TheMoonBnuuy
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Commodore finally has a new product. It's called the Commodore Callback.
It's a smart flip phone that claims to banish web browsers and social media but still support the usual communication apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, WeChat, iMessage, etc.
They say it runs 99% of Android apps despite not running on Android, but rather "Sailfish OS". Also no data selling. Like the phone does not gather your data for them to sell.
The default ring tones are all recordings of chip tunes for a SID chip, which is the audio chip in the C64, the undisputed king of chip tunes.
I am not affiliated with Commodore, but I am a huge fan of the old original Commodore company and have both a working original C64 and Amiga1200, so I found this interesting.
Pirsquar
I mostly use my phone for 3 things; Youtube, Audiobooks and Messenger (because my extended family refuses to use anything else for texting. 🙄)
If not for that, I'd love this thing. It's cute!
rugmibackward
love sailfish OS in theory - keep rooting for those guys.
f00ker
500 usd locked down phone from the Chinese company that bought part of commodore.. no thanks.
TheMoonBnuuy
"Chinese company that bought part of Commodore"
HAHAHAHA what?
Dude, what timeline are you from? Cuz the "company" that bought Commodore is a retro gaming Youtuber from the UK.
kaijuuGold
just dropped and no cracked screen the future is now
Vebrandsson
It's an interesting idea to offer a phone that supposedly helps unplug from social media by just not allowing you to access it. I give folks about a week and that's being generous before a work around is created because people just like a challenge.
idonthaveauser
There's a native sailfish Imgur app.
lildude52ca
doesnt fucking matter... its still a "SMART" phone. still fucking tracks logs records very single fucking thing you do.
TheMoonBnuuy
it uses an open source operating system so you can verify the lack of telemetry outside of what your carrier does with phones they don't control
WickedGiggle
https://commodore.net/callback/
Join waitlist to get -100$ off when the sale starts at June 30th.
I'm aiming for the original C64 color version.
khalwat
Or you could just delete social media apps and web browsers from your smart phone.
TheMoonBnuuy
my phone won't let me
NotAllowedToArgueUnlessYouPay
POKE 64738, 0
TheMoonBnuuy
*screen flashes*
**** COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2 ****
64K RAM SYSTEM 38911 BASIC BYTES FREE
READY.
EggFooYung
Hell yeah, it runs Sailfish! This is a contender for my next phone.
dingybasement350
This is an add. Fuck you.
TheMoonBnuuy
No, it's not, it's me commenting on a new product. If it was an ad, I'd be providing a link and what not.
Fuck you, and blocked.
OhIfIMust
Jeez, what's the Commodore keeping up with??
durandal2
I would maybe get it for $200... I do wish small dumb phones made a comeback but the price is a deal killer
ataradov
It is not a dumb phone though. It is a smartphone in an awkward case. Dumb phones still exists and are cheap.
durandal2
Yeah I've tried things like the Alcatel / TCL Flip, it still feels gigantic in the hand, is obviously designed for old people, and doesn't fully support RCS protocol so basic things like group chats are half-broken
slidewhistlesymphony
Very cool idea indeed! 😃
urusername2
Selfish OS?
OkButWhyWereTheyFilming
I wish the only options weren't [smart phone with every piece of experimental tech that tracks your every move and gives it to Palantir] vs. [basic flip phone].
Like why can't I have a smart phone that just doesn't force AI onto me? Is that so much to ask?
I don't want a dumb phone. I just don't want an AI phone.
Pulsahr
I have a Fairphone and /e/ OS on it. No Google. No forced AI. I'm 100% in control of my privacy.
Solutions exist (other than Fairphone which is not sold everywhere), they just need a bit of effort.
TheMoonBnuuy
This isn't a dumb phone. It's a smart phone, but no AI, no tracking, full privacy.
You just can't run browsers or social media on it. It does however support 99% of Android apps.
Sipulikeitto
Get a used Google Pixel and throw Graphene OS to it. No more AI or other bullshit.
DecentUsernameUnavailable
Any way to put that on a Nothing 2a?
IMakeLotsOfReferencesAndRemakes
Make sure its the exact same model but LineageOS has one for Nothing Phone 2 https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/Pong/
Sipulikeitto
https://grapheneos.org/faq#supported-devices
OkButWhyWereTheyFilming
Is there anything that a complete moron who doesn't know how to do anything with a phone that isn't already installed or in the app store can do?
Sipulikeitto
If you can read instructions and do whatever the instructions say, you're not moron. Maybe lazy, but not moron.
enterusernamehere25
OhIfIMust
Quessir
Best of luck to them, but the Commodore community's reaction is a big fat, "Uh... okay. Moving on."
TheMoonBnuuy
Eh, I might be interested in it... if I didn't already have a phone.
