Editing Amstrad (section)

=== Restructuring in the 1990s ===
[[File:Amstrad-GX4000-Console-Set.jpg|thumb|[[Amstrad GX4000]] video game console (1990)|left]]
In the early 1990s, Amstrad began to focus on portable computers rather than [[desktop computer]]s. In 1990, Amstrad tried to enter the [[video game console]] market with the [[Amstrad GX4000]], similar to what [[Commodore International|Commodore]] did at the same time with the [[Commodore 64 Games System|C64 GS]]. The console, based on the Amstrad 464 Plus hardware, was a commercial failure, because it used outdated technology, and most games available for it were straight ports of CPC games that could be purchased for much less in their original format.

[[File:Amstrad NC100 (angle view) (Thomas Conté).jpg|thumb|[[Amstrad NC100]] (1992)]]
In 1993, Amstrad was licensed by [[Sega]] to produce a system which was similar to the [[Sega TeraDrive]], going by the name of the [[Amstrad Mega PC]], to try to regain their image in the gaming market. The system didn't succeed as well as expected, mostly due to its high initial retail price of £999. In that same year, Amstrad released the [[PenPad]], a [[Personal digital assistant|PDA]] similar to the [[Apple Newton]], and released only weeks before it. It was a commercial failure, and had several technical and usability problems. It lacked most features that the Apple Newton included, but had a lower price at $450.

[[File:Amstrad PenPad PDA600.jpg|thumb|[[PenPad|Amstrad PenPad]] (1993)]]
As Amstrad began to concentrate less on computers and more in communication, they purchased several telecommunications businesses including [[Betacom]], Dancall Telecom, [[Viglen|Viglen Computers]], and modem manufacturer Dataflex Design Communications, bought out of liquidation, during the early 1990s. The company also established a direct marketing channel, Amstrad Direct, in late 1994 and announced 486- and Pentium-based products including an "[[All-in-one PC|All-in-One]] Multimedia PC" with built-in television tuner, infra-red remote control, amplifier and speakers. A pen-based personal digital assistant with support for a PCMCIA-based modem, the InfoPad, was also unveiled with a September 1995 launch scheduled.<ref name="computershopper199505_amstrad">{{ cite magazine | title='Sleeping giant' to reawake | magazine=Computer Shopper | date=May 1995 | pages=392 }}</ref>

By 1996, Alan Sugar was reported as having been looking for a buyer for Amstrad "for some time". Amongst the group's assets, cumulatively valued at {{nowrap|£200 million}}, the Dancall subsidiary was of particular interest to potential acquirer [[Psion (company)|Psion]], producer of handheld computer products, for its expertise in "GSM digital mobile phone functionality" and the potential to integrate such functionality into Psion's own product range. Despite "long drawn out negotiations", the parties failed to agree a price and a strategy to dispose of the group's other assets.<ref name="acornuser199610_psion">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser173-Oct96/page/n8/mode/1up | title=Psion, StrongARM, GSM and the Amstrad factor | work=Acorn User | date=October 1996 | access-date=29 August 2021 | pages=9 }}</ref> In 1997, Amstrad PLC was wound up, its shares being split into Viglen and Betacom instead. Betacom PLC was then renamed Amstrad PLC.

The same year, Amstrad supplied set top boxes to Australian broadcaster [[Foxtel]], and in 2004 to Italian broadcaster [[Sky Italia]].
[[File:Sky-digibox.jpg|thumb|A Sky [[Digibox]] manufactured by Amstrad (2000s)]]
[[File:Amstrad E-mailer Plus.png|thumb|Amstrad E-mailer Plus]]