Commodore Returns With an Android Phone

    By Stephanie Mlot
    July 15, 2015 09:38am EST

The Android-based PET allows users to play original C64 and Amiga games
on the handset.

Everything old is new again, including Commodore.

Developer of the well-known Commodore PCs in the 70s and 80s, the
company helped usher in the PC era before going bankrupt in 1994. Now
the company is teaming up with a pair of Italian entrepreneurs to try
its hand at smartphones.

After many years, and a number of trademark disputes, Massimo Canigiani
and Carlo Scattolini registered Commodore Business Machines Limited in
the U.K., where they developed the company's first smartphone.

Named after the 1977 Commodore PET, the Android-based PET phone comes
with two emulators, allowing nostalgic users to play original C64 and
Amiga games on their handset.

As reported by Wired, which got a hands-on look at the new Commodore
PET, the Android phone sports an aluminum frame and interchangeable
polycarbonate covers that snap onto the 5.5-inch IPS
1,920-by-1,080-pixel resolution display, made out of Gorilla Glass 3.

Squint hard enough, and you can read the handset's specs, published
online: 1.7GHz 64-bit octa-core processor, 3,000 mAh removable battery,
and dual-SIM 4G connectivity. The smartphone also comes with Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth, GPS, and FM radio.

Plus, the 13-megapixel rear camera can snap photos up to 4,096-by-2,304
pixels and high-def videos up to 1080p, while an 8-megapixel front
shooter comes with an 80-degree wide-angle lens, according to Wired.

But the phone's real draw is likely its nostalgia-inducing gameplay.
Running a custom version of Android 5.0 Lollipop, alongside the VICE C64
and Uae4All-SDL Amiga emulators, Commodore's PET aims to equip users
with some of the best 1980s games.

Expected to launch this week in Italy, France, Germany, and Poland, the
white, black, or "classic biscuit-beige" PET comes in two flavors: the
$300 light version with 16GB of storage and 2GB RAM, or the $365 regular
model with 32GB of memory and 3GB RAM. Both include a 32GB microSD card
slot, with support for up to 64GB.

Commodore plans to introduce its PET to more European countries and the
U.S. in the near future, Wired said,
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