>>
>> WHat about the Z86C02, this must be cheaper than the OTP version
>> which was selling for AUD$0.99 in 5000 quantity about 6 months ago ?

>Who makes it?  Zilog?

With the last week, I received the following quote from Zilog.  These are mask
ROM parts.  The prices are in US dollars.

    Z86C02   $1.00 in 10K quantity
    Z86C02   $0.91 in 50K quantity
    Z86C02   $0.80 in 100K quantity

This processor is an 18 pin device with 512 bytes of ROM, 61 bytes of RAM  the
maximum clock rate is 8MHZ and the I/O count is 14, two onboard comparators.

The low end Zilog line has several parts that are pin compatible, The only
different between them are ROM,RAM and speed.

    Z86C08   $1.30 in 100K quantity  (2K byte ROM, 124 byte RAM)

Zilog practically gives away their emulators (ICEBOX.)  The retail price is
$200.  But if you attend one of their workshops, the price is only $99 for the
workshop and the emulator.

My opinion is that no one processor is the best.  Everyone has its strengths and
weaknesses.  I am presently using Microchip, Zilog and will soon add Atmel's
AVR.  The AVR is the speed demon, the Zilog gives the most RAM and ROM, and
large instruction set but is slow.  The PIC has the best range of operating
voltages, fairly fast speed, and I/O options.

---- Steve