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Commodore Releases Flip Phone

commodore.net

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Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#131
post #9

Retrocomputing Roundtable has talked about the new Commodore company over the course of a couple episodes, and I thought they brought up a good point about “what is it that people actually want from Commodore,” and the best answer they came up with is “to be 12 again.” A new C64 with modern video output, a disk emulator, a SID chip replacement so you don’t need an original… that’s all good, but beyond that, it’s hard…

Not only that, but this is exactly the kind of phone I get for my 12 yo. I love that it doesn’t even have a browser that I’d need to try to disable via ADB or some other hack. If it’s nicer than KaiOS, and compatible with the right networks, it could be a win for the parents and tweens. Edit: then I saw the price. Holy crap, I’ll stick with a $25 Blu.

I don't really get the price criticism. Nobody expects to get any other kind of usable smartphone new for $500.

On a standard carrier with device payments, this is going to be in the "free, or maybe you even get a discount" tier.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#132
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> we ordered a Commodore-branded Sailfish-OS phone from an ODM Is this true? I did some research on flip phones the other week and I didn't turn up anything running Sailfish. Options seemed limited to * custom AOSP derivatives (Punkt, Sunbeam, Kyocera, others - most common) * older KaiOS devices (Nokia 2780 and friends) * Nokia S30+ devices (traditional proprietary feature-phone firmware, somehow Nokia is still produ…

Not in North America, no but that's what people are saying; they simply imported the structure of SailfishOS that's used in other parts of the world.

Right, but you can't get a usable Sailfish phone in America right now.

We tried using it on a Sony Xperia which was basically the only usable option, and that option also died once AT&T changed the details of their voice network and it was no longer possible to place 3G phone calls.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#133

This is interesting to me for a few different reasons, but one of the bigger ones is that it appears to be a Sailfish device that’s readily available in the US, which to date has been oddly rare. As a dev, Sailfish has caught my eye a few times over the years but no US availability has meant I’ve never had the chance to play with it.

They had different supported Xperia devices over the last decade...

Barely. Good luck getting voice to work.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#134
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A flip phone with the apps you need: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram. Music, podcasts, maps Honestly, that sounds appealing to me at least. Those are the only communication channels I have, so it suits. Maps if I get lost somewhere. And some spotify. I pretty much have that now, but just with constant privacy breaches and issues I need to stay on top of. > There's a missed opportunity for a better ToS joke here: "Beige.…

If I were to get one, I would certainly get beige... just bought a nice beige mechanical keyboard. I don't think I would pay $500 for it. $150 to $200 maybe. I got my youngest child an AOSP flip phone. I'm semi happy with it. You can't install apps on it (so no Signal, but also no Subway Surfers). But on the other hand, it has a web browser, which is a big hole; the web browser is good enough to show postage-stamp-si…

I have my doubts about any apps requiring attestation being able to run under Sailfish successfully unless Commodore nouveaux gets directly in contact with vendors like Duo Mobile to ensure such apps work.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#135
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A flip phone with the apps you need: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram. Music, podcasts, maps Honestly, that sounds appealing to me at least. Those are the only communication channels I have, so it suits. Maps if I get lost somewhere. And some spotify. I pretty much have that now, but just with constant privacy breaches and issues I need to stay on top of. > There's a missed opportunity for a better ToS joke here: "Beige.…

> Honestly, that sounds appealing to me at least. Absolutely, same here—but it has to look good. I know that's subjective, but this thing looks atrocious .

They're targeting a younger demographic than us.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#136
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw the "Get $50 off!" and thought "Oh cool, maybe I could get this for $150!" then checked the actual page and saw $499... absolutely not. Also the whole store page just feels off. The weird mix of "beige" and furtiger-aero-esque imagery is confusing, and my gut hunch is that there's some AI images here. I understand they're trying to appeal to 2 different nostalgias, but it just doesn't mix. And for something all…

Sheesh. $500 is a hard pass from me. Too bad because I was psyched to try this.

Is $500 really that bad? People are more than happy to spend that for a low-end smartphone.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The restrictions are a good fit for children under 16. As a parent you want to be able to reach them, and they want to reach their friend. And as a parent you not want them waste their minds on YouTube garbage.

As a kid you want what all other kids in your group have and do. That will not be apping via a $500 Commodore flip phone.

Uh, no.

Re: Commodore Releases Flip Phone

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And as an adult that kid will thank god their parents did not get them what everyone else had when everyone else is a lobotomized idiot.

no they won't

Yeah they will. I don't plan to give my kids vapes at age 12.
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