New “Timex 2068” and Disc Drive to Lead the Way
In an exclusive interview with the Managing Director of Timex Portugal, Bob Dyl of English Micro Connection has ascertained that the Portuguese division of Timex, which is independent of the American division, plans to enter the American market with a modified version of the 2068 along with a disc drive.
Antonio Gomez told Dyl in a recent transatlantic phone conversation of 1 1/2 hours that the new version of the 2068 combines features of both the older 2068 and the Sinclair Spectrum. Retained from the 2068 is the keyboard, ROM, joystick ports, sound, and cartridge port. Changes include a Spectrum rear edge connector, a Spectrum cartridge ROM plug-in unit, & a 9 volt power supply instead of 15 volts as on the older 2068. The new name will be the “Timex 2068” instead of the older “Timex-Sinclair 2068”.
In addition to the computer, a 3″ Hitachi disk drive system with interface is also ready with two different interfaces available. One interface plugs into Spectrums and the new Timex 2068 and provides 400 kilobytes of storage. The other interface shows that Portugal has not ignored those of us that already have the TS2068–it will plug into the American version. It is not clear whether the American version will need a Spectrum ROM or emulator in order to work. Units of both the computer and disk drive are at the FCC now.
Our thanks to Bob Dyl of English Micro Connection for sharing this information.