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Commodore PET Smartphone Comes Loaded With C64 and Amiga Emulators

Posted by samzenpus on from the back-in-the-day-play dept.

Mickeycaskill writes: Commodore is launching an Android-powered smartphone that lets 1980s gaming fans play their favourite retro titles. It runs a custom version of Android 5.0 Lollipop and lets you play both old Commodore 64 and Amiga games with its preinstalled VICE C64 and Uae4All2-SDL Amiga emulators. Configurations vary between 2GB and 3GB of RAM and 16GB or 32GB of storage, with a 5.5 inch display and 1.7GHz processor included in all versions. The Catch? It's only available in France, Germany, Italy and Poland to begin with, but other markets are set to follow.

62 comments

  1. woo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All Commodore can think about is milking off their better days. This is not business for the long term, and who the hell would play a keyboard-based commodore game on a cramped phone

    1. Re:woo by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      *cough* Atari *cough*

    2. Re:woo by MacTO · · Score: 4, Informative

      Commodore, as a company, has not existed for a very, very long time. This is simply the product of companies buying or licensing the trademarks. And no, it isn't meant as a business for the long term. It's simply cashing in on the trademark's nostalgic value while it still has some value.

      As an aside, this isn't the first Commodore phone. If I recall correctly, they were selling office equipment before they were a computer manufacturer. One of their products was a rotary phone.

    3. Re:woo by innocent_white_lamb · · Score: 2

      I used to have a Commodore Vic-Modem (300bps) that came with a rotary-dial phone that had the Commodore name printed on the front of it. The phone was actually made by Norhern Telecom, so it wasn't an actual Commodore-manufactured phone.

      To use that modem you dialed the number on the telephone and then flipped a switch to engage the modem.

      I just now found a picture of that setup here: http://www.zimmers.net/cbmpics...

      --
      If you're a zombie and you know it, bite your friend!
    4. Re:woo by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 1

      i'm not a fan of this particular endeavour. the brand is going to suffer as a result. ANYTHING with mediatek inside will not get its OS upgraded to another major version of android. mediatek is fickle like my wife during her period. one month they behave like a completely closed source company, only releasing binary version of android for manufacturers, the next month they sponsor XDA Devcon 14 and release source code for Android One devices, a month after that they once again completely ignore GPL.

      in my experience, each chipset gets around 3 months of small updates, the few that got upgraded to lollipop were the ones released with kitkat when lollipop was already out and would otherwise have been unsellable. (and that's android 5.0 not 5.1)

      apart from elephone and android one devices, there has never been a cyanogenmod for a mediatek device because there's simply no source to use. i fart in mediatek's general direction and shed a tear for commodore.

    5. Re:woo by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 1

      Commador PET phone? But they are only putting emulators on it for the C64 & the Amiga. What about the PET for crying out loud if you're going to call it a pet phone it needs to have a build in datacorda and a screen that weighs 7KG :D

      --

      Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  2. Oh, hell no! by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 2

    The 80's called and want their mobile phones back.

  3. Really? by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is there still a company called Commodore which owns this stuff? I assumed it was long since dead and gone.

    Honestly, sell it as an app .. I'm sure you don't need a custom Android to emulate a frigging C64 on a modern smart phone.

    At least, I sure as hell hope a 1.7 GHz "octa-core" processor is up to that task. I mean, we're talking 35+ year old technology for crying out loud.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Really? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

      Yes. Be afraid, very afraid.

      http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/03/commodore-usa-goes-extreme-stuffs-a-2-2ghz-quad-core-i7-into-it/

    2. Re:Really? by mlts · · Score: 1

      Yet another smartphone?

      If Commodore wanted to make a smartphone that ran Android, they should have gotten a decent vaping device and added the phone to that. That way, one can have their vape stick and text in one unit (due to the large battery required.)

      Nostalgia is nice, but Commodore is 25-30 year old technology. Trying to capitalize on people wanting to rehash C64 and Amiga days is like trying to stoke the demand for Vanilla Ice or MC Hammer albums... a few people might buy it, but definitely not millenials, and just that segment of the market isn't going to be viable for the long haul.

      There are still places for a company to eke out a market share and have their fan base, especially one that still has name recognition as Commodore. A few examples:

      1: Car audio heads. Even the meth-heads don't bother breaking into cars to snag a radio these days. This is an area where the market is stagnant.

