Editing Apple IIc (section)

==Add-on accessories==

===Portability enhancements===
[[File:Apple IIc with LCD display.jpg|thumb|right|An Apple IIc with the ''Apple Flat Panel Display'' attached]]
At the time of the IIc's release, Apple announced an optional black and white (1-bit) [[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] screen designed specifically for the machine called the ''Apple Flat Panel Display''. It became available in early 1985, about three months after the original release date.<ref name="mcgeever19850318">{{Cite magazine |last=McGeever |first=Christine |date=1985-03-18 |title=IIc's Flat Screen 'Unreadable' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4i4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21#v=onepage&q&f=true |access-date=2025-05-03 |magazine=InfoWorld |page=21 |volume=7 |issue=11}}</ref> While it was welcomed as a means of making the IIc more portable, it does not integrate well as a portable solution, not attaching in a secure or permanent manner and not able to connects-over face down. Instead, it sits atop the machine and connected via ribbon cable to a somewhat bulky rear port connector.

One analyst said that the display is "impossible to read". Apple learned after its initial IIc marketing campaign that the portable market was smaller than estimated, causing the company to describe it instead as easily transportable between home and office; Apple reportedly released the display only to fulfill the initial product announcement. Market analysts estimated that 5-10% of IIc owners would want it.{{r|mcgeever19850318}} Its main shortcoming is that it suffers from a very poor contrast and no backlighting, making it very difficult to view without a strong external light source. The display has an odd aspect ratio as well, making graphics look vertically squashed. A third-party company would later introduce a work-alike LCD screen called the ''C-Vue'', very similar to Apple's product, albeit with a reportedly slight improvement in viewability. Consequently, both sold poorly and had a very short market life span, making these displays extremely rare.

Third parties also offered external [[rechargeable battery]] units for the Apple IIc (e.g. ''Prairie Power Portable System'' available from Roger Coats)<ref>{{cite magazine
 |magazine     = Washington Apple Pie
 |url          = https://www.wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal198705.pdf
 |page         = 21
 |title        = Roger Coats
 |type         = advertising
 |date         = May 1987
 |volume       = 9
 |issue        = 5
 |access-date  = October 23, 2020
 |archive-date = October 26, 2020
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20201026063428/https://www.wap.org/journal/showcase/washingtonapplepijournal198705.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine
 |magazine     = Washington Apple Pie
 |url          = https://www.apple.asimov.net/documentation/magazines/washington_apple_journal/washingtonapplepijournal198702.pdf
 |page         = 11
 |title        = Roger Coats
 |type         = advertising
 |date         = February 1987
 |volume       = 9
 |issue        = 2
 |access-date  = October 23, 2020
 |archive-date = October 5, 2021
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20211005003718/https://www.apple.asimov.net/documentation/magazines/washington_apple_journal/washingtonapplepijournal198702.pdf
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref> with up to eight hours per charge or longer. Although they aid in making the machine more of a true portable, they are nonetheless bulky and heavy, and add more pieces that would have to be carried. Adapter cables were sold as well that allow the Apple IIc to plug into an automobile's DC power cigarette lighter.

To help transport the Apple IIc and its accessory pieces around, Apple sold a nylon carrying case with shoulder strap that has a compartment for the computer, its external power supply, and the cables. It has enough room to squeeze in one of the above-mentioned LCD display units. The case is grey in color with a stitched-on Apple logo in the upper right corner.

===Expansion capabilities===
{{main|Apple II accelerators}}
Expanding the IIc is difficult since it was designed as a closed system; however, many companies figured out ingenious ways of squeezing enhancements inside the tiny case. Real-time clocks, memory expansion, and coprocessors are popular, and some products combine all three into a single add-on board. Typically, in order to add these options, key chips on the motherboard are pulled and moved onto the expansion board offering the new features, and the board is then placed into the empty sockets. While sometimes a tight squeeze, this offers users without the Memory Expansion IIc a way to add memory.

Applied Engineering offered several "Z-Ram" internal memory expansion boards, which also include Z-80 SoftCard functionality for [[CP/M]] capability.<ref>{{cite web |title=Applied Engineering Repository - Apple IIc |url=http://ae.applearchives.com/apple_c/ |website=Applied Engineering |access-date=October 23, 2020 |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927134739/http://ae.applearchives.com/apple_c/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some companies devised a method for squeezing in an entire CPU accelerator product, by means of placing all the specialized circuitry (i.e. [[CPU cache|cache]] and logic) into one tall chip that replaces the 40-pin 65C02 microprocessor, speeding up the machine from 4–10&nbsp;MHz. Notable examples are the [[Apple II accelerators|Zip Chip and Rocket Chip]].

Although the IIc lacks a SCSI or IDE interface, external hard drives were produced by third parties that connects through the floppy SmartPort as an innovative alternative connection method (e.g. ''ProApp'', ''Chinook''). While these specialized hard drives are relatively slow due to the nature of how data was transferred through this interface (designed primarily for floppy drives) they do allow for true mass storage. The ''CDrive'' mounts internally and is very fast due to its direct connection to the CPU. Speech and music synthesis products plug into the IIc's serial ports. Three popular such devices are the ''Mockingboard-D'', ''Cricket'', and ''Echo IIc''.

===General accessories===
Apple sold the Monitor IIc, a {{convert|9|in|cm|abbr=on}} monochrome CRT display with an elevated stand.<ref name="IIc-history">{{cite web|last1=Weyhrich|first1=Steven|title=The Apple IIc|url=https://apple2history.org/history/ah08/|website=Apple II History|date=June 23, 2010|access-date=July 6, 2017|archive-date=June 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606071302/http://apple2history.org/history/ah08/|url-status=live}}</ref> The Color Monitor IIc, a {{convert|14|in|cm|abbr=on}} color composite monitor, followed in 1985. A mouse is another popular add-on, especially since it requires no interface card, unlike earlier Apples; [[MousePaint]], a clone of [[MacPaint]], shipped with the IIc's mouse. An Apple external 5.25-inch floppy drive matches the style of the IIc. A later 3.5-inch "intelligent" UniDisk 3.5 drive contains its own miniature computer inside (CPU, RAM, firmware) to overcome the issue of using a high-speed floppy drive on a 1&nbsp;MHz machine.
{{Timeline of Apple II Family|headerextension==}}