Microprocessors: Design case history: Biomation's logic analyzer: An old lesson is relearned: Utility for users, rather than product sophistication, is key to success

The plane ride home from Wescon '76, Los Angeles, should have been joyous for the marketing team from Biomation Inc. It wasn't. The company had just announced two microprocessor-based logic analyzers, the 1650-D and the 168-D. The 1650-D, which was about what everyone had expected, appeared to be a winner. But the 168-D, a bold incursion by the Santa Clara, Calif., company into a market segment previously the domain of giant Hewlett-Packard Co., was in trouble. Compared with what HP had introduced at Wescon '76, the Biomation 168-D palled.