Editing ZX Spectrum (section)

=== ZX Spectrum +2 {{anchor|plus2}}===
[[file:ZX Spectrum Plus2 (retouched).jpg|thumb|ZX Spectrum +2]]

The ''ZX Spectrum +2'' marked Amstrad's entry into the Spectrum market shortly after their [[Sinclair Research Ltd#Amstrad acquisition|acquisition of the Spectrum range and "Sinclair" brand]] in 1986. This machine featured a brand-new grey case with a spring-loaded keyboard, dual joystick ports, and an integrated cassette recorder known as the "Datacorder," akin to the [[Amstrad CPC 464]]. The ROM was updated so that the screen on boot-up showed an Amstrad copyright message (''© 1986 Amstrad'' in place of the previous ''© 1982 Sinclair Research Ltd''). However, it was largely identical to the ZX Spectrum 128 in most technical aspects. The machine retailed for £149.{{sfn|Phillips|1986|p=47}}

The new keyboard did not feature the BASIC keyword markings seen on earlier Spectrums, except for the keywords <code>LOAD</code>'','' <code>CODE</code>'','' and <code>RUN</code>'','' which were useful for loading software. Instead, the +2 introduced a menu system, almost identical to that of the ZX Spectrum 128, allowing users to switch between 48K BASIC programming with keywords and 128K BASIC programming, where all words, both keywords and others, needed to be typed out in full (though keywords were still stored internally as one character each). Despite these changes, the layout remained identical to that of the 128.<ref name="Goodwin-145" />