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W H SMITH expects to be selling another computer by the end of the year. It is talking to a number of manufacturers about stocking their micros to add to the ZX-81 which it began selling last September.
John Rowland, market development manager, is giving nothing away about which machine it might be but expects a decision to be made in August.
John Rowland, market development manager of WH Smith |
It is the next major step in the company's move into the home computer market, which it sees as a major growth area. It is already extending the number of branches selling computer goods and increasing the amount of selling space, particularly in the larger branches.
"We sell 50 lines of software and are increasing that all the time. We think we are ready to take the next step in offering a new machine," Rowland says.
He added that when the new product is launched it is hoped it will be accompanied by a full range of software. He expects that by next year the company will be selling more than 100 lines of software.
Rowland says that in the next few years W H Smith would probably like to sell about three machines with a full range of hardware add-ons and software. After that, he thinks the market will probably go the same way as the record market, with some retailers concentrating on hardware and others on software.
Of the hardware market, he says that Smith's entry will depend on manufacturers agreeing to a standard interface. Without that it would not be possible to generate sufficient sales to make it worthwhile. The retailer is looking for high-volume sales, which is why it chose to enter the market with the ZX-81.
Rowland added that Smiths is also looking at the possibility of becoming a software publisher. The company already receives many suggestions each week.
CLIVE SINCLAIR's energy seems to be endless. Not only is he able to mastermind one of the most successful computer companies in the world - he has enough strength left to run marathons.
He has already run one distance of more than 26 miles and now he is to take part in a half-marathon being organised as part of the 1982 Cambridge Festival.
Sinclair Research is sponsoring the event with £5,000 and it is expected that 2,000 competitors will be taking part, including a number of top-class runners.
The race will be held on Sunday, July 18 and will follow a course through the city's historic streets.
The company, which is based in Cambridge, sees the sponsorship of the race as part of supporting the cultural life in the city. It will also be sponsoring a concert in King's College, Cambridge as part of the festival.
THE FIRST exhibition for ZX users to be held in Birmingham is attracting a great deal of interest, despite its clash of dates with the Personal Computer World show in London. The organiser, Eric Deeson, says that about 40 of the major companies in the market are taking space.
The idea for Microscene Brum 82, on Saturday, September 11, resulted from the successful ZX Microfairs in London.
"Many people said how inconvenient it was having to go to London so we thought we would try for a regional show," Deeson says. He is hoping to attract people from all over the Midlands and further north.
Meanwhile a general microcomputer fair is being held at Manchester on July 24 and 25. It is being held in conjunction with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology at Sackville Street, Manchester and is aimed at the education and small business markets.
TWENTY-THREE regional winners in this year's Mensa Superbrain competition have been awarded ZX-81s. The awards were prompted by Clive Sinclair's involvement with the British Mensa Society, of which he is chairman.
The competition is an annual event and is set to be a test of intelligence rather than memory, as in Mastermind and Brain of Britain. It is usually run in conjunction with provincial newspapers on a regional basis, with the regional winners proceeding to the final. This year, for the first time, extra sections were organised through the independent local radio network, which provided five regional winners.