Press Cutting Taken from the Cambridge Evening News
Tuesday, January 29, 1980

 

The ZX80 personal computer was launched by Sinclair Research Ltd of Cambridge today.
It can be used in the office, the factory and the home.
And the creator, Mr Clive Sinclair, said: "I should think any child of 10 with normal arithmetical ability could use It"
Mr Sinclair claims the new machine Is smaller than anything of comparable performance and also four times as cheap.
"It's the biggest leap forward we've ever made in terms of price and technology," he said,
Mr Sinclair founded Sinclair Radionics Ltd of St Ives. He wan the first on the market with a pocket-sized electronic calculator and with a mini television set, the Mlerovfslon.
He left Sinclair Radionics last year to set up Sinclair Research.
The machine has been developed by a team based at Sinclair Research's King's Parade offices — but will be made by a West   Country firm.
Kit forms will come on to the market next month at £77.95 and a completely built version In March at £99.95.
Mr Sinclair said: "We couldn't find a manufacturer nearer with the production and test facilities we require, so that's why we had to look further afield,"
He believed exports would account for 80 percent of production.
The new machine n»m M Japanese chip to drlvr IU mathematical function*. It can be plugged Into an ordinary television set, standard computers or print-oat machines if a permanent record Is required.
The "software" — that Is, the programs — can be operated through a standard tape cassette, as found in home music centres and small portable tape recorders.
With the ZX80 comes a no-page step-by-step manual written by the leader of the computer group at Cambridge Consultants, Mr Hujfv Davenport.