Whereas the full BBC Micro is a lot like a 6502-powered version of the Amstrad CPC — besides the processor it has a [[CRTC]] clocked at 128 cycles/line, a three-channel tone generator, and a couple of interrupt-generating timers — the Electron is designed much more like a ZX Spectrum with a single ULA reproducing most of the graphics modes utilised by BBC BASIC (including 80-column 640px mode) and a single channel of tone.
The Acorn Plus1 expansion provided two cartridge slots, a printer port and an analog joystick port.
Despite strong preorders, Acorn initially had difficulty producing it in volume. This caused it to be scarce during its first Christmas, leading to a lot of purchasers cancelling their orders and buying something else instead. Once the quantities Acorn had intended to be ready for Christmas were completed in early 1984, the market was in its seasonal slump, and the Electron was no longer a competitive machine by Christmas 1984.