alt Hacker NewsI had the Amstrad version of the speccy (+3) (I had a few different speccies over the years all the way back to the rubber keyed one) that took the 3" disks, it overlapped with getting a PC so the writing was already on that particular wall.
The disks worked great, I don't recall one ever failing in use (unlike the 3.5" on the PC), it was night and day compared to faffing with tapes at least.
They where in my opinion the best spectrum made and while Amstrad may have a reputation for cheaping out they were (from what I remember it has been a long time) no worse than the previous speccies (and better than the early ones).
There are some interesting hobby projects to add IDE drives and internet access https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA_YpQ9suJ8
I remember that when my father took me to get a computer and there were 2 CPC464 versions, one with the tape and the other with the 3" disk, I thought that tapes are something there for years and that is what I'm getting. Truth be told, I was just 7 at the time so it was just a choice based on that I was more familiar with audio tapes :)