      2: Vaping, perhaps as described above. Even now, the market is growing.

      3: Music industry. Selling the "emulator of emulators" which is licensed to do everything from a Leslie speaker to the old "Orbit the Dance Planet" type "ROMplers". Stuff that used to take a full rack back in the 1990s, with a skumorphic interface as an option. Want an Akai synth? Can be used, with a virtual switching center. Want tube sound? The device would have an option to actually have a vacuum tube or two and a pair of DACs/ADCs.

      4: Vertical markets. There are a lot of markets out there that might require some digging.

      Of course, they can watch Kickstarter, and if a project is really, really cool... make an offer and buy the people out, and have something what people want.

    3. Re:Really? by edjs · · Score: 4, Informative

      Is there still a company called Commodore which owns this stuff? I assumed it was long since dead and gone.

      There is a zombie of a trademark still shuffling along. The original company itself is long dead and has remained buried.

    4. Re:Really? by exomondo · · Score: 2

      Yet another smartphone?

      And of course "it runs a custom version of Android". Sure make yet another smartphone but do we need another fork of Android for it? Why can't they just preload their emulators onto a stock version of Android?

      This "custom version of Android" rubbish is just code for: if it isnt successful it will be abandoned and users wont get updates. Make it a stock version and add your applications and support for specific hardware on top so that users can upgrade to the latest version of Android when Google releases it.

    5. Re: Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Packard rings a bell

    6. Re:Really? by ourlovecanlastforeve · · Score: 1

      The Commodore brand is now only a brand.

      It's been whored around quite a lot.

      Remember that awful MicroATX PC in a C64-shaped box that came out a while back?

      Same deal.

      When will people stop being surprised about brand whoring...

      I mean, look what they did to the Care Bears.

    7. Re:Really? by mlts · · Score: 1

      I like the idea of a smartphone maker paying the devs over at CyanogenMod a fee to write a rev tailed for them, and let CM guys do the writing, while the smartphone maker just has to do a "blessing" of a release.

      Win for everyone, as once the phone is obsolete, it still gets support and updates.

    8. Re:Really? by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      And of course "it runs a custom version of Android". Sure make yet another smartphone but do we need another fork of Android for it? Why can't they just preload their emulators onto a stock version of Android?

      This "custom version of Android" rubbish is just code for: if it isnt successful it will be abandoned and users wont get updates.

      Isn't this where everyone piles on and insists you'd be happy if you bought a Nexus?

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  4. the other catch.... by Captain+Arr+Morgan · · Score: 1

    the screen is stupidly large. Guess it will work for gaming though.

    1. Re:the other catch.... by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      WTF are you talking about? A 5.5" screen running at 1920x1080?

      That's pretty much standard these days.

      Honestly, I see people carrying around giant Samsung 7" phablets all the time.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:the other catch.... by Captain+Arr+Morgan · · Score: 1

      I know and I hate it.

    3. Re:the other catch.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why?

    4. Re:the other catch.... by RoccamOccam · · Score: 1

      Slightly bigger than the screen (5") on the portable/luggable Commodore 64, the SX-64. Imagine that.

    5. Re:the other catch.... by Captain+Arr+Morgan · · Score: 1

      I find most modern phones to be too big, I need something that actually fits in my pocket. If the screen is too small for the task I'm doing, I move to a larger device. Increasing screen size to do more is a bandage fix for a larger user interaction problem.

    6. Re:the other catch.... by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      It's a good thing there are still people like you out there. If people couldn't keep their phones in their pockets think of all those mall-kiosk workers who repair cracked screens that would be out of a job! They would have nothing to do besides aimlessly wander up and down the isles... it would be Mallrats I tell you, Mallrats!

      Seriously, keeping a smartphone in a pocket is stupid.

    7. Re:the other catch.... by Captain+Arr+Morgan · · Score: 1

      I've yet to crack a screen while having my phone in my pocket. I also still use sub-5" screen.

    8. Re:the other catch.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So where do you keep yours?

    9. Re:the other catch.... by damnbunni · · Score: 1

      I've been keeping smartphones in my pocket since there have been smartphones and have never had a problem.

      Of course, I also have a phone that's the size of a phone, not some dumbass mini-tablet that was made as thin as can be apparently just to make it more fragile and drive up replacement part sales.

