Classification: / Company Info,
Info: ADVANCE ELECTRONIC Ltd., was a British electronics manufacturer.
ADVANCE ELECTRONIC produced a diverse range of both desktop and handheld calculators, often utilizing the latest "calculator-on-a-chip" technology from manufacturers like TEXAS INSTRUMENTS.
One of their most famous ventures was a collaboration with Wireless World magazine to offer the Executive 8 as a build-it-yourself kit.
This allowed hobbyists to avoid the UK ‘Purchase Tax’ (until 1973),
making it significantly cheaper at £40 compared to its retail price of £79.
Initially, ADVANCE's machines were premium products.
For example, some models sold for as much as £136 in 1974.
However, the mid-70s saw a brutal ‘price war’ as Japanese mass production flooded the market.
By October 1975, some models that originally cost over £100 were being cleared at the factory shop for as little as £10.80.
The ADVANCE group was eventually acquired by GOULD ELECTRONICS before 1982,
marking the end of its independent calculator production.