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ZX81
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=== Precursors: the MK14 and ZX80 === [[File:Sinclair - Science of Cambridge MK14.jpg|right|thumb|The Science of Cambridge MK14 (1978), sold in kit form, was Sinclair's first computer.]] By the late 1970s, American companies were producing simple home computer kits such as the [[MITS Altair]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cass |first=Stephen |date=2018-02-23 |title=Build Your Own Altair 8800 Personal Computer |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/build-your-own-altair-8800-personal-computer |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=IEEE Spectrum |language=en}}</ref> and [[IMSAI 8080]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lendino |first=Jamie |date=2022-04-15 |title=45 Years Ago, Apple Kickstarted the Personal Computer Industry |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/45-years-ago-apple-kickstarted-the-personal-computer-industry |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=PCMAG |language=en}}</ref> This aroused interest among electronics hobbyists in the UK but relatively high prices and lower disposable income reduced the appeal of the American products. ''[[New Scientist]]'' stated in 1977 that "the price of an American kit in dollars rapidly translates into the same figure in pounds sterling by the time it has reached the shores of Britain".{{sfn|Valéry|1977}} Off-the-shelf personal computers were also available for the high end of the market but were extremely expensive; Olivetti's offering cost £2,000, and the Commodore PET, launched in 1979, sold for £700. There was nothing for the hobbyist at the low end of the market. Sinclair realised that this provided a useful commercial opportunity.{{sfn|Dale|1985|p=95}} Sinclair's first home computer was the [[MK14]], which was launched in kit form in June 1978.{{sfn|Adamson|Kennedy|1986|p=80}} It was a long way from being a mass-market product. Its very name – MK standing for "Microcomputer Kit" – was indicative of its origins as a product developed by, and for, hobbyists. It had no screen but instead used an LED [[segment display]] (though Science of Cambridge did produce an add-on module allowing it to be hooked up to a UHF TV); it had no case, consisting of an exposed circuit board; it had no built-in storage capabilities and only 256 [[byte]]s of memory; and input was via a 20-key [[hexadecimal]] keyboard.<ref>[[#MK14advert|MK14 advertisement (1978)]]</ref> Despite the limitations of the machine it sold a respectable 10–15,000 units;{{sfn|Adamson|Kennedy|1986|p=81}} by comparison, the much more expensive [[Apple II]] had only sold 9,000 units in the United States, a much bigger market, in 1978.{{sfn|Adamson|Kennedy|1986|p=61}} This success convinced Clive Sinclair that there was an untapped market for low-cost computers that could profitably be exploited. Sinclair followed up the MK14 by producing the ZX80, at the time the world's smallest and cheapest computer, which was launched in January 1980 costing £99.95 (equivalent to £390 at 2021 prices.<ref>{{cite web |title=Measuring Worth (retail price index) |url=https://www.measuringworth.com/calculators/ukcompare/result.php?year_source=1980&amount=99.95&year_result=2021 |access-date=19 November 2022 |website=measuringworth.com}}</ref>) The company conducted no market research whatsoever prior to the launch of the ZX80; according to Clive Sinclair, he "simply had a hunch" that the general public was sufficiently interested to make such a project feasible and went ahead with ordering 100,000 sets of parts so that he could launch at high volume.<ref name="Lorenz" /> [[File:ZX80.jpg|left|thumb|The Sinclair ZX80 (1980) is the immediate predecessor of the ZX81 and shares many design features.|alt=View of the ZX80, a white rectangular computer with a black keyboard with blue keys and the words "SINCLAIR ZX80" on the centre left of the case, in front of a large bulge at the rear of the machine.]] The ZX80's design introduced many key features that were carried over to the ZX81; as Sinclair himself later said, "the ZX80 was very much a stepping stone to the ZX81".<ref name="YC-Interview">[[#YCAugSept81|Scot (Aug/Sept 1981)]]</ref> The design was driven entirely by the desired price – the machine had to cost less than £100 but still make a healthy profit.{{sfn|Dale|1985|p=95}} Its distinctive wedge-shaped white case concealing the circuitry and the touch-sensitive membrane keyboard were the brainchild of [[Rick Dickinson]], a young British [[industrial design]]er who had recently been hired by Sinclair. As he later recalled of Sinclair's approach, "Everything was cost driven. The design was the face of the machine."<ref name="BBC23-4-07">[[#BBC230407|BBC News (23 April 2007)]]</ref> The unconventional keyboard was the outcome of Sinclair's cost-cutting. It made use of a sheet of plastic, on which the keys were printed, overlaying a metallic circuit that registered when a key was pressed. This avoided the expense of providing a typewriter-style keyboard, though the design had many drawbacks when it came to usability and "feel".{{sfn|Adamson|Kennedy|1986|p=90}} Inside the case, there were many more similarities with the ZX81. Like its successor, it used the Z80A microprocessor and had only 1 KB of on-board RAM. It came with a specially written BASIC interpreter on a dedicated ROM chip and could use a television as a display. It relied on an ordinary cassette tape recorder for data storage. The main difference between the two machines lay in the internal software; when the ZX81 was released, ZX80 owners were able to upgrade by the relatively simple expedient of plugging a new ROM onto the circuit board.<ref name="FT 6 Mar 1981" /> The ZX80 was an immediate success, selling 20,000 units over the following nine months.{{sfn|Dale|1985|p=97}} Science of Cambridge was producing ZX80s at the rate of 9,000 a month by the end of 1980{{sfn|Dale|1985|p=102}} and within 18 months of its launch the company had sold 100,000 units.<ref name="FT 20 Mar 1982">[[#FT200382|Crisp (20 March 1982)]]</ref> The commercial success of the ZX80 made a follow-up product inevitable. The company was renamed Sinclair Computers in November 1980, reflecting its new focus, and became Sinclair Research in March 1981.{{sfn|Adamson|Kennedy|1986|p=256}}
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