The
Atari Lynx was
Atari's first (and last) handheld console. It was released in
1989, the release year of the
Nintendo's
Game Boy, costing twice as much. It was developed by Epyx
? and though technologically superior to the Game Boy, because Nintendo had Tetris, the Lynx was pushed to the side.
The Atari Lynx had several innovative features including it being the first color handheld, a backlit display (and the ablility to switch it on and off), a switchable horizontal and vertical control config, and the ability to attach it to the Atari Jaguar. Later, Nintendo would mimic both the design and the ability to attach it to a conventional console withe the Gameboy Advance.
The Lynx would finally be completely pushed out with the advent of the Sega Game Gear, which copied a few of the Lynx's features. By the early 1990's, the Atari Lynx had faded away.
Specs:
- CPU(s): "Mikey" - 16 bit CMOS chip @ 16Mhz, 65C02 @ up to 4Mhz
- "Suzy" - 16 bit CMOS? chip @ 16Mhz
- Graphics: 4096 color palette, 16 simultaneous, 160x102 standard resolution, 480x102 artificial resolution
- Audio Processor: 4 channel, 8-bit DAC?, handled by "Mikey"
- RAM: 64K
- Storage: Cartridge - 128 or 256K