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Sinclair

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British consumer electronics company

Non to be confused with the before company also founded by Clive Sinclair, Sinclair Radionics.

Sinclair Research Ltd
Type Limited company
Industry Computing
Electronics
Founded Cambridge, England, UK (1973)
Headquarters London, England, Great britain

Cardinal people

 Sir Clive Sinclair, Founder
Nigel Searle, Managing director (1979 to 1986)
Jim Westwood
Rick Dickinson, Designer
Products Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Sinclair QL
Revenue £102 million GBP (1985)

Number of employees

 140 (1980s)
3 (1990)
1 (1997)

Sinclair Enquiry Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was originally incorporated in 1973 as Westminster Postal service Order Ltd, renamed Sinclair Instrument Ltd, and so Science of Cambridge Ltd, then Sinclair Computers Ltd, and finally Sinclair Research Ltd. It remained fallow until 1976, when information technology was activated with the intention of continuing Sinclair's commercial piece of work from his before visitor Sinclair Radionics, and adopted the proper name Sinclair Research in 1981.

In 1980, Clive Sinclair entered the home computer market with the ZX80 at £99.95, at that time the cheapest personal estimator for sale in the U.k.. In 1982 the ZX Spectrum was released, becoming the UK's best selling calculator, and competing aggressively against Commodore and Amstrad.

At the tiptop of its success, and largely inspired past the Japanese 5th Generation Computer program, the company established the "MetaLab" enquiry centre at Milton Hall near Cambridge, in social club to pursue artificial intelligence, wafer-scale integration, formal verification and other avant-garde projects.[ commendation needed ] A combination of the failures of the Sinclair QL calculator and the TV80 led to financial difficulties in 1985, and a year afterward Sinclair sold the rights to its computer products and make proper noun to Amstrad.[ane] Sinclair Research Ltd connected to exist as a one-man visitor, marketing Clive Sinclair's inventions until his expiry in September 2021.

History [edit]

Profit and turnover data[2]
Period Profit Turnover
1980 Increase £131K £640K
1981 Increase £818K £4.6m
1982 Increase £8.55m £27.17m
1983 Increase £13.8m £54.53m
1984 Increase £14.28m £77.69m
1985 Decrease −£18m £102m
1988 to 1989 Decrease −£183K £8K
1989 to 1990 Increase £618K £5K
1990 to 1991 Decrease −£272K £5K
1991 to 1992 Decrease −£593K £1K
1992 to 1993 Decrease −£169K £380K
1993 to 1994 Decrease −£195K £511K
1994 to 1995 Decrease −£304K £436K
1995 to 1996 Decrease −£123K £256K

Founding and early years [edit]

On 25 July 1961, Clive Sinclair founded his first company, Sinclair Radionics Ltd. in Cambridge. The company developed hullo-fi products, radios, calculators and scientific instruments. When it became clear that Radionics was failing, Sinclair took steps to ensure that he would be able to proceed to pursue his commercial goals. In February 1975, he changed the proper name of Ablesdeal Ltd (a shelf visitor he had bought in September 1973 for only such an eventuality) to Westminster Mail service Guild Ltd. The name was changed to Sinclair Instrument Ltd in August 1975.

Finding it inconvenient to share control after the National Enterprise Board became involved in Radionics in 1976, Sinclair encouraged Chris Curry to get out Radionics, which he had worked for since 1966, and get Sinclair Instrument operational. The visitor's beginning product was a watch-like Wrist Calculator. [3]

Evolution of the ZX80 [edit]

In July 1977, Sinclair Instrument Ltd was renamed Science of Cambridge Ltd. Around the aforementioned time, Ian Williamson showed Chris Back-scratch a epitome microcomputer based on a National Semiconductor SC/MP microprocessor and parts from a Sinclair calculator. Curry was impressed and encouraged Sinclair to adopt information technology equally a product. In June 1978, Science of Cambridge launched its MK14 microcomputer in kit class.

In May 1979, Jim Westwood, Sinclair'south chief engineer, designed a new microcomputer based on the Zilog Z80 microprocessor. Sinclair Instrument Ltd introduced the computer as the ZX80 in February 1980, equally both a kit and ready-built.[4]

In November 1979, Science of Cambridge Ltd was renamed Sinclair Computers Ltd.

