what I would do if I was speccing a Commodore phone today in 2026, and why
Much has already been said about the Commodore.net flip phone. I don’t need to add to what has already been said about their launch other than to say I ain’t feeling it.
That said, I like to offer ideas rather than just complain, at least whenever possible.
So here is what I would do if I was speccing a Commodore phone today in 2026, and why 🙂
For me, a Commodore product has to be about computing. Therefore, a flip phone just doesn’t make sense in any regard. What makes more sense to me is a portable computer that happens to have telephone features!
(I am not alone in wanting a portable Commodore btw)
Forget Flip Phones, Bring Back Buttons!
Picture a portable C64, but under the hood it would be using modern Android/Linux hardware. Perhaps if I was making one of these right now I would even go with a Raspberry Pi CM5 plus 5G and GPS modules, but I don’t think that would be necessary as off-the-shelf Android would be plenty for what I would want.
Horsepower isn’t really a problem with the choices out there on the market already. A BlackBerry-style keyboard attached to a Trimui Smart Pro S, or even an R36s would be most of the way there! The former already has integrated Wifi and both have USB-C expansion. Would be fascinating how far it could be pushed with a beefy FPGA, though.
Add on some beige peripherals such a USB keyboard and a gamepad (heck Retro Games LTD have those already) plus HDMI out, or TV/monitor output via USB-C, and you have a portable games console that can also do simple browsing-style work on the go.
Dream STEM Scenarios
Once we get further into being an actual custom design, we can take on another role I always thought of with Commodore and other 8-bit home computers of the era and that is STEM, though we didn’t call it that back then. Science, Technology, Engineering has come a long way with Arduino and Raspberry Pi, but similar things were possible on the C64/Vic 20/Spectrum/BBC Micro, from turtle plotters through to simple home automation experiments. All we would need with this guy is to break out some GPIO pins for an expansion socket.
While SD cards are the obvious removable media, that expansion socket could offer cartridges. Not just game cartridges, but other expansion peripherals, perhaps even some legacy ones like classic joystick and drive connections.
I’d love to see robotics clubs running Commodore hardware in the 21st century!
Software Sells Hardware
For software, you can take the lead of theC64 and have the option for normal smartphone operation, a pre-installed collection of licensed games in a carousel, and of course BASIC. It would be very cool for it to be a multi-system emulator (just add ROMs), or even something like Evercade would be neat.
For this to be a single device that you carry instead of your smartphone AND a pocket games console, it needs a modern OS with app support and a decent web browser, so it can’t just be a portable C64U. This is one of the things I don’t think ‘Peri’ has thought about with his phone blocking apps and browsers. He’s likely so far removed from non-influencer reality to remember how often we need those features in emergencies or just in order to pay the bills. People without huge sponsorship deals dare not be cut off from their employers when stuff hits the proverbial fan, so the ability to check email and things like Slack/Teams/Zoom would be necessary.
Enough from me, what do you think?
I don’t own any stake in Commodore, so my ideas don’t mean much in reality (though I do love my C64U).
What do you think? Am I wrong and a flip phone is very Commodore? Have you pre-ordered one?
I’d love to hear from you in the community, in the new Discord, or on social media – let me know, even if it is to tell me I am wrong!
Original article by retrogamecoders.com
