By Jason Crisp
DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS have delayed deliveries
of Sinclair Research's new QL computer, the company said yesterday.
Deliveries of the £400 computer will
not start until the end of March. New customers are being
told they will have to wait until June.
The QL was launched in a blaze of publicity
at the beginning of January. First deliveries were promised
for the end of February. Last night Sinclair Research said
the delay was caused by the final stages of development taking
longer than planned. It would not specify what the development
problem was.
Sinclair Research has been strongly criticised
for delays with previous product launches. The company has
been overwhelmed with demand for the QL which it has been
unable to meet. At one stage, orders were being placed at
500 a day.
The company has been writing to customers
warning them they will not receive the computer until the
end of April or May. Sinclair said last night that those who
had received these letters would not be affected by the development
problem as this had already been taken into account.
The Advertising Standards Authority
has received only a handful of complaints about Sinclair advertisements
in the trade press which promised 28 day deliveries. When
Sinclair launched the Spectrum, its last computer, the authority
received a record number of complaints and was highly critical
of the company.