That's the big mistake I think they have here. The C64 Ultimate fills multiple needed niches, such as providing new cases, allowing people who don't have a working C64 to experience a C64, having an AIO solution for experiencing what it was like to use a fully upgraded C64 back in the day given it can handle ram and cpu expansion only games and it can access reconstructed BBSs on the internet...
TheMoonBnuuy
but this phone hits too small of a niche: people who 1: actually don't want social media in their face every time they open their phone, 2: are in the market for a new phone, and 3: are both aware of Commodore's revival and keep up with their product line
Quessir
I agree, though surely they've looked into this and believe that there's a market to be had. We'll see how it goes. New products is a good idea for them, I think.
TheMoonBnuuy
I believe it's a fundamental mismatch between how they billed the C64U and why it actually sold. Notice how they made a big deal about its incapability of being used to access social media... The CEO thinks "no social media" is the selling point that worked, not "it's basically an upgraded C64". If they didn't advertise "no social media" and "no Big Data" I think it'd have sold just as well, because nobody would buy it thinking "ooh, my new Facebook access rig"
ataradov
So, re-badge of some junk already available on Aliexpress?
TheMoonBnuuy
Re-badge of what, exactly? Provide a link to the product on AliExpress.
I will wait.
ataradov
$550. I don't know how many people that even remember Commodore will want that. It is time to let that name go.
TheMoonBnuuy
Dude, they're in the top 0.01% of startups right now.
What is with people opening their mouth on this post without getting their facts straightened out?
First it's two guys saying it's Chinese owned (it's based in the UK and owned by a retro gaming YouTuber, Peri Fractic). And someone saying it's "just the name and a few properties" when it's also a lot of the old Commodore team from the 80s and 90s. And now you acting like the company is dead when it's absolutely not.
Quessir
They've said from the start that they'd be developing entirely new products, not just rehashing legacy Commodore stuff. I have no interest in this, but why not wish them luck?
ataradov
Sometimes things run their course and need to be put to rest. There are a lot of things I like, but I don't care if they are resurrected.
Quessir
It's a lot of former staff who are involved with this, it's not just new people buying the name and rehashing old stuff. Whatever they come up with, they clearly have a mandate of sorts guiding them. Best of luck to them I say, even if this product in particular is of absolutely zero interest to me.
ataradov
Ok, so old staff living in the past. The company has been defunct for 30+ years. If they are not all retired yet, something went really wrong. This would be another random gadget that would not even warrant news cycle if not for the name, and that's what I don't like. Plus, I fully expect it to fail, since the product does not stand on its own. It is a gimmick.
TheMoonBnuuy
thank you for not being hostile despite your lack of interest
Pegaxs
This isnt "Commodore", it's a shitty company that owns or bought the rights to use the name on a poor quality Chinese made shit-phone in the hope of parting the nostalgic from their cash, and nothing more...
TheMoonBnuuy
You are absolutely wrong. Like you couldn't be further from the truth.
Most of the employees, including the engineers, are 1980s and 1990s Commodore alumni. Even the guy running the tech support department is the guy who ran Commodore's tech support in the 80s and 90s.
You really need to learn not to open your mouth before getting your facts straight.
Quessir
Incorrect. It's mostly former Commodore staff who got together and bought the name and copyrights to a bunch of old stuff. They said from the start that while they want to honour the Commodore legacy - and they have with the C64 Ultimate with more to come - but that they'd be developing entirely new products as well.
Dave Haynie, Bil Herd, David Pleasance, Al Charpentier, Colin Proudfoot, RJ Mical, David Ziembicki, John Feagans and more are all involved now and going forward.
Quessir
It's easy to be cynical, but there's no reason you shouldn't stick to the truth at the same time. Your point is weaker when you don't.
LittleRobot71
As a reminder, Commodore went bankrupt and was chopped up 30 years ago, this is just another company that owns the rights to the name and a few other assets.
As for the phone, could be interesting, but not with a locked down OS that intentionally restricts what people can do on it. And this is a $500usd or more device, so it costs more then a budget smart phone and a dumb phone combined.
DrkBluePenguin
The reason modern smart phones are cheaper is because they sell your data... much like why your smart tv is so cheap.
DangerRNGR
For $500 you can get a pixel 10a and flash Graphene OS.
universeHacker
The whole point is as a self control device, to disconnect. If you think having internet in your pocket is ruining your mental health, as a lot of people do, escaping that while still being able to have smartphone apps - like digital keys - that are required for daily life nowadays is the entire value proposition here.
dotslashsandwich
I dunno, I see a huge value proposition the privacy it affords. Knowing my device is not listening in and collecting data on me would offer peace of mind.
