The ZX Spectrum is a home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd. Originally dubbed the ZX81 Colour and ZX82, the machine was later renamed the ZX Spectrum by Sinclair to highlight the machine's colour display, compared to the black-and-white of its predecessor, the Sinclair ZX81.. It is affectionately known as the Speccy by some of its fans.
The Spectrum was the first mainstream audience home computer in the UK, similar in significance to the Commodore 64 in the USA; the C64 was the main rival to the Spectrum in the UK market during the early 1980s. The introduction of the ZX Spectrum led to a boom of companies producing software and hardware for it. The effects of this are still seen.