The Commodore Callback 8020 flip phone looks like it’s from decades ago but its price was definitely a sign of today’s times. That’s changed, with Commodore’s announcement today that it will drop the price $100 for most models before pre-orders start next week.

The phone caused a stir when it was announced a week ago. First, there was the thrill of 80s computing legend Commodore making a phone. Then the phone being retro in both look and function caught attention, with a flip-phone form factor combined with a focus on privacy. But one of the most unique features of the Callback 8020 is that it runs Android apps on Linux-based Sailfish OS instead of Android. Among all of the praise though, was criticism that a $500 starting price for the basic models was too high.

  • Scratch@sh.itjust.works
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    2 days ago

    The cynic in me is thinking this was an intentional marketing ploy.

    1. Price too high
    2. Outlets, outraged by the price talk about the features of the phone in detail, questioning how can this hardware cost cost so much
    3. Lower the price to your original (but secret) intent.
    4. Outlets now talk about how much more reasonable that is, how nice of the company to listen!

    You get 2 rounds of media attention for the price of one.