The machine was carried by its sturdy handle, which doubled as an adjustable stand. It was announced in January 1983 and released a year later, at US $995.The SX-64 did not sell well, and its failure has been variously attributed to its small screen, high weight, bad marketing, and smaller business software library than that of its competitors, the Osborne 1 (Zilog Z80 CPU, CP/M OS) and Compaq Portable (16-bit CPU, MS-DOS).
The exact number of SX-64 sold from 1984 to 1986, when it was discontinued, is unknown. The serial number database at SX64 Dot Net has records of over 130 SX-64s from series GA1, GA2, GA4, GA5 and GA6, with serial numbers ranging over 49,000 for series GA1, 1,000 for GA2, 17,000 for GA4, 11,000 for GA5, and 7,000 for GA6.
Some would-be buyers waited instead for the announced DX-64, which never became widely available due to the slow sales of the SX-64, creating a Catch 22 situation. The SX-64 did however gain a following with user groups and software developers, who could quickly pack and unpack the machine to use for copying software or giving demonstrations.
Related Links: wikipedia.org - Commodore SX-64 Papercraft Paper Model