    10. Re:the other catch.... by morgauxo · · Score: 1

      In a pouch that clips to my belt. Not very stylish, I know but hey.. I'm already married, not trying to impress the girls. I can wear a shirt that hangs down and covers it 1/2 the year anyway.

      My front pockets are for my wallet on one side, keys on the other. Nothing goes in the back ones for me to sit on unless it's thin like a piece of paper! I also keep my leatherman in with the phone giving me two reasons to keep wearing that.

  5. It's not the original Commodore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    of course. But the phone does look pretty elegant, I have to hand that to them, whoever they are.

  6. Where Do I Plug In My Cassette Drive?? by zenlessyank · · Score: 0

    Step 1. Insert Cassette. Step 2. Rewind Fully. Step 3. Type LOAD"Choplifter",1,1. Step 4. Wait 45 Minutes. Step 5. Enjoy!!!

    1. Re:Where Do I Plug In My Cassette Drive?? by gstoddart · · Score: 4, Funny

      I remember it as more like "Step 4. Wait 37 minutes for it to fail, Step 5. Try again."

      I certainly do NOT miss loading stuff from cassette tape.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Where Do I Plug In My Cassette Drive?? by JoeCommodore · · Score: 2

      This was a PET, the ,1,1 is irrelevant, relocating LOAD option was introduced in the VIC-20. There is a process to relocate programs from the VIC or 64 to the start of BASIC on the PET:

      http://www.portcommodore.com/d...

      --
      "Enjoy what you're doing! If it becomes drudgery, you're doing it wrong!" - Jim Butterfield
    3. Re:Where Do I Plug In My Cassette Drive?? by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 2

      The failed loading was basically due to the tape heads being misaligned.
      And the woeful speed was also fixed by tape turbos... but again, took third parties to do it.
      Also decent data compression wasn't widely used. Most of the data being saved was uncompressed.

      With aligned heads, decent data compression, and fast tape turbos.... it became completely possibly to jam around 60 decent games onto a single C90 cassette. .... but by that time, the world had moved on.

      --
      READY.
      PRINT ""+-0
  7. Glory days by ValentineMSmith · · Score: 1

    Oh, man. I almost want one of these. I learned to code on a C-64 back in Jr. High and High School.

    You kids get off my lawn.

    --
    Karma: Chameleon - mostly influenced by bad '80s New Wave music
  8. There is only one thing I need to know.... by freeze128 · · Score: 1

    Does it run the Andromeda Strain Demo?

  9. Not so fast ... by Mr_Silver · · Score: 5, Informative

    Android Police did some digging and (ignoring the fact that the Commodore name is currently owned by the creditors of Asiarim Corp - who created a new company called C= and have done nothing more than make a website for it back in 2013) it looks to be a carbon copy of the Orgtec WaPhone.

    On the upside, it does have some Amiga emulators loaded onto the phone - but you can easily get them from Google Play yourself.

    TL;DR? It's unlikely to be Commodore, its a heavily marked up skinned phone and uses the MediaTek MT6752 chip - so you should probably keep away.

    --
    Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
  10. I appreciate the name anyway. by RevWaldo · · Score: 1

    The Commodore PET was my old high school's hardware. Toward my senior year we even had CBMs with external floppy and hard drives. Woo hoo!

    .

    --
    Prisencolinensinainciusol. Ol Rait!
    1. Re:I appreciate the name anyway. by CWCheese · · Score: 1

      OMG, you had the floppy drive... our high school only had the original PET 2001 with the cassette deck and chiclet keyboard. Did my first ever programming on that tough little keyboard, enduring all the fat finger typing since there was no space between the keys. Alas, I do remember it fondly.

      --
      Have a Day!
  11. iPhone with Apple II Emulator by smist08 · · Score: 2

    Perhaps this will prompt Apple to add an Apple II Emulator to iOS 9. Should then open up the Apple Store to all that great Apple II software.

    1. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      All that great old software is best left in memory. Trying to use them again is like trying to watch your childhood favorite TV show.

      I will never again be young enough to appreciate 'Speed Racer' or 'Star Trek'. Same is true for Apple ][ games.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    2. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by FranTaylor · · Score: 1

      I will never again be young enough to appreciate 'Speed Racer' or 'Star Trek'. Same is true for Apple ][ games.

