ACT, maker of the Apricot and distributor of the Sirius, will launch a system costing less than either in the autumn of this year.

Its plan is to introduce a machine which will broaden its range, so the new system will be significantly cheaper than the Apricot and less powerful, but still aimed at business users.

The company also plans two major improvements to the Apricot but is delaying their introduction. It is currently selling all the machines it can produce and any enhancement at this stage could result in longer waiting lists for the machine.

Perhaps the most significant is the introduction of a Winchester disk drive. One of the few complaints levelled against the Apricot is that its new 3" drives have insufficient capacity for complex business functions. The Winchester option would successfully overcome this problem.

ACT also plans to introduce a modem for the Apricot, but is still seeking the necessary approval from all the regulatory bodies before making it available. These should be forthcoming in a few weeks, and it will then be possible to link the Apricot into networks - seen by ACT chieve Roger Foster as one of the major growth areas of business computer.

ACT is also pressing hard to build up overseas distribution and sales for the Apricot, particularly in Europe, and hopes again to be able to make an announcement of the first such links in the next few months.