Sinclair ZX80 & ZX81 (1980, 1981)

For fans of microcomputers, the Sinclair ZX80 and its successor, the ZX81, were integral to establishing the home computing scene. The brainchild of British inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair, the ZX80 first brought affordable home computers to the masses in 1980.

As we began our research for this column, we heard the news that Sir Clive had passed away, aged 81. So it seems an even more appropriate time to pay tribute to a computing legend by covering the machines that kick-started Britain’s coding revolution.

Development

Before the ZX80, Sinclair Research was already well established in the electronics world, pioneering devices such as cheap calculators and pocket televisions. It had developed a rudimentary computing kit under the