| sinclairvoyance |
THE NEW YEAR is the traditional time for starting afresh; a time for laying the old year to rest and greeting the next 12 months with all the enthusiasm which is saved only for the new and the unknown.
It is also the traditional time for prophets to attempt to clear the shadowy gloom and look into the future. On the Sinclair scene that is almost impossible. A quick glance at last year's development should be sufficient to show that one month's unexpected wonders are next month's accepted truths.
In a market where, as the Spectrum was launched funeral rites were being read over the ZX-81 and the hardware add-ons industry, only a few months later both were health and blossoming, anything can happen.
There are, however, a few areas which should be watched closely for important developments in the coming months. Top of the list are the long-expected peripherals for the Spectrum-the Microdrive, the RS232 and network interfaces and the Prestel adapter. To prove they were more than a gleam in Clive Sinclair's eye, prototypes were on display at the Compec exhibition in London. Company confidence in its products appeared to be limited, however, and few people were able to look closely at what was being offered.
The most interesting item, of course, is the Microdrive, the insides of which have kept Sinclair watchers guessing ever since the small black box was displayed at the launch of the Spectrum last April. Despite it being promised before the end of 1982, the latest official estimate is that it will be on sale some time in the first three months of 1983.
Whatever form it takes, it will be needed sooner rather than later to keep Sinclair ahead of the pack.
A growing number of competitors will be another feature of the year, with the long-expected moves from the Japanese beginning to materialise. Sharp, Sanyo and Epson are a few of the names which have begun to appear, each making claims to be better than the Sinclair machines. As yet it is impossible to assess their impact, mainly because they seem to have adopted the tactics of many other parts of the home computer market of issuing a prospectus without the goods to back it up.
The Japanese appear to be no better than anyone else when it concerns the advance announcement of a product, which then takes months to materialise.
Whatever people may think about Sinclair delivery problems-and the latest report from the Advertising Standards Authority is a further guide to the number of people who have not been impressed by deliveries-both the Spectrum and the ZX-81 are available and living up to expectations once they arrive. Despite claims of being ready to go into production, most of the competitors would seem to be at the stage of Sinclair's projected move further up-market which as yet is still at the development stage.
The conclusion would seem to be that the main Sinclair competition is likely to be from the established machines-Dragon, Acorn and the Commodore Vic. The Japanese, when eventually they arrive, will probably dip in their toes at the top end of market. All of which leaves the ZX-81 in a class of its own.
Despite the fears that the Spectrum would mean the end of the market for the ZX-81, the price reduction to slightly less than £50 and the expansion of retail outlets has resulted in demand to revive the machine so that it occupies a position as the perfect introduction to the world of computers. Only Binatone with its threatened £50 unit, yet to see the light of day, has shown any interest in attempting to provide anything like the same computing power at such a reasonable price.
No doubt someone will attempt to introduce a cheaper, more powerful, machine but for it to approach the sales of the ZX-81 it would need to start with the kind of support industry in software, hardware and information which has built around the Sinclair machine in the last 12 months.
Which brings us to what may be the high spot of the year for anyone interested in following the fortunes of Sinclair and his company. In keeping with the last three years, the company is intending to launch another new machine. It is still at the development stage but Clive Sinclair has already given sufficient hints on what it will be like to be able to form an idea of what will be on offer.
It will be another move up-market at a price expected to be much more than the Spectrum. The price alone is likely to mean that it will mark a move by Sinclair into the business market proper. Clive Sinclair has said that it will include the latest of his company's technology, which means a place for the Microdrive, the flat screen television, and the Prestel adapter.
Apart from being bigger and better, the possibly revolutionary aspect will be the likelihood of it being fully portable. That means that, unlike the exciting Osborne machine, it will be possible to carry a full system without weight training beforehand.
Whatever the machine is like we can guarantee it will play its part in making 1983 another exciting year in the world of Sinclair computers. The developments have been so fast in the last year that by this time next year we can be sure that we will be looking back on a year when the capabilities of small computers have been greatly increased.