Timex Sinclair
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Timex Sinclair was a
joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
established in December 1982 between the British company
Sinclair Research Sinclair Research Ltd is a British consumer electronics company founded by Clive Sinclair in Cambridge. It was originally incorporated in 1973 as Westminster Mail Order Ltd, renamed Sinclair Instrument Ltd, then Science of Cambridge Ltd, the ...
and
Timex Corporation Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation) is an American global watch manufacturing company founded in 1854 as the Waterbury Clock Company in Waterbury, Connecticut. In 1944, the company became insolvent but was reformed into ...
in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly growing early-1980s home computer market in North America.


History

The choice of partnership was natural, as Timex was already the main contractor for manufacture of Sinclair's
ZX81 The ZX81 is a home computer that was produced by Sinclair Research and manufactured in Dundee, Scotland, by Timex Corporation. It was launched in the United Kingdom in March 1981 as the successor to Sinclair's ZX80 and designed to be a low-cost ...
and
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
computers at its Scottish plant in
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. Due to large demand another manufacturer was needed, so Timex Portugal (''TMX Portugal Lda'', a Portuguese Timex subsidiary), with skilled and relatively cheap labor force, took on the production of models to be exported to the U.S. Although both the Scottish Timex branch and Timex Portugal were full subsidiaries of Timex, internal rivalry meant there was little sharing between the two plants. Timex Portugal sold the Timex Sinclair (ex: T/S 2068) models in Portugal and Poland under the ''Timex Computer'' (ex: TC 2068) brand. In order to market Timex Sinclair products in the United States, Timex Corporation created a subsidiary named "Timex Computer Corporation", and sold machines under the brand ''Timex Sinclair''. Timex Sinclair ended as Timex Corporation withdrew from the U.S. home computer market in January 1984 but Timex Portugal continued to manufacture, sell and develop hardware in Portugal and Poland for another ten years, with some machines also being sold in Canada and Argentina. A 1986 report mentions that 800.000 systems, between TC 2048, TC 2068 and FDD3000, were sold to Poland. Overall, Timex Sinclair machines were nowhere near as successful as their UK progenitors; in contrast with the ZX Spectrum, which was the best-selling computer in Britain at the time, the T/S 2068 was a relative failure, partly due to Timex Corporation leaving the computer business shortly after its introduction.


Products

The T/S 1000 was introduced in July 1982, with Timex Sinclair touting it as the first home computer to cost under $100 in the U.S. market. In spite of the flaws in the early versions, 550,000 units were sold by the end of the year. In 1983, about 100,000 units were sold in Canada, and 400,000 in the US, with the price dropping to $49.95. A new computer was announced in May. Named ''T/S 2000'', it was based on the ZX Spectrum, and would come in with 16 or 48K RAM versions, costing $150 or $200. The 16K version was cancelled, and the 48K version was released as T/S 2068. Two new computers were introduced that same year, the ''T/S 1500'' and ''T/S 2068''. Both were more expensive ($79 and $199 respectively) and with low sales.


Released computers

Timex Sinclair released four computers, all of them based (to some extent) on Sinclair Research's existing machines. In chronological order: * T/S 1000, introduced in July 1982 and essentially a modified ZX81 with 2  KB
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
* T/S 1500, introduced in August 1983, it was a T/S 1000 with 16 KiB RAM and a ZX Spectrum-like case and keyboard * T/S 2068 (TC 2068), released in November 1983, was a ZX Spectrum-based machine with enhancements, namely a cartridge port to make it compete with videogame consoles, which resulted in poor compatibility with software developed for the original. Based on the T/S 2000 prototype. It was marketed under the ''Timex Computer'' brand in Canada,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
as TC 2068. * TC 2048, released in 1984, was a ZX Spectrum-based machine with a T/S 2068-like keyboard. Based on the T/S 2000 prototype and featured improved compatibility with the ZX Spectrum. Only sold in Portugal and Poland under the ''Timex Computer'' brand. File:Timex Sinclair 1000 FL.jpg, T/S 1000 File:Timex-Sinclair-1500-White-BG.jpg, T/S 1500 File:Timex Sinclair 2068 Manipulated.jpg, T/S 2068 File:Timex Computer 2048 (Thomas Conté) (white bg and retouch).jpg, TC 2048


