 According to Ben Rosen , by pricing the ZX81 so low , " Sinclair has opened up a completely new market among people who had never previously considered owning a computer . " Clive Sinclair acknowledged the role that guesswork had played in his decision to launch the ZX81 on such a large scale : " It was a surmise that the man in the street would want such a computer . He does , and our information is that a lot of people are using the machines avidly . " A New Scientist retrospective published in 1986 commented : 
