There is still a host of Amstrad Sinclair and MSX home computer software written for the Z80, so the introduction yesterday by Zilog Inc of the 10MHz CMOS Z280 may turn out to be less forlorn than it first appears. The Z280 adds expanded memory support, additional register address spaces and memory management integrated with the Z80 CPU on a single chip that comes in a 68-pin plastic package at $33 apiece for 100-up. Hardware and software support tools are planned for the second quarter, and versions clocked at higher rates than 10MHz are planned for next year. The Campbell, California company has also granted Sunnyvale neighbour VLSI Technology Inc second source rights on the 20MHz Zilog Super8 microcontroller chip.
Content from our partners
