Sord is about to give Japan another contender in the book-size computer stakes - it espects to launch a system called the IS-11 in two or three months.

The machine will have 64K of CMOS RAM, an LCD screen, some unspecified proprietory software, and a standard keyboard with a plug-in numeric keypad. It is expected to cost under £500.

Rumours circulating before Christmas indicated that Sord might use the Which Computer? Show to launch the IS-11, and that the machine would have a degree of IBM-compatibility. Sord is reluctant to comment on the IS-11 and it could be that there are in fact two new machines on the way from the manufacturer of the M5 (Issue 12).