Submitted By 4WL
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The Original BBC Sales Brochure.
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Yes I still  have one. It dates back to 1981 with the shipment dates for
the BBC models. These were:

BBC Model A - December 1981 `299
BBC Model B - January 1982 `399
BBC Model B with disk interface - April 1982 `469
2nd Processor(6502) - June 1982 `TBA
2nd Processor(Z80A) - June 1982 `TBA
2nd Processor(16bit) - No date, no price and not even the processor type

The BBC Model A must have been pretty disappointing to a lot of people. No
printer interface, No user port, No analogue port but at least they kept
the Mode 7 chip unlike the Electron. It also had 3 channel sound unlike
the Electron. Of course it could be fully expanded to a BBC B but it would
cost a lot more than the normal `100 difference.

Although I had the leaflet it was about five years later when I bought an
Acorn Electron that I had my first Acorn machine. At the time of being
sent this brochure I was using the amazing ZX81.

The Original Spectrum Brochure.
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This is of interest because it compares the Spectrum 16k to the BBC Model A.
Yes as you might remember it wasn't particularly fair. I especially like
the bit were it says sound generator and ticks both the Spectrum and BBC
columns. Yes they  both omit sound but one has 3 channels and decent
amplification. Another good one is the auto repeat comparison. That's the
nearest they get to  comparing the keyboards. Of course both  computers
autorepeat so they both must be equally good for typing is what Sinclair
are implying. How about the fact that the Spectrum has a data transference
rate 25% faster than the BBC. What this actually means is it loads faster
from cassette. They are trying to fool the consumer into  thinking the
Spectrum is the faster computer processor wise. It's annoying also because
the cassette interface is better on the BBC as it has motor control. It
also loads in blocks so if one block fails to load you can rewind the tape
slightly and reload it. There's loads of untruths in the comparisons. As
well as the BBC A other computers like the Vic20, Atari 400, Texas and
Tandy are compared all of which are vastly inferior to the Spectrum so
Sinclair reckons. It finishes by showing a picture of the Spectrum PCB and
the BBCs PCB. Sinclair reckons their PCB is more elegant. I myself find it
difficult to think of PCBs as elegant and can not make a decision either
way. There just boards with little blank rectangles on. Mind you if you
stick their cases back on, the BBC is definitely the more elegant. I mean
the Spectrum looked like an obese calculator or as Alan Sugar called them
(long before he bought Sinclair) "pregnant calculators".