Clive Sinclair's 12oz piece of modern technology that all the 'big boy' computers used to laugh at has been made to do some pretty amazing things by clever software and additional hardware... but word processing?

The functions in Memotext include keyboard input at normal speed, justification to left only (as in a letter) or left and right margins (as in ZX Computing) search/exchange/move groups or single words, lower case, headings, page nmbers, saving files, pre-entered dates, prompts before printing and so on.

For instance, if you run a newsagents, you might set up data files of customers' names and what they owe you and then get the computer to print a set letter saying, basically "Can I have my money please?" You would insert the relevant names, addresses and amounts due each time. You could then use another text file (i.e. set letter) and use prompts to enable you to print orders for the wholesalers according to which special offers you've spotted in the "Newsagents Weekly"!

The Memotext is well documented although it took me about four days to get the hang of all the functions. Now I can type as badly as I like, check for spelling mistakes (on the screen) and correct or change any words that don't seem right at the press of a button, move around sentences so that they follow a logical sequence and then print out as many 'personalised' copies as I like, marked for the relevant people.

To be of use, you would really need a proper printer interface (Centronics or RS232) and access to a printer. This means that the 16K ZX81, Word Processor, and interface together would probably set you back about £130. For comparison, a 16K BBC with interface and word processor would cost perhaps £330 and a commercial word processing package probably little short of £1,000.

The Memotext, like all the Memotech range, comes in a firm aluminium case that plugs directly into the ZX81, without wobble, and fits between your RAMpack and ZX81. This means that you don't waste time loading the program.

Obviously, there are limitations: the ZX81 can't display the 60-80 characters a line commonly used in letters and reports so the Memotext uses a clever "word wrap" feature which means you never lose words at the line ends, but you have to visualise the final document rather than see it straight in front of you. Also some of the symbols and lower case letters make entering the text a bit complicated.

The Memotext is £29.90 (including VAT and P&P). This compares with about £8 for some cassette-based systems (e.g. Tasword or Contrast Software's Text £6). The buyer must judge (a) whether they really need word processing on their ZX81, (b) whether they would use it often (printers will often do wp at about £2 per sheet - if yu only want say one a month, it might be cheaper) and (c) whether they need the extra speed, convenience and general 'slickness' of a ROM-based system.