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The Cambridge Z88 was the last computer from the mind of Sir Clive Sinclair, who in the 1980s, was indisputably the most colourful and influencial figure on the British microcomputing scene. The British entrepreneur and inventor had been marketing his own electronics and computers since the 1960's.
The Cambridge Z88 was first introduced to the public at the "Which Computer? Show" in Birmingham, England, on February 17, 1987.
Later in the same year, the Z88 was offically launched at the "PCW Show" in London, on August 1987.
It appeared in the US at the 1987 COMDEX show in Las Vegas, on November of 1987. The price was stated as $499. January 1989 magazine advertisements increased the price to $599.
Perhaps the smallest and lightest laptop in existance at the time, the Cambridge Z88 has a non-backlit supertwist 8-line LCD display capable of displaying 106 tiny characters per line, and a full-size, one-piece "rubber" dust- and water-proof keyboard.
Having a unique and proprietary operating system, only programs written specifically for the Z88 can be ran. Luckily the Z88 comes with these useful built-in programs:
| Diary | - organise your engagements, plan your time |
| Terminal | - communicating to another device over RS232 |
| PipeDream | - a powerful combined wordprocessor/spreadsheet package |
| BBC BASIC | - programing language - instruct the computer to carry out a sequence of operations |
| Printer Editor | - alter the printer driver to suit a particular printer's facilities |
Additional "popdown" utility programs can be used while still working within another application:
| Filer | - list, move, rename, copy, delete files |
| Index | - enter applications, popdowns, or suspended activities |
| Panel | - control settings |
| Clock | - see the current time, and today's date |
| Alarm | - set alarms and reminders |
| Calendar | - look up dates |
| EazyLink | - transfer of files to a desktop computer, using Z88 remote file management |
| Calculator | - perform calculations |
| FlashStore | - manage files on Flash cards |
| Import/Export | - transfer files to other desktop computers |
The "OZ" operating system is built-in, and allows task-switching between applications without closing the programs.
If you return to the "Index" after creating a document in PipeDream or writing a program in BBC BASIC, your activity will be suspended, and you will see it listed in the list of SUSPENDED ACTIVITIES. You can re-enter any of many suspended activities by selecting it on the list of SUSPENDED ACTIVITIES. All programs and data will be maintained unless you specifically "KILL" the document or program.
There is usually no need to worry about switching the Cambridge Z88 off - if you do not type anything for several minutes the machine will automatically switch off (really just goes to sleep) to conserve power. You can turn it back on and all of your data is present for you to contiunue your work. Hitting both <SHIFT> keys at the same time toggles the system on and off (to sleep mode).
Like the Psion Organiser from 1984, the Z88 has expansion slots to install additional memory and data storage.
While the Z88 has 32K RAM built-in, this can be expanded by installing additional RAM cartridges. On the front of the
Z88 is a clear plastic panel which folds down to give access to three cartridge slots. The cartridges can hold
extra RAM (256K maximum), additional software on ROM, or EPROMs for storing your data files. Slot #3 is the only slot which can write to an EPROM.
RAM and EPROM cartridges were available in 32K (£19.95) and 128K (£49.95) sizes. Although you can transfer your data to another computer using the serial port, since the Z88 has no removable drives of any kind, EPROM cartridges are the only method to permanently store or archive your data.
October 1988 USA prices:
| Z88 computer | $599.00 |
| 32K RAM | 45.00 |
| 128K RAM | 110.00 |
| 32K EPROM | 45.00 |
| 128K EPROM | 110.00 |
The 2009 BBC television drama Micro Men (YouTube video) documented the rise of the British home computer market. It focuses on the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair and Chris Curry - former protégé and later "BBC Micro" competitor.
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