The new Commodore company just announced a $500 dumbphone

The resurrected Commodore brand is taking pre-orders for the Callback, a $549 flip phone designed to block social media and web browsing.

I fully expected to hate this. A legacy computing brand slapping its logo on a trendy digital detox device usually results in cheap e-waste. But the Callback actually looks like a well-thought-out piece of hardware.

The touchscreen is disabled on purpose

The Callback runs on a custom version of Sailfish OS. This is a Linux-based mobile operating system that evolved from Nokia's abandoned MeeGo project. Running Android apps without the underlying Google services framework provides a massive privacy boost.

The catch is the input method. The physical screen has its touch functionality permanently disabled at the hardware level. All input goes through a physical T9 predictive text keypad. This adds physical friction to every text message and makes doomscrolling impossible.

The hardware shell is called "ProtoPET White." This is a direct visual nod to the classic Commodore PET 2001 computers from the late 1970s. The casing includes a five-dome LED notification system. This stops the screen from waking up and distracting you every time a message arrives. The Callback uses a traditional flip closure design and supports worldwide network compatibility.

The audio hardware includes an FM radio and native playback support for SID files. The SID chip was the audio processor used in the original Commodore 64. It generated the distinct sound of 1980s computer gaming. Commodore even bundles audiophile-grade in-ear monitors in the box.

Buying back the Amiga and C64 rights

The Commodore name has been a legal mess since the original company went bankrupt in April 1994. For decades, different holding companies owned the rights to the Commodore name, the Amiga brand, and the classic game ROMs. You would see a Commodore-branded PC case from one company and an Amiga mini-console from another. These fragmented releases were usually followed by a trademark lawsuit. It was a miserable time to be a fan of the platform.

The current iteration of Commodore has spent the last few years quietly consolidating all of that old intellectual property. They have brought the Commodore 64, Amiga, and PET trademarks back under a single corporate umbrella. They recently released official branded mechanical keyboards and authorized the use of original system ROMs for proper retro compilations.

Consolidating the old Commodore IP is probably a good thing. Having one company actually own and control the entire legacy means we get cohesive hardware releases instead of endless court battles. Leonard Tramiel, the son of original Commodore founder Jack Tramiel, even provided an endorsement for the Callback.

The Callback is a massive departure from Jack Tramiel's original vision. He famously wanted to build computers for the masses. Instead of expanding digital access, this phone actively restricts it. The $549 price tag is steep for a device that refuses to open a web browser. Still, I am glad the Commodore name is attached to weird, experimental hardware again instead of just another line of generic USB flash drives.

Source: commodore.net