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Apple introduced the Apple IIc in April 1984. The IIc was replaced by the Apple IIc Plus in September 1988. The IIc can best be described as a "luggable" version of the Apple IIe. The IIc is compact and has no expansion slots but comes with most anything anyone really needed to put in any free slot available on the IIe. It follows the "computer as appliance" paradigm that Apple was shifting to at the time with the introduction of the Macintosh. The IIc has a mouse (or joystick) port, a modem port, an RF modulator port, an RCA jack, a disk drive port, and printer port. It sold with an optional miniature 9-inch, high-resolution external green monochrome monitor as shown in the image above. As with the IIe, it can be hooked to a television via an RF modulator or through an RCA jack. The CPU is a SynerTek 65C02 running at 1.4 MHz. The IIc has 128K of RAM expandable to 1 MB via third-party hardware. I purchased this fine example of a complete original Apple IIc system for $50 in 2001. Apple sold the IIc for around $1300 in 1984.

IIc ports

The IIc is a wonderful example of smart industrial design. Its original compact monitor is functional and eloquent. The monitor sits atop a metal stand that can be adjusted to better angle the monitor for more comfortable viewing. The IIc's handle doubles as a means to angle the computer's chassis for more comfortable typing. It can be locked into its recessed port or pushed down to angle the keyboard. Unlike the Apple IIe, Apple considered the IIc a closed system and as such, it is not easy to upgrade. I took this one apart for cleaning shortly after purchase. It was difficult to crack the case open and difficult to put it all back together.

Apple IIc used with a larger Apple Monochrome Monitor IIe

The IIc is meant to be portable. I would not consider it portable in the sense of a modern laptop, but unlike the Apple IIe, it is compact enough to take with you on a business trip. The whole system with the monitor, metal stand, power supply, and computer chassis included weighs a little over 15 pounds. The IIc has an external power supply brick that is quite heavy. The IIc chassis alone weighs about 7.5 pounds.

I use the IIc extensively because of the ProDOS-based IIc System Utilities disk that shipped with the computer. The IIc System Utilities makes things like formatting disks (in DOS or ProDOS), copying disks, copying/deleting files, identifying the contents of a disk, and configuring the printer port or modem port very easy. It is far easier to use than DOS or ProDOS alone because you really don't need to know text-line commands to use it. Basically, you scroll through easy to use menus. The IIc can use a variety of disk operating systems including DOS, ProDOS, and Pascal. It also has Applesoft BASIC built into its ROM.

IIc System Utilities

The IIc has a built-in 5.25 disk drive. As with any Apple II, you really need two disk drives to keep from constantly swapping disks. A good scheme is to use the internal drive as the master disk and the external drive as the data disk. The IIc has its own special external disk drive but other than the design, it is basically the same as any other Apple II disk drive and will work with a IIe.

IIc internal disk drive

IIc external disk drive

The IIc has a button on top to turn the IIc keyboard layout from standard to Dvorak. Dvorak keyboards have the keys laid out in a fashion that makes it easier for people who do not know how to type. I don't much care for it because I do an adequate job of typing using a standard keyboard layout. There is also a button to toggle between 80 or 40 columns. There is a headphone jack with volume control on the left side of the computer. What anyone would use this for is beyond me. About the only sounds the IIc can make are simple beeps with limited pitches. The IIc has a tiny built in speaker that sits to the middle front of the chassis just under the keyboard.

Reset, 80/40 Columns, and Keyboard switches

Headphone jack and volume control knob

It is relatively hard to find a IIc that has not substantially yellowed due to exposure to air and light. My IIc has, alas, lost much of its original off-white color. The monitor has fared worse than the IIc itself, but the metal stand doesn't appear to have lost any of its original luster. Given the age of this great computer, I think it is in excellent condition.