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The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

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Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#121

Post by abc42 »

itomato wrote: post #94
abc42 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's genuinely small. You can put it in your pocket and forget that it's there. I'm continually amazed that people don't seem to want that.

We have had that in various forms for a while now without the grandiose visions and gatekeeping. The exact same module in fact has been around for a while. Battery is ancient. T9 is ancient. I have a $70 Linux box in my pocket already. It runs a Buildroot distro and the only real difference is an LTE PHY. I have lived through the Nokia internet tablet and I’m surprised this isn’t what people aspire to.

Thing is, we also need stuff like Signal to actually use phones for their original purpose these days. Most flip phones that we've had so far are dumb phones, mostly unable to run 3rd party software.

It sounds like this Commodore phone might be able to fill that gap. I'll wait for the first few reviews though.

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#122

Post by dotancohen »

SwellJoe wrote: post #113
dotancohen wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There aren't any merits to talk about. A flip phone is still a nostalgia play. Not to everybody. In my country we have a sizeable religious community which eschew the smartphone. Dumb phones sell here very well - on merit alone, no nostalgia.

And, there's no shortage of those. Do those religious folks often buy luxury products?

I don't know the answer to that! I would imagine that some do. I'll try to talk to some of them, thank you for the point of view.

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#123

Post by neongod »

ChristopherDrum wrote: post #111
msephton wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck, I mean that. Times have changed, my kids simply aren't interested in the things I was growing up, so as parents we decided not to force them but rather to positively reinforce whatever it is they want to do. That's not to say they can do whatever they want, of course, but they lead the direction.

Commodore's CEO said in the press release about this phone that he wanted it because he, himself, had become addicted to his smartphone, so he switched to a dumbphone "And my two year-old daughter doesn’t see me staring at something she doesn’t understand for half of the day." Not to sound overly flippant about it, but that sounds like a "him" problem, not a phone problem? He clearly doesn't see it that way. Instead…

Current phones and online services are designed by the very best in their fields to make you as addicted as possible, so you spend your whole life in front of them. It’s not a self control problem and definitely not the user’s fault. That some are realizing this and want a way out (get these toxic technologies out of their life), I think is a good thing. But you can’t really go with a dumb phone in western societies any more, where every small part of your life requires some app to function (parking, public transport, library, banking, postal services, etc). This phone gives a solution to that. I think it fits a niche and it’s probably a growing one.

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#124

Post by decimalenough »

recursivedoubts wrote: post #112
decimalenough wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Three inches! Even the greenest punk should be able to bend over and take it. https://www.unihertz.com/products/jelly-star

nothing funnier than male rape, is there?

We're discussing the entirely voluntary insertion of mobile phones into your "prison pocket", not rape.

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#125

Post by _the_inflator »

gapan wrote: post #89

I can see a niche (or two) for this. My wife hates every smartphone that is currently in the market. They are all too huge for her. She has an iphone SE which was the best compromise at the time, although she still finds it big. She doesn't want to get a new one, because there is nothing on the market of that size. She doesn't use most the smart features. She only uses it for chat with family and friends and getting…

Then the old Sony Ericssons would be her best option I think.

They were the ultimate in to small for my fingers, couldn't stand it.

Still the best form factor has the iPhone 4 in my opinion. And here comes the revelation: the iPhone 17 have grown again and the base models all start at 6.3"

The pro max is now 6.9" - the iPad mini is 8.3"

What a massive burden to carry around and still the iPhone aren't good enough for reading long time - a book for example - like the iPad Mini is.

I guess that many "content creators" edit their TikTok stuff when they are on the move and that the iPhone tries to more and more fit for that market.

Also larger device sizes allow for larger batteries - good for local AI and again video editing and consuming as well.

I Own a iPhone 16 and couldn't handle the pro/max option. Too bulky - and the camera lens has sharp edges combined with a slippy surface.

So size is one thing, form another.

The max options are crazy large especially if you consider a case for protection.

