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Notes |
Manufacturer |
|
Model |
ZX81 |
Date Launched |
March 1981 |
Price |
£50 as kit without power supply. |
Microprocessor type |
Zilog Z80A (or clone) @ 3.25 MHz |
ROM size |
8 kilobytes |
Standard RAM |
1 kilobyte |
Maximum RAM |
16 kilobytes with official expansion pack (as pictured above). |
Keyboard type |
Flat touch-sensitive membrane |
Supplied language |
Sinclair BASIC |
Text resolution |
32 X 24 characters |
Graphics resolution |
64 x 44 pixels block graphics. |
Colours available |
Monochrome (black on light blue with a colour television) |
Example Screenshot |
|
Sound |
None |
Cassette load speed |
250 baud |
Dimensions (mm) |
175 x 168 x 40 |
Special features |
Single key entry of BASIC commands. |
Good points |
The cheapest fully-functional computer available. |
Bad points |
Keyboard was very difficult to type on. |
How successful? |
Very popular, around 300,000 were sold in the UK and about 600,000 of the almost identical Timex Sinclair 1000 were sold in the US. |
Comments |
Very compact and robust design. The printed circuit board only contained 4 integrated circuits: A photograph of a ZX81 displaying Arabic text. Image from Sinclair User, February 1984. See a review of the ZX81. |
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