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Timex Sinclair was a joint venture 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. The choice of partnership was natural as Timex was already the main contractor for manufacture of Sinclair's ZX81 and ZX Spectrum computers at its Scottish plant in Dundee. It was Timex of Portugal, though, that took on the R&D and the local manufacturing of the models to be exported to the U.S. Although both Timex of Scotland and Timex of Portugal were full subsidiaries of Timex, internal rivalry, whether unintended or purported, meant there were no contacts nor experiences shared between the two plants. Timex of Portugal also sold the Timex Sinclair models in Portugal and Poland under the Timex Computer brand. ==Products== Timex Sinclair released four computers, all of them based (to some extent) on Sinclair Research's existing machines. In chronological order: *TS1000, essentially a modified ZX81 with 2 KiB RAM *TS1500, a TS 1000 with 16 KiB RAM and a ZX Spectrum-like case and keyboard *TS2068, 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. Its European sibling, the TC2068, featured improved compatibility with the ZX Spectrum. *TC2048, a ZX Spectrum-based machine with a TS 2068-like keyboard. Not sold in the US. In July 1982, Timex Sinclair introduced the first computer touted to cost under $100 marketed in the U.S. ((TS 1000 )). In spite of the flaws in the early versions, half million units were sold in the first 6 months alone. Overall, the 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 TS2068 was a relative failure, due to Timex leaving the computer business prior to the introduction of the TS2068 (and TS 1500). File:Zx81-timex-manipulated.jpg|TS1000 File:Timex-Sinclair-1500-White-BG.jpg|TS1500 File:Timex Sinclair 2068 Manipulated.jpg|TS2068 File:Timex-Computer-2048-Manipulated.jpg|TC2048 Timex Corporation withdrew from the U.S. home computer market in February 1984 but Timex of Portugal continued to manufacture, sell and develop hardware in Portugal and Poland for another ten years. *TC3256 was the next proposed computer. It was designed as the third generation of Timex Computer Technology, but it vanished when Timex of Portugal shut down its production line.〔http://timex.comboios.info/PT/tc3256.html〕 * Timex FDD or FDD 3000, a Z80-based CP/M-compatible computer. Most people only know it as a floppy disk drive 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 TC2048/2068 or ZX Spectrum, running TOS (Timex Operating System) * * as a CP/M system, using a TC2048/2068 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. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Timex Sinclair」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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