I learned to program in BASIC on T.I. 99/4A. The computers themselves were not expensive, but the peripherals were. It seems insane now, but we used them by hooking them to a TV.

Even back then it was a niche compared to the Commodore vic-20/64.

I think the real loser from the that time frame wasn't TI, but Commodore who was in a market leading position, but ultimately lost to the PC and Mac.