Commercial success and home computers [edit]

In March 1981, Sinclair Computers was renamed Sinclair Inquiry Ltd and the Sinclair ZX81 was launched. In Feb 1982, Timex Corporation obtained a license to industry and market place Sinclair's computers in the U.s. under the name Timex Sinclair. In April the ZX Spectrum was launched. In July Timex launched the TS k (a version of the ZX81) in the United States. In March 1982 Sinclair Enquiry Ltd made an £viii.55m profit on turnover of £27.17m, including a £383,000 government grant to develop a apartment screen.

In 1982 Clive Sinclair converted the Barker & Wadsworth mineral water bottling manufactory at 25 Willis Route, Cambridge, into the company'due south new headquarters. (Following Sinclair's financial troubles, the premises were sold to Cambridgeshire County Council in December 1985.)

In January 1983 the ZX Spectrum personal computer was presented at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show. In September the Sinclair TV80 pocket television was launched, but was a commercial failure.

In 1983 the visitor bought Milton Hall in the village of Milton, Cambridgeshire, for £2m, establishing its MetaLab inquiry and development facility in that location.

In tardily 1983 Timex decided to pull out of the Timex Sinclair venture which, due to stiff competition, had failed to break into the The states marketplace. Nevertheless, Timex computers continued to be produced for several years in other countries. Timex Portugal launched improved versions, the TS 2048 and 2068; that visitor too developed and launched the FDD3000, a floppy disk arrangement, although it was not well received by the market place.[ citation needed ]

Mid-1980s developments [edit]

The Sinclair QL was announced on 12 January 1984, shortly before the Apple Macintosh went on sale.[5] The QL was nowhere almost equally successful as Sinclair'south earlier computers. It suffered from several design flaws,[6] and Your Sinclair noted that it was "difficult to notice a skillful word for Sinclair Enquiry in the computer press".

Fully working QLs were not available until belatedly summer and complaints against Sinclair regarding delays were upheld by the Advert Standards Dominance in May of that yr. (In 1982 it had upheld complaints nigh delays in shipping Spectrums.) Specially severe were allegations that Sinclair was cashing cheques months earlier machines were shipped. In the fall Sinclair was yet publicly predicting it would exist a "million seller", and that 250,000 would exist sold by the end of the year.[7] QL production was suspended in February 1985, and the price was halved past the end of the year.[8]

The ZX Spectrum+, a repackaged ZX Spectrum with a QL-like keyboard, was launched in Oct 1984 and appeared in WHSmith's shops the day after release. Retailers stocked the car in large numbers in expectation of skillful Christmas sales. However, the auto did not sell as well as expected and, because retailers still had unsold stock, Sinclair's income from orders dipped alarmingly in Jan. The Spectrum+ had the same technical specifications as the original Spectrum. An enhanced model, the ZX Spectrum 128, was launched in Kingdom of spain in September 1985, with development funded by the Spanish distributor Investronica.[nine] The UK launch of this was delayed until Jan 1986, because retailers had large unsold stocks of the previous model.[10]

At the January 1985 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Prove, Sinclair re-entered the Usa market place, announcing the "FM Wristwatch Radio", an LCD wristwatch with a radio attached.[11] However, the picket had several problems and never went into total product.

Sinclair had long had an interest in electric vehicles, and during the early 1980s he worked on the blueprint of a single-seater "personal vehicle", eventually starting a company called Sinclair Vehicles Ltd in March 1983. He launched the Sinclair C5 electric vehicle on 10 January 1985, merely information technology was a commercial disaster, selling merely 17,000 units and losing Sinclair £7,000,000. Sinclair Vehicles went into liquidation later the same year. The failure of the C5, combined with those of the QL and the TV80, caused investors to lose confidence in Sinclair's judgement.

Amstrad conquering of assets [edit]

Clive Sinclair sold the brand name to Alan Sugar'south Amstrad in 1986

Sinclair Enquiry had reportedly intended a public offering of shares on 12 March 1985, but this offering was postponed, ostensibly due to turmoil in the microcomputer industry, with Acorn Computers undergoing refinancing, and other companies such equally Sinclair's competitor Oric and distributor Prism inbound receivership. Although the collapse of the latter was not expected to accept a significant outcome on Sinclair's ability to reach customers, the observation was made that "Sir Clive would non exist trying to go public unless he thought he could use the cash", indicating that the postponement of an offer whose timing would accept been planned for optimal effect would exist a setback for the company.[12]

On 28 May 1985, Sinclair Research had announced it wanted to raise an extra £10m to £15m to restructure the organization. Given the loss of confidence in the visitor, the money proved hard to find. In June 1985, business magnate Robert Maxwell announced a takeover of Sinclair Research, through Hollis Brothers, a subsidiary of his Pergamon Press.[xiii] However the deal was aborted in August 1985.[2]

The future of Sinclair Research remained uncertain until 7 Apr 1986, when the company sold its entire computer product range, and the "Sinclair" brand proper noun, to Amstrad for £5 million.[14] [fifteen] The deal did non include the company itself, only its name and products.

