To address this growing market segment, Atari introduced the ST1 at Comdex in 1986. Renamed the Mega, it includes a high-quality detached keyboard, a stronger case to support the weight of a monitor, and an internal bus expansion connector. A 20 MB hard drive could be purchased as an option and stacked below or above the main case. Initially equipped with 2 or 4 MB (a 1 MB version, the Mega 1 would later follow), the Mega machines would complement the Atari laser printer for a low-cost desktop publishing package.
Initial sales were strong, especially in Europe where Atari sold 75% of its computers. Germany became Atari’s strongest market, with small business owners using them for desktop publishing and CAD.
A custom blitter coprocessor speeds the performance of some graphics operations, but it is not included in all models.