LittleRobot71
For some more info:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/06/commodores-newest-gadget-is-a-flip-phone-that-blocks-social-media-and-browsers/
Vebrandsson
I have no idea how you support QR codes or allow "old school bulletin boards" without a browser and DNS blocking only works if you don't know how to route around that and resolve IPs. I don't know what their patent pending tech is but I'm deeply skeptical
TheMoonBnuuy
QR codes are just digitized text, there's nothing about them the way they work that inherently requires web browsers. Just the most common use for them is to encode a URL, but it's NOT the only use for them.
Browsers and social media apps are just not allowed in their app store. you might be able to side load it, but if you want social media and web browsers, why are you buying this phone?
Vebrandsson
They say they have some proprietary tech that blocks web browsers and social media from being side loaded but allows other things to be side loaded somehow. But yea most QR codes are encoded URLs which aren't going to be that useful without a web browser. The no browser at all thing is what I'm most skeptical of in general.
TheMoonBnuuy
the TCP/IP stack could always be modified to silently drop port 80 and 443
and doin that would likely break every tracker and ad system seeing as how they all go over 443
mikeatike
Complete walled garden. What even is the point of this?
TheMoonBnuuy
You're actually wrong. Normally you'd be right, however... this isn't "just another company that owns the rights to the name and a few other assets". Most of the employees of the company are actually the old Commodore employees from before the bankruptcy. Even the guy who used to run the tech support is running the tech support. The old engineers are back, many of the old (non-corrupt) executives are back, etc.
enterusernamehere25
he still is right about "but not with a locked down OS that intentionally restricts what people can do on it" which is a huge deal breaker imo
colderfish
I thought you could side load whatever you wanted on it.... Did I miss something?
Boopdoot
Isn't that the point?
Huor
That’s the whole point of this phone.
dashers
tbf, it's MO is to block some apps, if that's a deal breaker, then you're probably not the target audience.
IMakeLotsOfReferencesAndRemakes
Honestly if people want this that is fine I guess but GrapheneOS, LineageOS, IodeOS, Ubuntu Touch, /e/OS and more are all out there and all you need to do is NOT install google and social media back onto the phone. Now if you are all about the Commodore name and the aesthetic of this phone have at it I have absolutely 0 problems with that. Spending that much just for blocking some apps that you don't need to put on your phone at all feels weird.
[deleted]
[deleted]
TheMoonBnuuy
Ok? So what you're saying is you aren't the target market? Boo hoo. They aren't obligated to make products you want.
CrossEyedPigeonToed
I think you could've got your point across with a little more tact. Not sure why the hostility was warranted.
TheMoonBnuuy
I really don't give a damn. The guy's acting like it's illegitimate because he isn't the target market.
Nobody cares if he isn't the target market.
mcoulter876
Oh, it was warranted. Some people on here are just pricks.
azazyel
I wish I could but the main reason I keep my phone on my is google maps. I get lost way too easily.
IMakeLotsOfReferencesAndRemakes
CoMaps
eastend666
You're lucky that you get lost in an area where you can get a signal.
azazyel
I can get lost getting out of bed
celestedrake
...Are we related? My entire maternal side has almost supernatural ability to get lost... I have twice gotten lost on the highway closest to my house for 5 hours while with my cousin. Once before GPS and once after.
celestedrake
(and many times for shorter periods of being lost...those are just two bad cases)
iceynyo
Offline maps is an option. You just need to be able to catch a GPS signal, which is harder to lose than cellular signal.
eastend666
So, that would be a monthly subscription? Fortunately, I don't get lost all that often.
juuhtommonen
Surprisingly enough, Google offline naps are free*, AFAIK, as is GPS.
*remember - if you don't pay for the product, you are the product
eastend666
Well, I searched again and you're correct: GPS broadcast by the US is free. Thanks.
idonthaveauser
So? install one of many navigation apps. With online and/or offline maps.
TheMoonBnuuy
I too mainly use my phone for Google Maps, and the thing is... I also mostly ride motorcycle. So the flip phone design here would end up being a liability as the vibrations from the road and engine as well as the wind would wear out the hinge to keep it open so I can see it.
idonthaveauser
I think we can agree that motorcycle navigation is not the niche this phone was created for. It's for a completely different niche.
TheMoonBnuuy
I think you're just repeating my point back at me.
iceynyo
Oh is the outside screen not a real display? Unfortunate...
TheMoonBnuuy
it's a real display, yes
it's also really tiny and not the main display
iceynyo
It is big enough to show a map, or at least the next direction.
mikeatike
Except they control what you are allowed to install. So good luck.
EggFooYung
It's Sailfish OS they're not dicks, and they're specifically excluding browsers and social media, but it will still run most other android apps.
mikeatike
I dont know much about Sailfish, I'm just going by what the article says. They claim you won't be able to install apps they don't allow such as browsers and social media.
EggFooYung
Official website says 99% of android apps. And The FAQs specifically mention the availability of navi apps. https://commodore.net/callback/
idonthaveauser
Although one of Sailfish's features is the abolity to tightly control secure company phones. So there might be provisions to enforce limits.