Spin-offs [edit]

Sinclair Research was reduced to an R&D business and a property company, with shareholdings in several new "spin-off" companies formed to exploit technologies developed by the main company. These included Anamartic Ltd (wafer-scale integration), Shaye Communications Ltd (CT2 mobile telephony) and Cambridge Calculator Ltd (Z88 portable figurer and satellite television set receivers).[2]

Return to invention [edit]

Inventors of the A-bike, Sir Clive Sinclair and Alexander Kalogroulis

Since 1986, the company has connected to be, but in a completely unlike form. In 1993, 1994 and 1995 Sinclair fabricated continuing losses on decreasing turnover. Investors became worried that Clive Sinclair himself was using his own personal wealth to fund his inventions. By 1990 the company'south entire staff had been reduced to just Sinclair himself, a salesman/ambassador, and an R&D employee. By 1997 merely Sinclair himself was working at his visitor.

In 1992, the "Zike" electric bicycle was released, Sinclair's 2nd attempt at changing people's means of ship. It had a maximum speed of ten mph (sixteen km/h), and was just available by mail order. Much similar the C5, the "Zike" was a commercial failure, and sold only ii,000 units. In 1999 Sinclair released the globe's smallest radio, in the form of the "Z1 Micro AM Radio".

In 2003, the Sinclair "ZA20 Wheelchair Bulldoze Unit" was introduced, designed and manufactured in conjunction with Hong Kong's Daka Designs, a partnership which also led to the SeaDoo Sea Scooter underwater propulsion unit.

July 2006 saw the release of the A-bicycle, a folding bicycle invented by Sinclair, which was on auction for £200. It had been originally announced two years previously. In November 2010, Sinclair Research announced the 10-1 two-bicycle electric vehicle, which failed to reach production.

Products [edit]

Wrist Calculator

The Wrist Computer was released by Sinclair Musical instrument in 1977.[16]

MK14

The MK14 (Microcomputer Kit 14) was a computer kit sold past Scientific discipline of Cambridge of the Britain, first introduced in 1977 for £39.95.

ZX80

The ZX80 domicile computer was launched in February 1980 at £79.95 in kit grade and £99.95 ready-congenital.[four] In November of the same year Science of Cambridge was renamed Sinclair Computers Ltd.

ZX81

The ZX81 (known as the TS m in the United states) was priced at £49.95 in kit form and £69.95 ready-built, past post order.

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum was launched on 23 April 1982, priced at £125 for the xvi KB RAM version and £175 for the 48 KB version.

TV80

The TV80 was a pocket tv. Launched in September 1983. It used a flattened CRT dissimilar Sinclair's previous portable televisions. The TV80 was a commercial failure selling simply 15,000 units and non roofing its development costs of £4m.[ commendation needed ]

Sinclair QL

The Sinclair QL was appear in Jan 1984,[v] priced at £399. Marketed every bit a more than sophisticated 32-bit microcomputer for professional users, it used a Motorola 68008 processor. Product was delayed by several months, due to unfinished development of hardware and software at the time of the QL's launch.[17] Hardware reliability problems and software bugs resulted in the QL acquiring a poor reputation from which it never actually recovered.

ZX Spectrum+

The ZX Spectrum+ was a repackaged ZX Spectrum 48K launched in Oct 1984.

ZX Spectrum 128

The ZX Spectrum 128, with RAM expanded to 128 kB, a sound chip and other enhancements, was launched in Spain in September 1985 and the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland in January 1986, priced at £179.95.[10]

Computer peripherals

Sinclair created diverse peripherals for its computers, including memory expansion modules, the ZX Printer, and the ZX Interface 1 and ZX Interface 2 add together-ons for the ZX Spectrum. A number of QL peripherals were developed by other companies just marketed under the Sinclair make. External storage for the Spectrum was usually on cassette tapes, as was common in that era. Rather than an optional floppy disk bulldoze, Sinclair instead opted to offering its own mass storage organization, the ZX Microdrive, a record-loop cartridge arrangement that proved unreliable. This was also the master storage device for the QL.

