a high degree of compatibility with its competition from Apple.
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