Spectrum Computing

https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/2up
Does the addition of a disc drive instead of casette really need an extra 100 quid?

and this was in 1989 when the Megadrive was out for about the same price

It was too expensive, but it's also one of the most beautiful computers I've ever seen.
I bought it on ebay, four years ago and I didnt regret it.

beautiful? steady on... It's an unergonomic brick (that's coming from someone who likes the +3 as a computer).

I dont know why, but I always like +3 design, together with rubber Spectrum and CPC 6128.
Maybe becouse of the disc drive on the right side, very elegant keyboard and black design, but after all this years I still think the same.

+3 was too expensive? NO!

Look at the price of other disk systems and of the price of expansions systems that had a disk interface and a disk drive...

Mark

Comparing prices of computers and consoles may be deceptive.

Consoles used to be and still are quite cheap but games are expensive. That's the way of getting money.

Going offtopic the same may be today with computer printers. A set of original cartridges may cost as much as printer itself

Wall_Axe wrote: ↑Wed Nov 15, 2017 5:46 pm https://archive.org/stream/sinclair-use ... 5/mode/2up
Does the addition of a disc drive instead of casette really need an extra 100 quid?

and this was in 1989 when the Megadrive was out for about the same price

The +3 was NOT £100 more. What you are looking at there is an unofficial bundle thrown together by a dealer.

Official Amstrad prices were £139 for the +2, £199 for the +3. £60 extra a perfectly reasonable price for a disc model compared to the price of bare drives.

I'm not sure if the +3 was too expensive, but there were probably better options for the sort of people who would be likely to need a disk drive.

I think it is probably fair to say that the +2 was more successful than the +3. The +2 stuck to the tried and tested formula of games on cassette as many of the games were already available on that medium.

For those users that needed the disk drive, the Amstrad 8256 was already available, could run CP/M, and had everything in one box.

Think the +3 was £249 when first released, which sailed a bit too close to A500 territory in my view.

£199 would have been a nice initial price point, I agree.

To be fair, the +3 was always going to be a slow seller.

By the time of it's release, the Spectrum market had levelled out and was now in decline, and there were other more desirable computers available. And gamers would mostly stick with the +2 versions because at that point in time, games were only released on cassette tape.

But Amstrad in releasing the +2 model kept the Spectrum market alive. So why not try a Spectrum with a disk drive. It worked wonders for them with the CPC6128 computer.

Of course, the whole reason that Clive Sinclair went down the microdrive route, was because disk drives were so expensive...

Mark

balford wrote: ↑Thu Nov 16, 2017 9:45 am Think the +3 was £249 when first released, which sailed a bit too close to A500 territory in my view.

£199 would have been a nice initial price point, I agree.

Amiga 500 was £499 at the time the +3 was released and had no software base. +3 was only at the higher price point for its first Christmas and then the price was reduced (advert I posted was from 1988). Common practice at Amstrad to launch with a higher price and then drop it.

From memory the A500 price didn't drop until the run up to Christmas 1989 which is when it started to gain traction.

I guess it was reasonable but back then i balked at spending 200quid on a spectrum
it didnt seem right to have a disc drive but the same graphics hardware limiting things.