Commodore’s newest gadget is a flip phone that blocks social media and browsers
Commodore's Callback 8020 is a phone “where the customer is not the product." Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav The next gadget to bear the
Commodore's Callback 8020 is a phone “where the customer is not the product." Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav The next gadget to bear the storied Commodore branding will be a flip phone. The name behind the bestselling desktop PC in history came back about a year ago.
The short version
- Christian “Peri Fractic” Simpson, best known for running the Retro Recipes (now known as Retro Recipes x Commodore ) YouTube channel, acquired the Commodore Corporation and “100 percent of the original and official trademarks that defined the Commodore name since 1983,” per a July 2025 press release.
- Simpson said the price was “in the low seven figures.” Since the acquisition, the brand released the Commodore 64 Ultimate and the Commodore 64X PC , a mini PC housed in a chassis that resembles the Commodore 64.
- Today, the new Commodore announced a new device in a dated design: a flip phone.
- The Callback 8020 in the “BASIC Beige” colorway.
What the source reports
The Commodore Callback 8020 takes advantage of reinvigorated interest in dumb phones . Although Commodore’s phone has Internet connectivity, it blocks web browsers and social media “at the system level using patent pending technology,” the company’s announcement said. The phone supports other Internet-based capabilities, like maps and QR codes.
Why it matters
On the off-chance somebody finds a way around that, we’ve also blocked access at the DNS level.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.