[This is a news item from the June 1982 issue of Your Computer, interesting really only because of this pic of Clive with his Spectrum.]

[Clive with his Spectrum]

Sinclair softens up the cassette market

HOT ON THE heels of the launch of Sinclair's new ZX Spectrum - see Tim Hartnell's review on page 20 - Clive Sinclair has announced a new range of software for its predecessor the ZX-81. The 26 new cassettes will be available from Sinclair Research by mail order from May.

Nineteen of the new cassettes have been developed for Sinclair by ICL, the Government-backed computer firm. The remaining seven cassettes were developed by specialist software house Psion.

The Fun to Learn series consists of eight cassettes covering English literature I and II, geography, history, mathematics, inventions, spelling and music. Each cassette costs £6.95 including VAT. An additional eight cassettes, costing £4.95 plus VAT each, make up the latest set of Sinclair Research ZX-81 Super Programs series of games, quiz and conversion programs.

Other cassettes include Biorhythms, a six-level chess program and Space Raiders and Bombers. Flight Simulation puts you in the cockpit of an aircraft and judges your response to the controls and the outside world.

All the cassettes need the 16K RAM pack except for five of the Super Programs series which only need 1K. These cassettes are available from Sinclair Research Ltd, 6 King's Parade, Cambridge CB2 ISN. Sinclair has lowered the price of its 16K RAM pack from £49.95 to £29.95 including VAT. Sinclair says the reduction was caused by a major fall in chip costs. But rising production costs have caused Sinclair to up the price of its printer from £49.95 to £59.95 plus VAT.