Editing Acorn Electron (section)

===Release===
Reports during the second half of 1982 indicated a potential December release,<ref name="acornuser198209">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser002-Sep82/page/n6/mode/1up |title=Acorn drops hints on Electron |magazine=Acorn User |date=September 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=3}}</ref> with Curry providing qualified confirmation of such plans, together with an accurate depiction of the machine's form and capabilities, noting that the "massive [[Uncommitted Logic Array|ULA]]" would be the "dominant factor" in any pre-Christmas release.<ref name="acornuser198210">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser003-Oct82/page/n6/mode/1up |title=Electron to use add-on modules |magazine=Acorn User |date=October 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=3}}</ref> As the end of the year approached, the machine itself was pictured in press reports.<ref name="yourcomputer198212_electron">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/your-computer-magazine-1982-12/page/n20/mode/1up | title=First glimpse of Acorn's Electron - the 32K £150 Spectrum rival | magazine=Your Computer | date=December 1982 | access-date=5 January 2024 | pages=21 }}</ref> With the ULA not ready for "main production", however, the launch of the Electron was to be delayed until the spring.<ref name="acornuser198211">{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser004-Nov82/page/n5/mode/2up |title=Electron launch delayed |magazine=Acorn User |date=November 1982 |access-date=18 October 2020 |page=4}}</ref>

By June 1983, with the planned March release having passed, the launch of the Electron had been rescheduled for the [[Acorn User|''Acorn User'' Exhibition]] in August 1983,<ref name="popcompweekly19830602">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-06-02/mode/1up | title=The Electron cometh... slowly | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=2 June 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | page=1 }}</ref> and the machine was indeed launched at the event. The company expected to ship the Electron before Christmas, and sell 100,000 by February 1984.<ref name="popcompweekly19830901">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-09-01/mode/1up | title=Electron launched... at last | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=1 September 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | pages=1, 5 }}</ref> The price at launch{{snd}}£199{{snd}}remained unchanged from that stated in an announcement earlier in the year, with the machine's nickname within Acorn{{snd}}the "Elk"{{snd}}also being reported publicly for perhaps the first time.<ref name="acornuser198307_elk">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser012-Jul83/page/n6/mode/1up | title=Electron set for battle at £199 | magazine=Acorn User | date=July 1983 | access-date=21 August 2021 | pages=5 }}</ref>

Reviews were generally favourable, starting with positive impressions based on the physical design of the computer, with one reviewer noting, "The Electron is beautifully designed and built{{snd}}quite a shock compared to the BBC. Its designer case will look great on the coffee table." Praise was also forthcoming for the Electron's keyboard which was regarded as being better than most of its low-cost peers, with only the [[VIC-20]] being comparable.<ref name="pcn19830825_electron" /> In one review, the keyboard was even regarded as better than the one in the BBC Micro.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> The provision of rapid BASIC keyword entry though the combination of the {{keypress|FUNC}} key with various letter keys was also welcomed as a helpful aid to prevent typing errors by "most users", while "touch typists" were still able to type out the keywords in full.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" />

Reviewers also welcomed the machine's excellent graphics compared to its rivals, noting that "the graphics are much more flexible and the maximum resolution is many times that of the Spectrum's". The provision of screen modes supporting 80 columns of readable text and graphics resolutions of 640×256 was described as "unrivalled by every machine up to the BBC Model B itself", although the absence of a [[teletext]] mode was considered regrettable. Although valued for its low memory usage characteristics in the BBC Micro,<ref name="pcw198310_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PersonalComputerWorld1983-10/page/160/mode/2up | title=Electron | work=Personal Computer World | date=October 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Mann | first1=Steve | pages=160–163, 165, 167 }}</ref> one reviewer considered the absence of a "software simulation of a teletext screen" to be a "lazy omission" even if it would have to be "awfully slow and take up piles of memory".<ref name="pcn19830825_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/Personal-Computer-News/PersonalComputerNews025-31Aug1983/page/n25/mode/2up | title=Electronic theory | work=Personal Computer News | date=25 August 1983 | access-date=23 October 2021 | last1=Phillips | first1=Max | pages=24–46 }}</ref>