Two things

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#126

Post by ChrisRR »

crazygringo wrote: post #68
SwellJoe wrote: post #67

I have no idea who the customer is for this product. I bought a C64U. I bought a MEGA65. I bought the T-shirt. I own nearly every original Commodore 8-bit. If anybody is the target market for Commodore products, I am the target market, and I am no more nostalgic about or interested in flip phones than I am about fax machines. It's just like the good old days: Commodore execs shipping absurdly misguided products for t…

I think it's quite obvious that the target market has almost zero overlap with interest in the Commodore products from the 80s. There's nothing wrong with a new company (new as of last year I think?) that owns the Commodore branding, and put out the C64U, to try putting out a new product for a different market. The glowing Commodore icon just gives it a suitably vintage/retro feel that is aligned with the values of t…

The only target market is the nostalgic crowd. For everyone else there's already plenty of flip phones available

The problem is that even among the commodore/amiga crowd, the reception has been pretty uninterested

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#127

Post by ChrisRR »

gtowey wrote: post #44
msephton wrote: post #17

The phone may not be dumb (we'll see) but the idea for new Commodore to release one is. Sorry to be so blunt.

I bought one of their C64 repros, it was exactly what I want, I was searching ebay for original Apple ][e at the time anyway. Why? It's going to be my kids first computer. Computers today are so absolutely hostile as they are simply attention-sucking sale-terminals. They spend all their time popping up unwanted notifications which are just advertising. And the interface of modern devices is actually horrible for lear…

I'd disagree that the c64 is the platform for learning either though. Sure, plenty of kids learnt that way, but that was out of necessity, not because it's the easiest way to learn

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#128

Post by ChrisRR »

ChristopherDrum wrote: post #111
msephton wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck, I mean that. Times have changed, my kids simply aren't interested in the things I was growing up, so as parents we decided not to force them but rather to positively reinforce whatever it is they want to do. That's not to say they can do whatever they want, of course, but they lead the direction.

Commodore's CEO said in the press release about this phone that he wanted it because he, himself, had become addicted to his smartphone, so he switched to a dumbphone "And my two year-old daughter doesn’t see me staring at something she doesn’t understand for half of the day." Not to sound overly flippant about it, but that sounds like a "him" problem, not a phone problem? He clearly doesn't see it that way. Instead…

Perryfractic also runs a youtube channel that's more nostalgia bait than actually using the products

I stopped watching after he kept "tearing up" when loading a computer. After a few times it seemed totally fake

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#129

Post by thaanpaa »

thisislife2 wrote: post #109
recursivedoubts wrote: post #6

Regarding the price: the reality with all these alternative phones (e.g. the clicks communicator) is that you are going to have to pay a premium to make them worthwhile for the manufacturers. Scale (and the spyware economy) are what allow the larger companies to produce cheaper "better" phones, so comparing a phone like this with them on price isn't super productive. If you want something different than what the mass…

Manufacturers do price according to volume. So why doesn't Jolla or Commodore plan a business strategy that focuses on increasing the volume? If $500 get you maybe 1500-2000 pre-orders, $300 may get you 5000+ orders. Sacrifice the profit margins somewhat, initially, to increase the user-base and revenue. Then use the userbase and revenue to get more investors. Currently, everyone targeting the "privacy" or "mindfulne…

I'm purely guessing, but they may be following the "early adopters pay premium price" model. Which means that there'd be a price drop in the fall, probably accompanied by a new model so that whoever bought the initial one stays happy.

Re: The Commodore Callback 8020 smart flip phone

#130

Post by thaanpaa »

SwellJoe wrote: post #67

I have no idea who the customer is for this product. I bought a C64U. I bought a MEGA65. I bought the T-shirt. I own nearly every original Commodore 8-bit. If anybody is the target market for Commodore products, I am the target market, and I am no more nostalgic about or interested in flip phones than I am about fax machines. It's just like the good old days: Commodore execs shipping absurdly misguided products for t…

Me. I like the idea behind the product very much. I feel like my AI-saturated brain needs something like this very much at the moment.
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