      I will never be too old to appreciate 'Star Trek' as a valued relic of the era, to appreciate the fact that Spock and Uhura's kiss is not considered risque any more. I will never be too old to appreciate how 'Star Trek' boldly took the racism bull by the horns with the hilarious half-black half-white aliens.

    3. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Can't watch it. Soap opera/court drama with bad special effects, even for the day. There are about 3 good episodes.

      Forbidden Planet has aged well. 2001 not too badly. Other than that old 'scifi' mostly sucks.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    4. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by AntiSol · · Score: 1

      Interesting, I find old Star Trek MUCH more compelling than 2001. 2001 is SO PONDEROUS! The 10 minute docking sequences backed by classical music! kill me!

      Forbidden Planet is goddamn awesome.

    5. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will never be too old to appreciate 'Star Trek' as a valued relic of the era, to appreciate the fact that Spock and Uhura's kiss is not considered risque any more

      Spock and Uhura kissing was my favorite part of Star Wars

    6. Re:iPhone with Apple II Emulator by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      2001 has it's problems. It was clearly made for people living in 1969.

      But ST? Just a terrible bunch of cliches. Might as well watch the second season of Farscape. ST even had a space hippies episode. At least they skipped the space hill-billies. 'Lost in Space' was better, had better special effects and a somewhat coherent back story.

      Of course the subsequent ST spin-offs were even worse. Started and ended with a god damn court drama. As you say 'kill me!'

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  12. 3 gigs of ram? by RJFerret · · Score: 5, Funny

    3 GB of ram is 2 GB and 1,016 MB more RAM than I need for anything I run on my Amiga. (That's presuming 2 MB of CHIP RAM separate from the Fast RAM.)

    Heck, with that much RAM I could multitask every title and application I ever had. *glances over at rack of 3.5" floppies in bookcase

  13. C64 was a computer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    From the article, "Commodore, best known for its Commodore 64 games console,..."

    WTF.

    1. Re:C64 was a computer by maligor · · Score: 3, Funny

      From the article, "Commodore, best known for its Commodore 64 games console,..."

      WTF.

      None ever expects the Commodore 64 Games System. It's primary weapon is games, obscurity.. it's two primary weapons are games, obscurity and lack of keyboard... it's three primary weapons are games, obscurity and lack of keyboard.

    2. Re:C64 was a computer by CronoCloud · · Score: 1

      Amongst The C64GS's weaponry are, games, obscurity, no-keyboard, a Europe only release and fanatical devotion to Jack Tramiel.

  14. Can't the Commodore name finally die for good? by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    We see something announced every year or so that will be released under some new regurgitation of the Commodore name. Remember those various Commodore or Amiga desktops that were going to run Intel i7 CPUs? We've seen plenty of other similar products as well. They never make it to mass market for various reasons. It might be time to let that name finally go away for real; we don't try to resurrect the Hudson or Packard car manufacturing names and we do just fine without them.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
    1. Re:Can't the Commodore name finally die for good? by damnbunni · · Score: 1

      The main reason the Intel-based Commodore/Amiga/whatevers never made it to market appears to be that the guy running the company died.

      The Commodore name still has a lot of cachet outside the US. It's also not been 'gone' as long overseas; someone licensed the name for a line of TVs and consumer electronics, for instance.

      I thought the 'VIC-20' MP3 player was clever, at least; it had 20 gigs of storage.

  15. Does it feature by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Guru meditations?

    1. Re:Does it feature by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Wouldn't be an Amiga emulator without them.

      How could a PET phone not include a PET emulator?

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  16. Can this be used with HVAC equipment? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I've been contracted to replace an older system. :)

  17. Games console?! by Mark4ST · · Score: 3, Informative

    The article refers to a "Commodore 64 games console." There's no such thing. The C64 was a fully user-programmable computer which also played games. The link in the article for "Commodore 64 games console" brings you to an article about a totally unrelated computer, the ZX Spectrum. Nerd rage engaged.

    1. Re:Games console?! by AntiSol · · Score: 2

      Go read up on the C64GS before you make sweeping declarations. :P

      Granted, the article is wrong - the GS was damn obscure, and the real C64 was indeed a real computer. But there was a console.

    2. Re:Games console?! by CronoCloud · · Score: 2

      The article refers to a "Commodore 64 games console." There's no such thing.

      Considering the basic hardware design that became the C64 was originally envisioned as a game console, there are TWO game consoles based on C64 technology.

