I remember heading over to my uncle’s house when I was younger to use his Commodore VIC-20. Not long after, that time was spent at a friend’s house on his Commodore 64. My first introduction to computing, Commodore declared bankruptcy in 1994 and has been largely forgotten about – in fact the new generation of computer users and console owners most likely haven’t even heard of Commodore.
Fast forward to 2015. A pair of Italians, Massimo Canigiani and Carlo Scattolini, have surfaced and have the rights to the Commodore brand and trademark in the mobile industry. In addition, they have announced the new Commodore PET and it’s not a bad sounding phone. Specifications include 1920×1080 resolution on a 5.5-inch IPS display, 1.7 GHz 64-bit octa-core processor, 3000mAh battery, 13MP back camera using Sony’s camera sensor, 8MP front camera, dedicated camera shutter button, and dual-SIM 4G. The phone will be available in 2 variants – a 16GB/2GB RAM version and a 32GB/3GB RAM version. Both will ship with a 32GB microSD card with support for up to 64GB.
The feature that Canigiani and Scattolini are hoping will set it apart is that of retro nostalgic gaming. Running a custom version of Android Lollipop, the phone will also run customized version of the VICE C64 and Uae4All2-SDL Amiga emulators. The company is coordinating with various developers to include some of the best classic games from the 1980s with the Commodore PET at launch.
For those of you keeping track. the original Commodore PET released in 1977 ran on a MOS Technology 6502 CPU running at 1MHz with 4-96KB of memory and a 40×25 or 80×25 text monochrome display. We’ve definitely come a long way since then!
The Commodore PET smartphone will be available in white, black, or Commodore’s classic beige colour and should cost between $300-$365. Don’t hold your breath though as the Commodore PET will be available in Italy, France, Germany, and Poland initially with plans to bring the device to more countries in Europe and the U.S. at a later date.
What do you think about the new Commodore PET? What games from the past are you hoping ship with it? Let us know in the comments below, or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”http://www.wired.com/2015/07/commodore-smartphone/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: WIRED[/button]Last Updated on November 27, 2018.
