A year has passed since Commodore, the computer brand many of you know and love, came back from the dead under new ownership. The comeback is picking up pace too, with a lineup that already includes multiple Commodore 64 Ultimate editions, a C64X PC, and a licensing program that invites outside builders to use the name. Now, they have announced a return to the phone market, and not in the doomscrolling glass-slab avatar we are all used to, but in a retro, very equippable flip phone format…
Not only are the phones extremely overpriced for what they are- the images they are using for advertising are AI images, and not real pictures. Also using “Make blank great again” format for their tagline is another scoop of excrement on the shit sundae.
What kind of miserable institution do you need to be to generate AI images for a supposedly real product that you will supposedly be selling??
I had a bad feeling about the whole C64 brand when it got overhauled recently. It had vaporware startup written all over it. Guess my gut feeling was on point once again.
The C64U that they make and that my wife bought me is one of the greatest things I have ever owned.
From their FAQ:
Can I install my own apps?
Web browsers and social media apps are blocked at the system level. Email and work apps are not offered through the Commostore app store, keeping Callback focused on life outside work and feeds.
Users are still be able to sideload apps outside those that are blocked, using APK installer files, but Callback is designed first and foremost as a calmer, more intentional phone.
So I can receive an Email but if it has a link to a website I can’t click it? That’s just silly, Commodore. You’re doing a fine job being memeable and appealing to our nostalgia. Trying to “protect us from ourselves” like that kinda destroys that vibe. And no, the inevitable custom ROM circumventing your blocks won’t make up for it.
Web browsers are blocked at the system level
Did they ever try to use a browser on a 2" clamshell at 480*640 with a T9 keypad??? It’s so painful that it’s already for emergency use only, don’t need to protect me from myself…
So I can receive an Email but if it has a link to a website I can’t click it?
It says “Email and work apps are not offered through the Commostore app store”. So you can’t receive email unless you sideload an email app. And you could also sideload a browser as well to open a link. At which point you just have a smartphone.
You sure you didn’t misread? To me it looks like they allow sideloading Email apps but disallow sideloading web browsers.
How are they determining if an an app is a browser?
I doubt this sells enough that anyone bothers with a custom ROM.
This is an advertisement
That’s a bit far, isn’t it?
Let’s see what the article actually says…
Making Flip Phones Great Again
The Specs
Get YoursThis is an advertisement.
They probably think their audience is here and they’ve been spamming this place so much, it’s insane.
I was excited about this until i saw it was $500!! For a freaking flip phone.
Android is Linux-based.
…So is sailfish… But ultimately I think the reason they went with it is that it is much more secure than an android phone as it ensure your privacy is respected. You can still run android applications, but you don’t have to worry about Google apps spying on your activity. Similar to Graphene OS where you can actually manage the permissions of Google apps rather than allowing it to have unfettered access to everything. Or heck, you don’t even need to install any Google application to be able to use either Graphene or Sailfish. To me, they are just better ecosystems. And heck, sailfish isn’t the only one. There is also postmarket os, Mobian, Manjaro ARM, Arch ARM, Ubuntu Touch, PureOS, and many more.
I wouldn’t say that shipping the phone with WhatsApp preinstalled is privacy respecting.
I’m sorry, did I miss something? The commodore phone doesn’t have social media applications.
Edit: Yes I did miss something. True it comes with Whatsapp running in an emulator in an LXC container. https://factually.co/fact-checks/electronics-tech/android-app-compatibility-on-sailfish-os-real-tests-a787aa
Who verifies that the APK is safe to install? Commostore? I’m not putting my trust in that.
What about the fact that Sailfish OS uses Alien Dalvik to emulate the apps in an LXC container? More
This is a company that is committing to never selling customer data and I appreciate that. But yeah, I think blocking Web browsers is maybe a little much. Plus I need Lemmy to get my bean fix 🫘.
They have created a shit phone, but they are proud of it. It’s essentially a less dumb version of a dumb phone.
It’s one where you don’t have to worry about someone emailing you after-hours, see your aunt bitching about her 7th husband, or get you distracted when you should be remodeling the house.
I may not agree with it… I would be more open to A full blown sailfish install, but I see the vision.
That’s all very well, but containerization is not nearly sufficient for the amount of scam apps being published, which may be designed to deceive, phish or outright perform fraud.
A headphone jack with an audiophile-grade DAC? 🥵
Isn’t it just Commodore? Commodore 64 was a model of computer not the company name.
It was the most popular model. Anyone that knows Commodore, knows the 64.
Yeah, but that is also not the name of the company.
Also, do not underestimate the popularity of the Amiiiiiiiiiiiiga!
And when you want more music without algorithms, accounts, or another monthly subscription, just launch the built-in FM radio. Unlimited songs in your pocket, all powered by the MediaTek Helio G81 processor, with efficient passive cooling.
Why did they ever take this away from us? I was mad when they did.
One reason is that the wire from the headphones acted as an antenna.
It was gone way before the headphone jack was taken from us
In 2009 the LG cookie dumbphone had an internal antenna for FM radio
FM radio is jam-packed with ads and most stations don’t even have human DJs anymore. I don’t miss it
Most stations yes, but cbc radio is great.
Because they want you paying for their streaming services, not getting free music over the airwaves.
Using Sailfish OS is just trading Android for another proprietary OS. Why even bother going to all that effort and still end up back in the same place?
We have real mobile linux distros like postmarket OS and actual open source desktop environments like Phosh or plasma/gnome mobile.
I could go $299 at the absolute ceiling, but $499 is truly bonkers.
That seems pretty neat. I like that it’s a “dumb” phone that can still use most apps.
Price seems a bit steep at $600, though.
Only a bit?
Price aside, as somebody who has gotten pretty good at ignoring my old normal slab smart phone, this might only make sense for nostalgia and conversation starter reasons.
Now if I could force this thing upon other people in my life who cannot separate their eyes from their doom-screen, we’d be on to something!
Commodore fan here, but srsly, the flip design has so much more failable mechanics than a simple rectangular slab. Will anybody buy it except for the nostalgia? I expect that will soon wear off when they realize how much they miss a bigger screen.
I had a flip phone once. I kicked it due to being angry that I don’t have a smartphone and it split in two. I was 12 maybe
Funny enough I could still recieve calls on the bottom half.
i’ll stick to my nokia.
there’s a whole community of people who dedicate time to make even old WAP Phones useable again in 2026 - and that costs like 20€ instead of 499$
So another ^^
stupid^nonsensicalweirdunexpected turn in the Commodore company epos. At least it is consistent with the lore.
