Now:

World's first $100 personal computer

Low cost and wide distribution may make this system the cornerstone of the long-awaited computer revolution

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By WILLIAM J. HAWKINS

PHOTOS BY GREG SHARKO

Timex Sinclair 1000 comes with 2K of RAM and BASIC for $100. Additional gear, such as that 16K RAM pack ($50) and printer ($100), can be added now; an auto-dial modem ($100) will be available soon. Cassette software will cost from $10 to $20.

The checkbook balances instantly. The Christmas cards are done in a snap. Your taxes are figured to be just this side of legal. And every number ever given to you - from phone numbers to your Visa account - is available at a touch.

Personal computers. People say the silicon surrogates will change the world. And one look at most of the price tags will tell you they're right - you'd have to change your life style to afford one. But now our wallets are in for a pleasant surprise.

It's called the Timex Sinclair 1000, and it's the first ready-to-go personal computer for under $100 ($99.95). Connected to your TV set, it's a complete system: Compute numbers, display text, draw pictures, even write your own programs using its built-in BASIC language. Optional gear? Sure, additional memory and a printer are available - and each is comparably priced to make the 1000 the lowest-cost system yet.

But there's more to this computer than just money. "We're aiming the 1000 at the general consumer market," says Daniel Ross, vice-president of Timex. Watch out (no pun intended). With some 100,000 retail stores now distributing Timex products, it means you'll soon see them in department stores, jewelry shops, and even local drug stores. And wide distribution coupled with low cost could make this computer the cornerstone of the long-predicted "computer revolution."

But what do you get for your $100? What are the system's limitations? And what does it all mean to the competition? Take a look:

The system

The computer? "Sure, I have it." George Grimm of Timex slipped his hand into the Manila envelope. "The printer's in here, too." He pulled out a piece at a time and handed them to me. "Here. This is the 16K [kilobyte] RAM pack."

Needless to say, the Timex Sinclair system is small - and familiar. It's actually an updated version of the Sinclair ZX81 [PS, Sept. '81], sold through mail order for the past year. (Timex has been building 60,000 units a month for Sinclair in its New York manufacturing plant.)

The entire computer is almost hand-sized - it measures just 1.5 by six by 6.5 inches and weighs a mere 12 ounces. Inside, all the electronics are neatly packed into four integrated-circuit chips and run by a