Brand: Sinclair Research Ltd.
Model: ZX Spectrum
Made in: United Kingdom
Manufacturer: Timex Corp. (Dundee, Scotland)
Launch date: 23 April 1982
Price in UK: £125
Price in NL: ƒ 698 (03-’83) ƒ 549 (10-’83)
Price in Fr: 1490 F (1850 F with Peritel interface)
Board design: Richard Altwasser
Software: Steve Vickers (at Nine Tiles Ltd.)
Case design: Rick Dickinson
Dimensions: 233 × 144 × 30 mm (feet adds 2 mm)
Weight: 560 g (Issue 3)
Box dimensions: 359 × 198 × 110 mm
The very popular successor to the ZX81 and the computer Sinclair was best known for. During development the names ‘ZX81 Colour’ and ‘ZX82’ were considered. Eventually ‘Rainbow’ was proposed, but Clive Sinclair came up with the more technical name ‘Spectrum’.
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Richard Vickers who did the software for the ZX81 explained: “Much of the ZX81’s firmware was taken over to the Spectrum unmodified. We had to get the machine out quickly so the ZX81 code was altered as little as possible. That is why the Spectrum is comparatively slow—the ZX81 was always designed to save bytes, not time”.
The 16 Kb Spectrum could be upgraded to 48 Kb by inserting 8 memory chips and 4 logic chips in the empty sockets, except for the Issue 1 models—they used a 32 Kb daughterboard near the edge connector.