US$4,995 (equivalent to $11,600 in 2023) NeXTstation US$7,995 (equivalent to $18,600 in 2023) NeXTstation Color US$6,500 (equivalent to $15,200 in 2023) NeXTstation Turbo
The NeXTstation was released as a more affordable alternative to the NeXTcube at about US$4,995 or about half the price. Several models were produced, including the NeXTstation (25 MHz), NeXTstation Turbo (33 MHz), NeXTstation Color (25 MHz) and NeXTstation Turbo Color (33 MHz). In total, NeXT sold about 50,000 computers (not including sales to government organizations), making the NeXTstation a rarity today.[2]
The NeXTstation originally shipped with a NeXT MegaPixel Display 17" monitor (with built-in speakers), keyboard, and mouse. It is nicknamed "the slab", since the pizza box form factor contrasts quite sharply with the original NeXT Computer's basic shape (otherwise known as "the cube").
The Pyro accelerator board increases the speed of a NeXTstation by replacing the standard 25 MHz processor with a 50 MHz one.[3][4] There was also a very rare accelerator board known as the Nitro; between 5 and 20 are estimated to have been made. It increased the speed of a NeXTstation Turbo by replacing the standard 33 MHz processor with a 40 MHz one.[5]
After NeXT ceased manufacturing hardware in 1993, Canon Computer Systems (a subsidiary of Canon Inc.) acquired the rights to the design of and patents pertaining to the NeXTstation.[7] They later released the Object.Station, an x86-based workstation using the NeXTstation design, in 1994.[8][9] Canon had been a large stakeholder in NeXT since 1989.[9]