X1 Button FM Radio

In June 1997 Sinclair Research released the X1 radio for £9.l. This miniature mono FM radio, powered by a CR2032 battery, had a fixed book and was inserted in the ear. The X1 radio had iii buttons, an on/off switch, a Scan button, and a Reset push button to restart the scanning process. It came with a short length of aeriform and a detachable ear hook.[18]

Cancelled projects [edit]

The following computer products were nether development at Sinclair Research during the 1980s just never reached production:

LC3

Standing for "Low Cost Color Computer", the LC3 was developed during 1983 past Martin Brennan and was intended to be a cheap Z80-based games panel implemented in two chips, using RAM and (non-volatile) RAM cartridges for storage. A multi-tasking operating system for the LC3, with a full windowing GUI, was designed by Steve Berry. It was cancelled in November 1983 in favour of the QL.[17]

SuperSpectrum

Intended to exist a 68008-based home reckoner, equipped with congenital-in ZX Microdrive, joystick, RS-232 and ZX Net ports. Sinclair'south SuperBASIC programming language was originally intended for this model but was later adopted for the QL. SuperSpectrum was cancelled in 1982 afterward the specification of the ZX83 (QL) had converged with it.[17] This project is non to exist dislocated with Loki, which was described as the "SuperSpectrum" in an commodity in the June 1986 issue of Sinclair User magazine.

Pandora

This was to be a portable computer with an integral apartment-screen CRT display. Initially to be ZX Spectrum-compatible with a faster Z80 CPU, a congenital-in ZX Microdrive and a new 512×192-pixel monochrome video mode. Due to the limited size of flat CRT that could be manufactured, a series of folding lenses and mirrors were necessary to magnify the screen image to a usable size. The project was cancelled after the Amstrad take-over, merely the Pandora concept eventually transformed into the Cambridge Computer Z88.[nineteen] [20] [21]

Loki

This projection was intended to create a greatly enhanced ZX Spectrum, maybe rivalling the Commodore Amiga. Loki was to have a vii MHz Z80H CPU, 128 KiB of RAM, and 2 custom chips providing much enhanced graphics and sound capabilities. After the Amstrad buy-out in 1986, two engineers who had worked on the project, John Mathieson and Martin Brennan, founded Flare Applied science to continue their work.[xx]

Bob/Florin

According to Rupert Goodwins, this was a project to produce an add-on floppy disk drive for the ZX Spectrum.[22]

Tyche

This codename was assigned to a QL follow-on projection running from 1984 to 1986. Amid the features associated with Tyche were increased RAM chapters, internal floppy deejay drives, the Psion Xchange awarding suite on ROM, and possibly the GEM GUI.[23]

Janus

This name has been associated with a design concept for a "Super QL" based on wafer-scale integration engineering science.[twenty] [24]

Proteus

This was rumoured to be a hypothetical portable version of the QL similar to Pandora.[25]

Sinclair 10-1

In November 2010 Sinclair told The Guardian newspaper that he was working on a new prototype electric vehicle, called the X-1, to be launched within a twelvemonth. "Engineering has moved on quite a bit, there are new batteries available and I merely rethought the thing. The C5 was OK, but I remember we tin do a better job now."[26] The two-wheel X-1 was to accept been available on July 2011 at the toll of £595,[27] [28] just failed to accomplish production.[29]

See too [edit]

  • Sinclair Basic
  • Sinclair C5
  • Sinclair Executive
  • Sinclair Radionics
  • Sinclair Scientific
  • Sinclair Vehicles
  • Timex Sinclair
  • TV80
  • Sinclair President

References [edit]

