Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer [ZX81/TS1000]

General Chit Chat about Sinclair Computers and their Clones
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David G
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Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer [ZX81/TS1000]

Post by David G »

Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer

newspaper article from The New York Times, circa 1984

Background: Timex manufactured all ZX81 in their Scotland factory. But in the US they sold an exact copy of the ZX81 (latest revision) labeled as the TS1000. Just like my ZX81 it was configured for NTSC televisions, further it was populated with 2K RAM onboard (both options are on all ZX81 boards). It was 100% compatible with regular ZX81

i remember seeing ads from local stores (not computer stores, but like drugstores) for $40 on closeout with free 16K rampack and two cassettes

Highlights
"People need support when they buy a computer. When Timex got that message, they had already taken a serious licking."
Timex "always had a nasty attitude... When you called to ask a technical questions, their attitude was ‘too damn bad.'"
Later they sold the TS1500, which was a ZX81 in a Spectrum case (so got the improved keyboard)


FULL TEXT
Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer

The New York Times

Three decades ago, Timex Corp. made its name by turning wristwatches into commodities, selling inexpensive, reliable timepieces in thousands of drugstores and discount outlets across the country.

Wednesday, Industry analysts said the same strategy effectively killed the company’s chances in the home computer market. And the company's traditional secretiveness, they added, greatly slowed the efforts of outside parties to design computer programs and equipment.

That assessment came a day after Timex announced that, like Texas Instruments and Mattel Inc. before it, it was abandoning its efforts to sell the most inexpensive computers after concluding that it could not sell the machines profitably.

As it bowed out, Timex was estimated to have sold more than one million units of the British-designed Sinclair computer, largely for customers that had never before purchased an electronic device more complicated than a calculator.

"Buying a computer is not like buying a watch, and they fundamentally did not understand that," said Kirtland H. Olson, publisher of Syntax, a monthly newsletter for owners of the Timex Sinclair line of computers. "People need support when they buy a computer. When Timex got that message, they had already taken a serious licking."

Just two years ago, when Timex brought out the Timex Sinclair 1000, the company looked like it was on the brink of a great success. The computer, while limited in memory power, was the first to sell in the United States for under $100. Moreover, Timex’s broad distribution network, including drugstores, retail discounters and catalog stores, appeared to give the company a marked lead over less established competitors.

But in the past couple of years, consumers have grown accustomed to buying computer equipment in outlets that can provide them with information as well as additional components and programs.

Wednesday, an official of the privately held company denied that Timex’s failure was due to any strategic errors, but clted the rapid changes in the home computer market in 1983.

C.M. Jacobi, Timex’s vice president for marketing and sales, said Wednesday at even in light of the industry's price war last year, "I don't think we would have done much differently."

He continued: "Our users were yery complimentary of the machine. It is just that the industry built inventory faster than it should have, and then had to liquidate them at very low prices. We did not think things would go as far as they did."

Harold Kinne, senior vice president of Future Computing Inc., called the Timex machine "a computer literacy device" that was overtaken by more sophisticated computers made by Atari, Texas Instruments and Commodore.

Users of Timex equipment were more critical. Some said Wednesday that they did not believe the machine was a toy — a reputation it got within the industry because Timex failed to release more sophisticated models until late last year, when the Timex Sinclair 1000 was already overtaken by computers offering better games and graphics. But, they added, Timex took little interest in nurturing its users.

Sinclair has said it would market its new $500 computer itself

Martin Newman, a Manhattan musician who owns two Timex computers, said Timex "always had a nasty attitude." He added, "When you called to ask a technical questions, their attitude was ‘too damn bad.'"

Similar problems were encountered by the estimated 400 companies that sell programs and peripheral equipment such as disk drives for Timex computers. Timex "turned away the help," Olson said.

That secretiveness appears rooted in Timex tradition. The company was founded in the 1940s by T. Frederick Olsen, a Norwegian who owns a majority of the company's stock and has rarely granted interviews.
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Vorticon
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Re: Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer [ZX81/TS1000]

Post by Vorticon »

Interesting, but frankly there was no way the TS1000 was going to survive when TI and Commodore were selling the 99/4A and VIC 20 respectively at close to $100 by 1984 (TI was out of the business by then but there was still lots of inventory around).
To be honest, the Zeddy was not an easy computer to use with its noisy TV interface, strange keyboard, wobbly RAM pack, unreliable cassette interface and quirky Basic. Most people bought it because it was an inexpensive way to check out this newfangled computer thing but really did not have the skill or the drive to delve deeper into it and truly exploit its capabilities, so most of these machines ended up collecting dust in drawers once the initial excitement had worn off and they grew tired of staring at that K on screen.
Timex made its profits early on and got out when that dried up. Simple business calculus.
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1024MAK
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Re: Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer [ZX81/TS1000]

Post by 1024MAK »

To put this into perspective, how many ZX81s do you think Sinclair were selling in 1984? Not many I suspect, as Sinclair discontinued it in that same year.

Does anyone own or know of any ZX81 with chips newer than 1983? If so, what is the newest/latest date? Obviously not including newer chips due to repairs.

Mark
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Lardo Boffin
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Re: Why time ran out for Timex’s home computer [ZX81/TS1000]

Post by Lardo Boffin »

Admittedly I avoid buying issue three zeddies where possible as the internal RAM upgrade is harder to fit but I have never seen a ULA much older than mid ‘83 and I have seen a few!
ZX80
ZX81 iss 1 (bugged ROM, kludge fix, normal, rebuilt)
TS 1000 iss 3, ZXPand AY and +, ZX8-CCB, ZX-KDLX & ChromaSCART
Tatung 81 + Wespi
TS 1500 & 2000
Spectrum 16k (iss 1 s/n 862)
Spectrum 48ks plus a DIVMMC future and SPECTRA
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