Editing Dragon Data

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = Dragon Data Ltd.
| logo             = Dragon-data-logo-300px.png
| founded = 1982
| defunct = 1984
| fate             = No longer in existence (final owner bankrupt)
| industry         = [[Computer hardware]]
| products         = [[Dragon 32/64|Dragon 32 and 64]] computers
| location         = Wales, United Kingdom
}}
'''Dragon Data Ltd.''' was a Welsh producer of [[home computer]]s during the early 1980s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Smeed |first1=D. |title=Inside the Dragon |last2=Sommerville |first2=I. |date=1983 |publisher=Addison-Wesley}}</ref> These computers, the [[Dragon 32/64|Dragon 32 and Dragon 64]], strongly resembled the [[Tandy Corporation|Tandy]] [[TRS-80 Color Computer]] ("CoCo")—both followed a standard Motorola datasheet configuration for the three key components (CPU, SAM and VDG). The machines came in both 32 KB and (later) 64 KB versions.

== History ==
[[File:Dragones.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The Dragon&nbsp;32, Dragon&nbsp;64 and Dragon&nbsp;200]]
[[File:Dragon sign in Valetta.jpg|thumb|upright|Dragon shop sign]]
The history of Dragon Data in the period 1982&ndash;84 was a checkered one.

The company was originally set up by toy company [[Mettoy]], and after initial good sales looked to have a bright future. At its high point it entered negotiations with Rexnord's Tano Corporation to form a North American branch.

Mettoy then suffered financial difficulties, casting a shadow on the future of Dragon Data before it was spun off as a separate company. However, a number of circumstances (the delay in introducing the 64K model, poor colour support with a maximum of 4 colours displayable in "graphics mode" and only 2 colours in the highest 256 × 192 pixel mode, the late introduction of the external disk unit and of the supporting [[OS-9|OS9]]-based software) caused the company to lose market share.<ref name="EandT">{{cite journal |last=Sangani |first=Kris |year=2009 |title=Gadgets That Design Forgot |url=http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0916/gadgets-design-forgot-0916.cfm |url-status=dead |journal=Engineering & Technology |publisher=IET |volume=4 |issue=16 |page=31 |doi=10.1049/et.2009.1604 |issn=1750-9637 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205181625/http://kn.theiet.org/magazine/issues/0916/gadgets-design-forgot-0916.cfm |archive-date=5 February 2010|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

To combat this, under the control of [[The General Electric Company|GEC]], Dragon Data worked on the next generation of Dragon computers; the Dragon Alpha (or Professional) and Beta (or 128). These systems only made it to the prototype stage before the business went into receivership and was sold on to the Spanish startup Eurohard in 1984.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Worlock |first=Peter |date=16 June 1984 |title=Dragon Fire Flickers |url=http://www.personalcomputernews.co.uk/pcn_project.html |url-status=dead |work=Personal Computer News |pages=4 |issue=65|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226082357/http://www.personalcomputernews.co.uk/pcn_project.html |archive-date=26 December 2020 }}</ref>

Eurohard also suffered financial problems and went into receivership a couple of years later after the release of the Dragon 200 (a rebranded Dragon 64).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dragon 200 |url=https://www.1000bit.it/scheda.asp?id=898 |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=1000 BiT}}</ref>

In addition to the Dragon 32 and 64, an [[MSX]]-compatible machine, the [[Dragon MSX]] reached the prototype stage.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Dragon MSX |url=https://www.1000bit.it/scheda.asp?id=899 |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=1000 BiT}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Dragon MSX-64 |url=https://www.msx.org/wiki/Dragon_MSX-64 |publisher=MSX Resource Center}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Dragon MSX |url=https://www.museo8bits.com/dragonmsx.htm |access-date=2024-10-08 |website=museo8bits.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.dragon-archive.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=8&Itemid=27 A Slayed Beast - History of the Dragon computer] &ndash; From The DRAGON Archive
*[http://www.dragonwiki.com Dedicated DRAGON wiki]

[[Category:Dragon Data| ]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct companies of Wales]]
[[Category:Home computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1982]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1984]]
[[Category:1982 establishments in Wales]]
[[Category:1984 disestablishments in Wales]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of Wales]]


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