  1. ^ John Minson (May 1986). "Sir Clive Sinclair resigns from the abode estimator market". CRASH (28). Retrieved 12 November 2006.
  2. ^ a b c "Sinclair: A Corporate History". Planet Sinclair . Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  3. ^ "Sinclair Musical instrument Wrist Reckoner". Centre for Computing History website.
  4. ^ a b Clarke, Jerry (27 October 1980). "Micro Industry in U.K. Shows Stiff Upper Lip". InfoWorld. Vol. two, no. 19. pp. 1, 35. ISSN 0199-6649.
  5. ^ a b Denham, Sue (March 1984). "Sir Clive Makes The Quantum Leap". Your Spectrum. No. 2. Retrieved xix April 2006.
  6. ^ "QL News / SinclairWatch". Your Spectrum. No. 5. July 1984. Retrieved 15 Dec 2006.
  7. ^ Roger Munford (September 1984). "Circe". Your Spectrum. No. vii. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  8. ^ "Timex/Sinclair history". ZQAOnline. Archived from the original on 17 July 2006. Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  9. ^ "Kept in the Dark". CRASH. No. 22. November 1985. Retrieved fifteen December 2006.
  10. ^ a b "Sinclair ZX Spectrum 128". The Eye for Computing History. Retrieved four December 2009.
  11. ^ "FM Wristwatch Radio". Planet Sinclair . Retrieved nine December 2009.
  12. ^ Kewney, Guy (April 1985). "Still waters". Personal Figurer World. pp. 101–102. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Sinclair to Sell British Unit". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 18 June 1985. Retrieved 4 Dec 2009.
  14. ^ Graham Kidd (May 1986). "Amstrad has bought Sinclair Research". CRASH. No. 28. p. 7. Retrieved 19 August 2006.
  15. ^ "Amstrad axes QL in Sinclair sell out". Sinclair User. No. 50. May 1986. p. 7. Archived from the original on 24 September 2006. Retrieved 19 Baronial 2006.
  16. ^ "Wrist Calculator". Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  17. ^ a b c Ian Adamson; Richard Kennedy. "The Quantum Leap - to where?". Sinclair and the 'Sunrise' Applied science . Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  18. ^ "Planet Sinclair". Retrieved 12 Apr 2011.
  19. ^ Rupert Goodwins (12 May 2002). "Re: Sinclair Loki Superspectrum". Newsgroup: comp.sys.sinclair. Usenet: 3cde626f.45085128@news-text.blueyonder.co.uk. Retrieved 23 Nov 2006.
  20. ^ a b c "Loki, Janus, Pandora: The Unreleased Sinclair Computers". Planet Sinclair . Retrieved 15 Dec 2006.
  21. ^ Rick Dickinson (16 July 2007). "Pandora to Z88". Flickr . Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  22. ^ Rupert Goodwins (18 August 1999). "Re: Does anyone think the Spectrum to Spectrum+ upgrade?". Newsgroup: comp.sys.sinclair. Usenet: 7pf9kh$ih1$i@neptunium.btinternet.com. Retrieved 23 November 2006.
  23. ^ Tony Tebby. "Q-Emulator 2". "ql-users" mailing list . Retrieved 15 December 2006.
  24. ^ Rick Dickinson (xvi July 2007). "QL and Beyond". Flickr . Retrieved 21 April 2008.
  25. ^ Rupert Goodwins (26 October 1999). "A little slice of Sinclair history..." Newsgroup: comp.sys.sinclair. Usenet: 7v3mp3$5u2$i@uranium.btinternet.com. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  26. ^ Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian (thirteen November 2010). "Whose brilliant idea was that?". London. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  27. ^ Coxworth, Ben (v November 2010). "Sir Clive Sinclair's Ten-1 pedal-electrical hybrid". www.gizmag.com . Retrieved five Feb 2017.
  28. ^ Sinclair Research - Sir Clive Sinclair. "Sinclair Research". Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved thirteen Oct 2015.
  29. ^ Dunn, Michael (8 December 2014). "Sir Clive Sinclair interview". EDN . Retrieved v February 2017.

Further reading [edit]

  • Adamson, Ian; Kennedy, Richard (1986). Sinclair and the "Sunrise" Technology. London: Penguin Books. 224 pp. ISBN 0-fourteen-008774-5.
  • Dale, Rodney (1985). The Sinclair Story. London: Duckworth. 184 pp. ISBN 0-7156-1901-ii.
  • Tedeschi, Enrico (1986). Sinclair Archaeology: The Consummate Photo Guide to Collectable Models. Portslade: Hove Books. 130 pp. ISBN 0-9527883-0-six.

External links [edit]

  • Sinclair Nostalgia Products
  • The Sinclair Story book extract
  • Planet Sinclair
  • 'Pocket TVs failed before. What's changed?', BBC News Magazine article
  • ZX81 Online Museum
  • www.1000bit.net, 1000BiT Sinclair's section

reedemeorms.blogspot.com

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_Research

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