Unauthorized ZX81 clones were produced in several countries. Timex later produced its own versions of the ZX81: the Timex Sinclair 1000 and Timex Sinclair 1500. In the United States it was initially sold as the ZX-81 under licence by Timex. It was hugely successful more than 1.5 million units were sold.
It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cost introduction to home computing for the general public. The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation.
£49.95 kit, £69.95 assembled (£204–285/$279–390 at 2024 prices)Įxternal Compact Cassette recorder at a claimed 250 bit/s or an average 300 bit/s ġ67 millimetres (6.6 in) wide by 175 millimetres (6.9 in) deep Inexpensive home computer by Sinclair Research, 1981
