Two years after the original rubber-keyed Spectrum came out, 1984 saw the release from Sinclair of the Spectrum +. They obviously listened to users gripes about the original, the first major change being the keyboard - no longer is it the soft, wearable rubber but hard plastic. The case is larger too, being more durable and less prone to scratches as the original's metal top cover. Lacking from the Spectrum was a reset button - this model has one on the left hand side - it certainly saves on wear and tear from the PSU socket!
To give it that PC keyboard feel, the Spectrum + also has two feet which can be raised to give the whole computer a nice angle for typing. It certainly adds a different feel when using the keyboard.

Mention should be made of the additional keys which Sinclair have placed on the keyboard. Now you can have seperate arrow keys at last, together with extra video, extend mode and some symbol keys - handy for typing LOAD "" all the time.

Again, with it's sleek black design it's nice to look at, and is still very portable (at least without the tv, cassette recorder and joystick!). However, we feel there is something lacking from this - maybe it's the colourful keys from the original, or the slightly larger size but it just doesn't feel as nice as the Spectrum. Practical-wise though, it's a better machine.

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU Zilog Z80A
SPEED 3.5 Mhz
RAM 48k
ROM 16k (Contains operating system and BASIC)
SOUND 1 voice with 10 octaves
GRAPHICS 256 x 192 resolution
COLOURS 8 (16 using differing levels of brightness)
DIMENSIONS 23 x 14, 4 x 3 cm
WEIGHT 550g
I/O PORTS Expansion port at rear, RF video out, ear/mic
PSU External, 9v DC, 1.4A
PRICE £180, Upgrade Package from original Spectrum available at £50