Timex shows color computer with 48K for under $200

Timex introduced its color computer, which has 48K RAM and sells for $199.95. It is the first color computer having at least 48K RAM to list at less than $200.

The new computer is a modified version of Sinclair Research’s Spectrum computer, which Sinclair sells outside the U.S. and Canada. The U.S. version, the Timex/Sinclair 2000, is Timex’s second offering in a year; the first was the TS 1000/ZX-81, of which a million units have been produced, according to a company spokesman.

Daniel Ross, vice-president of Timex Computer Corporation, said Sinclair sold more than 50,000 Spectrums in the U.K. during December 1982 – four months after its release there – and he predicted sales “in the hundreds and hundreds of thousands of units” for the color computer in the U.S. during 1983.

A 16K version of the TS 2000 will also be available for $149.95.

According to Ross, the TS 2000 features high-resolution graphics that can display eight different colors at once, with separate control of foreground, background and border areas, as well as flash command and a brightness control.

The TS 2000 has a display area of 32 columns by 24 lines. Graphics are provided by 256 dots horizontally and 192 dots vertically, all individually addressable by the user. Most color television receivers can work with the TS 2000.
Weight of the machine is 20 ounces. The keyboard of the TS 2000 offers more tactile feedback than the membrane keyboard of the TS 1000.

Rebate available

Ross also announced a $15 rebate program from now until the end of March on the TS 1000. Timex is now producing one computer every ten seconds, according to Ross. “With that production, we’ve been able to gain significant manufacturing efficiency. Costs have been reduced, and we want to pass these savings on to the consuming public,” he said.

The move may also be in response to announcements of other $99 home computers at the Winter Consumer Electronics Show, including the TI 99/2, a Sanyo Z80 and a computer from Video Technology Limited of Hong Kong. The TS 1000 is list priced at $99, but some dealers are already offering it for $70 or less. With the rebate and dealer discounts, the TS 1000 will dip towards in some stores.

Delivery of the TS 2000 will begin in the second quarter of 1983. Modifications from the Spectrum include a slot for solid-state modules that will cost less than $25. Ross predicted the 1 1/2 x 2 x 1/8-inch modules, which can hold 8K, 16K or 32K of ROM, “will become the new standard for solid-state software.”

Cassette-tape-based software will also be available for $10 to $20 a cassette, Ross said.

The TS 2000 contains a 3.5 megahertz Z80A microprocessor, and both 16K and 48K versions include 16K ROM with the operating system and extended BASIC interpreter. The TS 2000, unlike the 1000, includes a built-in loudspeaker, which has ten octaves and 130 semitones.

Timex also announced a $99.95 2040 32-column printer to work with both the 1000 and 2000. The dot-matrix thermal printer operates at two lines per second.

Software for the 2000 from Timex will include 40 home-management, business-application, educational and entertainment titles, Ross said. Currently, 24 titles have been announced.

Ross also aid Timex was working with “a number of companies in the U.S.” to develop software for the 2000, and he predicted a huge cottage software industry would spring up around the machine.

Observers noted the 2000 would also be helped by the amount of software written in England for the Spectrum that will run on the 2000.

Timex will introduce a modem in the third quarter of 1983 that will allow users to plug into standard telephone equipment for access to banking and telecommunications services. Programs to allow users to do home shopping are planned, he added.

Timex is expected to push the TS 1000 and 2000 heavily in the educational market this year. “We have the responsibility to the educators and the American public to assist them in learning computer literacy,” said Ross.
When asked when Timex/Sinclair will announce a floppy-disk drive for its series of computers, Ross responded, “Unlike other companies, we don’t believe in announcing something two years before its available.”

Timex Corporation also announced a line of computerized health-monitoring devices for use at home. The first Healthcheck products include a $70 digital blood-pressure monitor, a $50 computerized scale and a $20 electronic thermometer.