His family confirmed that Clive Sinclair, the inventor of the Sinclair ZX Spectrum personal computer, has died from cancer at the age of 81. Sinclair was an inventor who had a long list of electronic products. Some, such as his pocket calculator, were very successful while others, such as his Sinclair C5 electric trike, were definitely not.
Sinclair was born in England in 1940 and had a flair for making gadgets. Sinclair Executive, a slimline pocket calculator released in 1972, was a hit. It was even displayed at the Museum of Modern Art once.
The ZX Spectrum personal computers from Sinclairs were cheaper than the Commodore 64 and enjoyed a high level of popularity in the UK. The ZX Spectrum, also known as Speccy, had a rubber keyboard and a colour display. Later, it was equipped with a library that contained thousands of games. The original model sold for 125, or roughly $170. It had 16KB RAM. Before it was discontinued in 1992, the ZX Spectrum sold approximately 5 million units around the world.
Even Sinclair's less popular inventions were eventually validated. Sinclairs Black Watch, which utilized integrated circuit technology according a 1970s newspaper ad, did not really catch on. However, it looks like it could have inspired many of the fitness trackers that everyone now wears on their wrists. Sinclairs TV80 pocket TV was not popular in those days, but we now all have little screens with us everywhere we go. Elon Musk sent condolences via Twitter on Thursday, expressing his love for the ZX Spectrum.
Sinclair's C5 electric car, launched in 1985 at a price of 399 (roughly $550), wasn't popular with consumers. It was difficult to pedal and the operator was not visible from most cars. The C5 had no passenger seat, it was a single-person vehicle. Although it is probably too far to call it a precursor of Tesla, Sinclair was right to be, maybe just a few decades ahead.
In an interview with The Guardian, Sinclair's daughter Belinda stated that it was the challenges, not the ideas that he found interesting. He'd come up with an idea, and then say, It doesn't matter if they don't want it because they cant see it. This is similar to a sentiment that Steve Jobs used to express about why he didnt use market research to develop products: People wont know what they want until they are shown it.
Sinclair, despite being knighted in 1983 for his contributions in the UKs computer industry and pioneering the field of consumer electronics technology, preferred his slide rule over a calculator. Sinclair said that he didn't use email and the internet because they were too annoying.
Sinclair was survived by Belinda and her sons Crispin, Bartholomew and five grandchildren, as well as two great-grandchildren.
