Debate rages over plans for ZX Spectrum relaunch

Old-school computer geeks are champing at the bit for more details after it was reported over the weekend that the iconic ZX Spectrum could be relaunched in time for its 30th birthday next year.

The famous rubber-keyed machine created by Clive Sinclair became one of the first mass market home computers after it superseded the ZX81 and helped launch the gaming revolution of the 1980s. News that the device could be making a comeback appeared in the Telegraph on Saturday.

However, details of exactly what form the relaunch could take were sketchy and Speccy fans have spent the last few days speculating on what it could entail.

The article itself will only go as far as to say: "The forthcoming ZX Spectrum is only really a bluetooth keyboard, designed in the same way that the 5 million selling, rubbery keyboard of 1984 was."

That has led many to assume it will simply be an emulator, a programme that allows old-school games to be played on modern machines, using a new version of the old Spectrum keyboard.

Others believe that the relaunch will involve the launch of a wireless Spectrum keyboard that can be used as a controller for new devices. And some think it could just be the repackaging of old games.

The Telegraph article also says that the company behind the relaunch is the software firm Elite, which was set up after the launch of the Spectrum and developed a host of games for the computer.

Last year it released bundles of many of those 1980s titles through the Apple iTunes store meaning they could played on the iPhone and iPad.

When Elite announced details of its Spectrum games App, it seemed taken aback by the "extensive and enthusiastic" media reaction and moved to dampen expectations. So far it has not commented on reports that it is about to recreate the Spectrum's hardware as well.

There is also the question of ownership. Amstrad purchased the Sinclair brand in 1986 and released several new versions of the Speccy, without the rubber keys, before it was discontinued in the early 1990s.

In 2007 Amstrad was taken over by BSkyB, and that company is currently the subject of a takeover bid by Rupert Murdoch. Whether Elite will be able to reproduce an iconic machine like the Spectrum without permission remains to be seen. ·