In the 1980s, there was fierce competition in the home computer market.
Companies like Sinclair, Commodore and Amstrad all battled for market position as home computing exploded as a hobby.
Now the Sinclair ZX Spectrum – the humble computer with rubber keys and just 16k of memory manufactured in Dundee – is set for a new battle: against itself.
Two different replica versions of the computer are in the works, with the first due to come onto the market early next year.
This will see the ZX Spectrum return as a smartphone accessory but a second replica which will allow users to plug a simplified version of the Speccy straight into their televisions is also in the works.
Mobile games company Elite raised £60,000 through Kickstarter to develop their version of the ZX Spectrum, which can tbe linked to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and then used to play an array of Spectrum games.
The full-sized replica computers will be available from early 2015 and will sell for around £50.
Meanwhile, a firm called Retro Computers is seeking to raise £100,000 through crowd-funding website Indiegogo to develop the ZX Spectrum Vega, a Spectrum replica that will plug straight into the television.
It will have around 1,000 Spectrum games stored on its hard-drive and has the backing of the Spectrum’s inventor Sir Clive Sinclair.