What Can You Buy for Under $1000?

The Sinclair ZX80 is compact enough to slip easily into a brief case or tote bag. Since the ZX80 weighs only 12 oz., it could be comfortably backpacked should Sinclair develop a solar pack as well as a tiny flat screen TV to serve as CRT. It is a computer that can be portaged or commuted with and still offer formidable power and a broad range of software programs.

The ZX80 uses [Zilog’s] Z80A microprocessor chip for its CPU. The basic configuration comes with 5K of memory including Basic in residence. The ZX80 has a built in VHF RF modulator and socket for an audio cassette recorder. Sinclair currently offers an 8K ROM extended Basic chip for an additional $39.95 and a 16K RAM expansion module for $99.95. The expansion module which plugs into the back of the ZX80 is about the size of two audio cassettes and adds little to the size and weight of the console.

The 128-page ZX80 Operating Manual is a course in Basic programming. A compact printer for the ZX80 will be available later this year at under $100. Using a compact audio cassette recorder and an available TV, the total Sinclair ZX80 configuration can be set up on a card table (or a spatial equivalent).

The Sinclair ZX80 uses a pressure sensitive keyboard that is rugged enough to stand up to life in a briefcase and can be wiped clean— a boon to those who combine intake with input. With a list price of $199.95, the ZX80 makes it feasible to provide a “personal” computer for each member of the family (given the statistically average family membership) and still stay under the $1,000 mark.

SYNC is a bimonthly magazine devoted to applications for the ZX80. Packaged software, including games, is available so that the ZX80 can be said to seriously compete with the other machines in the admittedly broad classification of personal computer.