Hardware projects

* TC3256 was the next proposed computer. It was designed as the third generation of Timex Computer Technology, but it vanished when Timex Portugal shut down its production line. *
Timex FDD The Timex FDD 3000 in 1982 was a nearly complete computer by Timex of Portugal. It began its development at Timex Computer Corporation in the U.S., but it was at Timex of Portugal that the work was finished. The Timex FDD 3000 is an upgraded ...
or FDD 3000, a
Z80 The Z80 is an 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first working samples were ...
-based
CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/ 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Inc. Initial ...
-compatible computer. Most people only know it as a
floppy disk drive A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, or a diskette) is an obsolescent type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined w ...
controller but in fact, it is a computer without graphics circuitry. The FDD or FDD 3000 could be used in three different ways: ** as a disk drive controller for a TC 2048 or T/S 2068 or ZX Spectrum, running TOS (Timex Operating System) ** as a CP/M system, using a TC 2048 or T/S 2068 computer running the Timex Terminal Emulator as a console. ** as a CP/M system, using the Timex Terminal 3000, a terminal keyboard, as a console.


Peripherals

Timex Computer Corporation, under the ''Timex Sinclair'' brand, and Timex Portugal, under the ''Timex Computer'' brand, produced a number of different peripherals for the Timex computer line:


Timex Sinclair

*TS1016 - Timex 16K RAM Pack for use on a T/S 1000. Can be used on a T/S 1500. *TS1050 - Not a real peripheral, but a "suitcase" to carry T/S 1000, tapes and peripherals *TS1510 - A cartridge player for T/S 1500. It can be used on T/S 1000 with a 16K RAM Pack *TS2020 - Analog Tape Recorder *TS2040 - Thermal Printer *TP2040 - Thermal Printer (badging variation, with "Printer" instead of "Sinclair") * TS2050 - Communications Modem *TS2060 - Bus Expansion Unit (
vaporware In the computer industry, vaporware (or vapourware) is a product, typically computer hardware or software, that is announced to the general public but is late or never actually manufactured nor officially cancelled. Use of the word has broade ...
) *TS2065 - Timex Microdrives (vaporware) *TS2080 - 80 column dot matrix printer (vaporware) *TS2090 - Command stick. Joystick to be used on T/S 2068 internal ports


Timex Computer

*TS1040 - A multi-voltage power supply (printer + tape recorder (T/S 2020) + T/S 1000 + TC 2048 or T/S 2068) *TC2010 - A digital tape recorder *TC2080 - A serial 80 column dot matrix printer *Timex FDD - A "cut down" computer that can be used as a floppy disk controller *
Timex FDD3000 The Timex FDD 3000 in 1982 was a nearly complete computer by Timex of Portugal. It began its development at Timex Computer Corporation in the U.S., but it was at Timex of Portugal that the work was finished. The Timex FDD 3000 is an upgraded ...
- A "cut down" computer that can be used as a floppy disk controller (an upgraded Timex FDD) *Timex Terminal 3000 - A "cut down" computer to be used as a CP/M terminal with FDD3000 *Timex RS232 - A serial RS232 interface *Sound/Joystick Unit - A sound amplifier for SLCD sounds and Kempson(?) Joystick Interface *
Neptun 156 Timex Sinclair was a joint venture established in December 1982 between the British company Sinclair Research and Timex Corporation in an effort to gain an entry into the rapidly growing early-1980s home computer market in North America. His ...
- To export the Timex Computer to Poland (as the Unipolbrit UK2086), Timex Portugal had to be paid in goods. It chose to import the Neptun 156 12" green monochrome monitor, manufactured in Poland by Unimor company. Based on the Neptun 150 TV receiver, it proved very popular in Portugal and was frequently sold in bundles with the TC computers. *Timex Printer 2040 - same as the TS2040 printer.


Software


Timex Sinclair

Timex Computer Corporation, under the ''Timex Sinclair'' brand, released 9 business, 20 home management, 30 education and 25 game titles on cassette for the T/S 1000 and T/S 1500. Four titles on cartridges were also released. For the T/S 2068, 4 business, 13 home management, 29 education and 24 game titles were released on cassette. Seven titles were released on cartridges.


Timex Computer

Timex Portugal sold/developed the following software, under the ''Timex Computer'' brand: * TOS (Timex Operating System) - Operating system for the FDD/FDD3000 * CP/M for FDD3000 - Advanced operating system for the FDD3000 * Basic 64 - Sinclair Basic extensions for the TC 2048 and TC 2068, supporting the extra video modes * Timeword - A word processor in cartridge that can save to TOS disks or to a tape recorder * ZX Spectrum Emulator - for the TC 2068 and T/S 2068, in cartridge


References


External links


TIMEXsinclair Showcase

Timex/Sinclair 1000 User Manual

Timex Sinclair 1500 User Manual

Timex Sinclair 2068 User Manual
{{Sinclair computers and clones Home computer hardware companies Defunct computer companies of the United States Sinclair Research Timex Group Multinational joint-venture companies