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.
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Yeah keep going shitdicks. I’m not paying $400 for a deliberately featureless clam phone
I want a full-size keyboard that slides out. No more T9 bullshit.
Blocking browsers is exactly the opposite of what I want. I want a phone that’s only a browser. For me, using a browser on a mobile device is enough friction that it discourages me from using it for the stuff I intentionally uninstalled, like social media.
Give me a phone with a phone app, SMS/RCS app, RSS app, and camera app and nothing else, and I’d be perfectly content.
We’re pretty sure you can just get a normal dumb phone for that maybe, if not then this phone and reinstal the sail fish and only install a browser
This is comical.
Commodore said that three factors were the primary cause of what consumers felt was a high price for the phone. At the top of the list is the one plaguing the entire industry: RAM pricing.
How much RAM could a phone like this use, anyway?
Also, saying that they “listened” is bullshit. They just got worried they were priced too high so it wouldn’t sell. So they lowered it. If they listened they wouldn’t have it locked in with WhatsApp, a Meta/Facebook product as the only IM option other than SMS.
The cynic in me is thinking this was an intentional marketing ploy.
- Price too high
- Outlets, outraged by the price talk about the features of the phone in detail, questioning how can this hardware cost cost so much
- Lower the price to your original (but secret) intent.
- 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.
Their info page says 4GB+64GB…so I assume that might be 4GB RAM and 64 internal storagr
For a phone that is toted as being privacy respecting, its fucked they are preinstalling software from one of the worst privacy invading companies on the planet.
Disappointing
It really upsets me that block web browser apps… WTF.
So now we have to get apps that get all types of information from the device instead. Huge NO for me.
$500-$100=$400.00… that’s still $300 too much.
Ya I’d maybe pay $200. As someone else mentioned, you could use it to augment your current setup by having a phone to take out with you so people can still reach you on this thing to reduce the burden of all the regular smartphone stuff
Meh. Nokia does some of this. Why cant i flash a secure kaios onto one of those?
I don’t know much about KaiOS so… what do you mean by “secure KaiOS”?
Terminology lapse. But their selling point is that they block some services at the os level, so why cant i get a hosts file on an existing dumbphone instead of shelling out $400 on the commodore?
Ah, thought you were talking about some fork of KaiOS (I think that unlike Firefox OS it is proprietary software? I mean, except for the parts that can’t be because of their license… yes, I know very little so forgive me if any of this sounds dumb). Anyway, I get your point now, so thank you!
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.
garbage “journalism”. the writer should have really known the company has nothing to do with the original Commodore, other than buying rights to use the name.
