The Acorn Atom was the first home computer from Acorn Computers Ltd. Released in 1980, this 6502-based system featured 2K RAM and 8K ROM and cost £120 as a kit or £170 ready-assembled. It could be expanded up to 12K RAM for additional program storage along with a replacement 12K ROM that supported floating-point arithmetic.
Continue reading Acorn Atom – From Little Acorns Grow…Unlike its predecessor, the Sinclair ZX81, the ZX Spectrum was a significant step up in functionality and performance. Launched in 1982, the original versions boasted 16K ROM (read-only memory) and either 16K or 48K RAM (random access memory) at a launch price of £125 and £175 respectively. Sir Clive Sinclair believed the low price point was important against its rivals , specifically the BBC Micro.
Continue reading Sinclair ZX Spectrum – Now In ColourThe Sinclair ZX81 was launched in 1981 as the successor to the Sinclair ZX80. Like the ZX80, the ZX81 was available either as a kit or ready-made. Containing the same Z80 CPU (central processing unit) as the ZX80, 8K ROM (read-only memory) and 1K RAM (random access memory), it was cheaper than the ZX80 (£69.95 ready-made in the UK) due to a more efficient circuit design that used just 4 silicon chips compared with the ZX80’s 21.
Continue reading Sinclair ZX81 – Smaller, Cheaper, Not FasterThe 1970s made computer technology accessible to individuals at a relatively low budget but most still required manual assembly. However, in the late 70s, a number of pre-assembled microcomputers came on the market and in 1980, the Sinclair ZX80 arrived. This small home computer was available in the UK for under £100 ready-made or just under £80 in kit form.
Continue reading Sinclair ZX80 – The First Sub-£100 Home Computer