ACT Apricot FP Portable

The Apricot Portable is the first portable computer manufactured by ACT (originally “Applied Computer Techniques”, later “Apricot Computers”). It was the first portable computer with a 25-line LCD-display and voice recognition.

ACT Apricot FP Portable

The Apricot Portable is the first portable computer manufactured by ACT (originally “Applied Computer Techniques”, later “Apricot Computers”). It was the first portable computer with a 25-line LCD-display and voice recognition.

The LCD-screen can display 80x25 characters in text mode and 640x200 pixels in graphics mode. The voice recognition exclusively uses software for speech analysis, unlike most other implementations from this period, which used expensive, specialized hardware. This software uses a vocabulary file containing up to 4096 words. The user has to create this file themselves, after which the system can be trained by repeatedly saying these words out loud.

The membrane keyboard is wireless and communicates via infrared. Half of every byte sent is parity bits, this is to ensure the integrity of the remaining four data bits. The keyboard is also used to store the computer’s date and time. Because the computer itself runs off mains power only and does not contain a battery to save these settings when powered off.

Catalog type
Portable computer
Manufacturer
Release Date
November 1984
Processor
Intel 8086 @ 5 MHz
Memory
256 - 768 KB
Storage
3.5 inch FDD
Operation System
MS-DOS & CP/M-86

Museum Collection

Set up in the 80s area.

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