GoKawiilThe company responsible for the Commodore 64, the best-selling desktop computer model of all time, is back. And Commodore's latest unveiling feels appropriately retro: a "digital detox" flip phone called The Commodore Callback 8020.
Commodore's Callback 8020 announcement blog attributes the phone's simple throwback design to the "screen break" trend, writing that it's for customers who want a "calmer, more intentional phone."
The Callback 8020 promises to pare back distractions and doomscrolling. It has limited touchscreen availability and no browser access. It has no work apps, no email and no AI. Social media apps are completely blacklisted from the onboard Commostore. The company has developed "patent-pending" technology that prevents users from sideloading the offending apps.
"When you're done using it, you snap it shut -- a deliberate endpoint instead of another invitation to scroll," the company wrote.
A representative for the Commodore International Corporation didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
A dumb phone revolution?
Despite the simplicity of the Callback 8020, Commodore International says the phone is somewhere in between a smartphone and a dumb phone. It "does everything you want, nothing you don't."
The Callback 8020 is "connected to the Net, not the Web. Return to The Internot!" Commodore International Corporation/Screenshot by CNET
The phone has many modern features. It runs a continually updated Linux-based operating system called Sailfish OS. Commodore promises that, aside from the apps on the blacklist, the Callback 8020 can run "99% of Android apps," including apps like maps, music, rideshare, camera, games, podcasts and voice notes.
The Callback 8020 also has a 48-megapixel camera, a MediaTek Helio G81 processor, 32GB of storage, a headphone jack and a replaceable battery. The phone's outer dome has toggleable LED lights so you can receive text and call notifications.
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