Sinclair ZX80
Introduced:February 1980
Price:US $199.95
How many:70,000
Weight:12 ounces
CPU:NEC 780-1 (Z80) @ 3.25MHz
RAM:1K, 64K max
Display:22 X 32 text
hooks to TV
Ports:memory, cassette
Peripherals:Sinclair thermal printer
OS:ROM BASIC


British company Sinclair released their ZX80 computer in 1980 for $199.95. It is considered to be the world's first computer for under $200, at least that's what Sinclair Research Ltd stated in all of their ads.

At the bottom of the magazine advertisements was an order form: "Please send me __ ZX80 personal computer(s) for $199.95 each ..."


Also available as a kit, the ZX80 was an amazing product, a real useable computer for only $200.00. But it did have its drawbacks:
  • No sound support
  • No color support
  • The built-in BASIC programming language can deal only with whole numbers
  • The keyboard is a membrane-type, a flat plastic surface which is difficult to use and wears-out rather quickly
  • Very slow program execution - there are no video chips, the CPU performs all of the computer functions

    • Sinclair sold 70,000 ZX80s before they came out with the improved ZX-81 one year later. The ZX-81 was much cheaper, at only $99.95, the first computer for under $100. The ZX-81 had only 5 IC chips, compared to the ZX80's 21 chips.

    In 1982, American company Timex started selling the ZX-81 in America, calling it the Timex Sinclair 1000.

    Related Links

  • ZX80 - Science of Cambridge from Planet Sinclair
  • ZX-TEAM-Homepage
  • "Another ZX80 Archive"

    • History of Sinclair Computers

    • 1980: February - Sinclair Research announces the ZX80 computer in the North American market.
    • 1981: March - Sinclair unveils the ZX81 in the UK, based on the Z80A microprocessor.
    • 1981: December - Sinclair Research reports that it has shipped 250,000 ZX81 personal computers.
    • 1982: April - Sinclair Research introduces the Sinclair ZX Spectrum in the UK.
    • 1982: July - Timex Computer begins selling the Timex Sinclair 1000 through over 1000 Timex retail outlets.
    • 1982: August - Sinclair Research reports that it has shipped 500,000 ZX81 personal computers in over 30 countries.
    • 1983: January - Timex introduces the Timex/Sinclair 2000, which is their re-packaged Sinclair Spectrum for the North American market.
      Source: Chronology of Events in the History of Microcomputers



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