      The first being the Commodore Max/Ultimax of 1982 (that's right, it was released BEFORE the C64), basically a C64 with less RAM, no serial or user port, and a membrane keyboard. It was Japan only, but apparently at one time they were planning on releasing the thing more widely. What probably happened is that manufacturing costs of what became the full C64 came down and brought the machine into the price range of MAX. The C64 is fully compatible with MAX cartridges since it has an "Ultimax" mode.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      The Other being the C64GS of 1990 that was mentioned.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

      Unlike the MAX it has the full RAM of a C64. This machine was Europe only, probably because Commodore survived longer in Europe thanks to the EU/UK protectionism that made it harder for Nintendo and Sega to sell their consoles at competitive prices. Thats probably also the reason this PET phone is Europe only for now. The current "commodore" being seen as European.

  18. Meh by AntiSol · · Score: 1

    Sorry, but I'm not interested. I'm a huge Commodore fanboy, but the logo isn't even in colour. If you're going to try to cash in on the trademark you bought, at least do it right.
    I'll stick with running VICE and UAE on my openpandora, thanks. It has a keyboard, which makes it awesome at emulating computers with keyboards.

    1. Re:Meh by David_Hart · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but I'm not interested. I'm a huge Commodore fanboy, but the logo isn't even in colour. If you're going to try to cash in on the trademark you bought, at least do it right.
      I'll stick with running VICE and UAE on my openpandora, thanks. It has a keyboard, which makes it awesome at emulating computers with keyboards.

      The C64 logo might have been in color but the Commodore PET logo was not...

    2. Re:Meh by AntiSol · · Score: 1

      IIRC the C64 logo wasn't in colour either, I think it was in metal. I can't be bothered checking any of my C64s right now since they're all in boxes (I'm in the process of moving), but I think it was a shiny silver colour.

      But, 90%+ of the time I have seen the commodore logo printed (e.g in a manual) or displayed onscreen, it's had the distinctive blue and red colours. Those colours are as much part of the brand identity for me as the C= logo.

      But my point is not about making it look like the machine - this phone isn't modelled on the PET, even if it does "liberate" the name - if it was modelled after a PET, there would be more trapezoids in those photos. My point is that It just looks like a bland phone with a monochrome commodore logo on it. I can do that with a magic marker in about 40 seconds for a total cost of about one tenth of a cent. If they'd spent the extra 3 cents to make the logo colour, I might have almost considered it.

  19. Commodore needs to finish the C65 by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 1

    There's no point in Commodore releasing this "me-too" Android phone. Nobody is going to give two-flying rats, especially the people who remember what Commodore was before it fell into bankruptcy.

    In the past year, the remaining enthusiasts have seen redesigned clone C64 motherboard (the Commodore "reloaded") and we've seen a successful kickstarter to mould new C64 cases - in new colours including transparent - which could be used to hold a C64 motherboard OR be used as a case for other computer projects (raspberry pis for example).
    There are new storage devices for all the old kit that enthusiasts have made (the 1541U2, the Chameleon cartridge, SD2IEC), but Commodore had nothing to do with these at all.

    This new "Commodore" who owns the rights has failed to do what other enthusiasts have had to pick up the mantle to do.... and none of these enthusiasts can use the Commodore logo because the new owners start getting all litigious. The new "Commodore" is just hoping to ride off the nostalgia that the original Commodore generated. Nothing more, nothing less.

    If the new owners had half a brain, they'd be building raspberry pi-like devices and supporting the computer hobbiest segment of the market.
    That's what Commodore was renowned for. Computers for the masses, and enough openness and simplicity so that the beginner could get down and dirty with machine language and the chips on the board.

    Why the hell can't they just finish the C65 and give us something new to hack on? I'd spend money on that over an android phone.

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  20. Commodore phone, eh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just want to know what format I have to try and convert my games into in order to play on the phone. Because I have them, on 5.25" floppy disks, as well as one of the less popular SFD1001 1.2MB floppy drives (with IEEE interface) to read them.

  21. Ok, but why ? by bobjr94 · · Score: 1

    Since you get get these emulators for free or better ad free versions for $5, hardly seems worth buying a phone just for that feature. Other than that looks like any a countless number of other phones. If it had hardware keypad or gamepad then it might stand out from the noise.

    Load "Phone",8,1
    Loading Phone
    Phone Ready
    Run