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"When the NewBrain was announced to the world, in 1980, the design concept was significantly in advance of anything that had been seen in the field of handheld computing." (Dick Pountain - Personal Computer World)

In fact, the company that created it, Newburry Labs, sold the desing to its current owner, Grundy Business Systems Ltd.
It also seems that a small part of the original design came from Sinclair Radionics which designed later the ZX-80.

At one time, the NewBrain was in line to be the BBC computer, but design problems and the change in ownership caused the BBC to look elsewhere.

In 1982, the machine was advertised as a compact but powerful microcomputer with advanced hardware and software features.

The NewBrain AD, which contains a 1-line, 16-character fluorescent display, was complemented by a no-display cheaper version sold £30 less, the NewBrain A. There was no reset button and no ON/OFF switch either. A third model, called Newbrain M included a battery-backup option (and the LCD screen) so it can be used as a handheld computer.

An expansion interface was available, providing 2 serial ports, 2 parallels, 1 DAC, 1 joystick port, and a light pen port.
A network was also available and allowed to connect 24 computers together through RS-232/V24 bidirectional serial ports.
The New Brain used a special management memory system which allows to expand memory up to 2 Mb (IMPRESSIVE!).
The character set contained 512 letters, numbers and graphics as well as VideoText symbols. The Character set was divided into two 256-character banks, only one of which could be selected at a time.
An optional VideoText module enabled NewBrains owners to access British TeleText and Prestel services It could run under CP/M.