While its speed was acceptable compared to its immediate competition, the Electron was, however, rather slower than the BBC Micro with one review noting that games designed for the BBC Micro ran "at less than half the speed, with very significant effects on their appeal".<ref name="popcompweekly19830825">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/popular-computing-weekly-1983-08-25/page/n13/mode/2up | title=How does it compare? | work=Popular Computing Weekly | date=25 August 1983 | access-date=30 December 2020 | last1=Brain | first1=Keith | last2=Brain | first2=Steven | pages=14–15 }}</ref> The reduced performance can be attributed to the use of a 4-bit wide memory system instead of the 8-bit wide memory system of the [[BBC Micro]] to reduce cost. Due to needing two accesses to the memory instead of one to fetch each byte, along with contention with the video hardware also needing access, reading or writing RAM was much slower than on the BBC Micro.<ref name="acornuser198309">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser014-Sep83/page/n27/mode/2up | title=Speed - The Big Difference | magazine=Acorn User | date=September 1983 | access-date=30 October 2020 | last1=Beverley | first1=Paul | pages=26–27}}</ref>{{rp|page=26|quote=As you can see, in the worst case, the Electron takes 4.3 times as long to run the same program as the BBC micro.}} Reviewers were also disappointed by the single-channel sound, noting that "BBC-style music" and its "imitations of various musical instruments" would not be possible, the latter due to the inability of the sound system to vary the amplitude of sounds.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/your-computer-1983-09_202007/page/57/mode/2up | title=Review Electron | work=Your Computer | date=September 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Cryer | first1=Neil | pages=56–57, 59 }}</ref>

Despite some uncertainty about Acorn's target demographic for the Electron, some noted the potential for the machine in education given its robustness,<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> but also given its price, noting that the high price of BBC Model B machines seemed "rarely justified by their actual practical applications in schools". The introduction of the Electron was seen as potentially leading to competition between Acorn's different models within the schools market rather than creating a broader audience for them, although the potential for more computers in schools, giving more "hands-on" experience for students, was welcomed.<ref name="popcompweekly19830825" /> Nevertheless, reviewers anticipated that the Electron would sell well at the lower end of the market, with projected sales of 100,000 units by Christmas 1983,<ref name="practicalcomputing198310_electron">{{ cite news | url=https://archive.org/details/PracticalComputing1983October/page/n65/mode/2up | title=Electron | work=Practical Computing | date=October 1983 | access-date=22 October 2021 | last1=Maude | first1=Neville | pages=68–70 }}</ref> helped by the Electron's software compatibility with the BBC Micro and the already established reputation of its predecessor.<ref name="yourcomputer198309_electron" /> With parents potentially being convinced of the Electron's educational value, some reviewers foresaw a conflict between parents and "discerning children", the latter merely wanting to play games and preferring models with sound and graphics capabilities more appropriate for gaming.<ref name="popcompweekly19830825" />

Although Acorn had based its expansion into the United States on the BBC Micro, the company did have plans to introduce the Electron at a later time,<ref name="acornuser198311_us">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/AcornUser016-Nov83/page/n10/mode/1up | title=US quashes launch doubts | magazine=Acorn User | date=November 1983 | access-date=7 February 2022 | pages=7 }}</ref><ref name="electronuser198403_us">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/ElectronUserVolume1/Electron_User_01-06/page/n8/mode/1up | title=US release next year? | magazine=Electron User | volume=1 | issue=6 | date=March 1984 | access-date=11 February 2022 | pages=9 }}</ref> with Chris Curry having indicated "a very heavy push overseas" involving both the BBC Micro and Electron.<ref name="practicalcomputing198210"/> A model for the US market was described in an official book, ''The Acorn Guide to the Electron'',<ref name="acornguide">{{ cite book | url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64174269 | title=The Acorn Guide to the Electron | last1=Cryer | first1=Neil | last2=Cryer | first2=Pat | publisher=Penguin Books | isbn=0140078061 | date=1983 | oclc=64174269 }}</ref> but this model was never produced.<ref name="electronuser198502a" /> The Electron was distributed in various other markets and was reviewed by home computing publications in countries such as Norway,<ref name="hjemmedata198409">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/hjemmedata_09-1984/page/n5/mode/2up | title=Vi presenterer BBC jr. Electron | magazine=Hjemmedata | date=September 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=6–7, 36–37 }}</ref> West Germany,<ref name="happycomputer198409">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/Happy.Computer.N11.1984.09-Cartman/page/n17/mode/2up | title=Very British, Indeed | magazine=Happy Computer | date=September 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=18–22 }}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref name="bitsandbytes198404">{{ cite magazine | url=https://archive.org/details/nzbitsandbytes-2-07/page/n23/mode/2up | title=Cut-down BBC for about $800 | magazine=Bits & Bytes | last1=Forer | first1=Pip | date=April 1984 | access-date=11 September 2024 | pages=22–24 }}</ref>