They were deployed en masse in schools throughout Slovakia,[5] while the IQ 151 performed a similar role in the Czech part of the country. The first Czechoslovak video games were created on the PMD 85 (other platforms were ZX Spectrum and Atari).
Several variants were developed (PMD 85-0, PMD 85, PMD 85-2, PMD 85-2A, PMD 85-3), with slightly different specifications and compatibility.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
In 1986 compatible machines were introduced by Didaktik:[16]Didaktik Alfa 1 (a PMD 85-1 clone) and Didaktik Alfa 2 ( a PMD 85-2 clone).[17][18][19]Didaktik Beta was a slightly improved Didaktik Alfa, having almost identical hardware.[20] Didaktik Alfa and Beta were mostly deployed in schools to replace older PMD 85 computers.
After the Velvet Revolution of 1989 the computer market opened. The PMD 85 was not competitive in terms of quality or features to foreign machines and production stopped.
The PMD 85-2 was an inspiration for the MAŤO personal computer, released in 1989 as a self-assembly kit. It had different hardware and very limited compatibility - BASIC, memory structure and I/O were almost similar, but the tape format was different. It was intended as a home computer, but never really caught on.
The same year ZBA, a company from Brno, introduced the Consul 2717, another PMD 85-2 clone, sold to schools.[21] Production of this machine ended in 1990.[21]