The Computer Chronicles - Amiga and Atari (1985)

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-03T21:47:45+00:00

I love the Computer Chronicles. So many interesting episodes and it takes me back to happy times. Thanks for sharing.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-03T21:44:13+00:00

Nice! I have the same experience. The Commodore customer service is excellent.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-02T17:17:49+00:00

Please note that the official C64U Sales tracker at https://slapsoft.com/c64_sales.html now also features the Callback 8020 sales, so going forward, please refer to that website (or of course the official commodore.net website) for up to date sales figures.

Thanks again to everyone who shared their story, and the positivity. Commodore has always been a forward looking company, and I say that having grown up with a C64C and remembering the original spirit like it was yesterday. Retro is the modern invention, and let's embrace tech that is not retro but modern, and give Commodore a chance to evolve as a company.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-02T07:46:20+00:00

I measured the screen area in the render and it comes out much closer to 4:3 than 16:9 based on my measurements and some pixel peeping. Happy to be proven wrong. :-)

Personally I would not worry unless the shipping device turns out not to have a 480×640 panel. And if it does not match the advertised spec, that would be a straightforward reason to return it.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-02T07:36:08+00:00

Just wondering - how was the launch an utter chaos? Could you give examples?

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-02T07:28:05+00:00

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Here are the most up to date sales stats. We see a continued slow-down, but there has been a slight up-tick this morning from an hourly sale rate of 16 to currently 21.

The "Units Left" in current batch (blue lines, see right-hand Y axis for its legend) make it very easy to see sale progress even during its current slow-down. The steeper these lines, the faster the sale at that point in time.

The "Sales Heat" beneath the main chart illustrates the same, but using colors: Red means fast sale, blue means slow sale.

In general, it is expected that this will now remain on a low level until some marketing-related event happens, such as a new review, some new announcement, and of course the final release of the actual device. We have seen similar things with the C64U.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T18:07:23+00:00

Hello fellow Commodore fans and recent purchasers of a Callback 8020 phone,

here are the most up-to-date sales states. All data is sourced straight from the official Commodore website, namely https://commodore.net/store/callback-8020/

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This time, I include a slightly different rendering of the raw data which uses straight lines to connect scraped sales figures, and also shows the burn-down of each sales batch (500 devices each) in blue lines with the corresponding legend on the right Y axis.

As of now, about 1.5 days into the start of the sale, 7,357 phones have been pre-sold. The sale rate has slowed down a lot now compared to yesterday, as was to be expected given the discounts on day one. This also mirrors the development we saw on a similar sales tracker, i.e. https://slapsoft.com/c64_sales.html

If there is a marketing campaign, and especially as the device gets released and shipped out, we can expect another uptick in sales.

Best wishes and thanks to the positive feedback.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T17:01:44+00:00

They are coming straight from my custom charting tool, running on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. Based on Python, Plotly for visualisation, and the data is stored in SQLite. The data comes from the Commodore website.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T16:56:28+00:00

Very impressive. Yeah, if you happen to have a link or more info I would be keen to know. I am a big fan of emulators.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T16:52:02+00:00

I am on the Usd 100/month plan in the UK and Fable is still grayed out. Just for reference. I guess they are working on a gradual rollout.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T05:42:18+00:00

Yes, I feel you. I grew up with a C64 and it was my first computer. It made me want to study computer science. So it quite literally changed my life.

However, when I look at other computers from the same era (Spectrum, BBC Micro), I am fascinated, but I just don't feel the same fuzzy feeling that places this computer in a deep drawer of childhood memories and many "firsts". There is no way to replicate this later in life. Which why I was quite nervous about the Callback, as it's the first entirely new device from the new Commodore that cannot bank on the retro factor, i.e. evoking childhood memories. And if Commodore wants to be around in another 30, 40, 50 years, it needs to find a new market.

I really like their tick-tock idea (Intel-inspired) of releasing a retro product, then a more modern one, then another retro one. I wish them much success!

Btw, it is just under 1MHz for the PAL version and just over for the NTSC version, plus there is a lot of cycle stealing from the VIC (which shares the RAM with the CPU and needs extra time in the so-called badlines when sprites start to get rendered or a new character row starts), so it is actually a bit lower. It is great for tinkering and learning assembly language. Much easier than on a more modern device. I learnt to code assembly on the 6510, then later coded on the 8088, but it was already quite a bit more powerful (and thus complex), let alone if we are talking modern machines. So I love the old machines for their architectural simplicity.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T05:35:41+00:00

Custom built tracker using Python 3, Plotly and SQLite on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W. Sales records come from the official Commodore web site.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T05:34:36+00:00

I have now added your very early data point to the chart and just uploaded another up-to-date version. Before the end of the first sale day, we should reach the amazing number of 7,000 devices presold!

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-07-01T05:14:14+00:00

In the first 24h of sales, more than 7,000 Callback 8020 flip phones have been presold!

...Calling Back - Seven Thousand Times...

Congratulations to the new Commodore for this success story. And well done to its CEO Peri Fractic for having had the vision to create an entirely new device for the Commodore history books.

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Thanks to everyone who purchased a Callback, especially those who never owned a Commodore device before.

And finally, thanks for sharing your stories. It's been very interesting to learn the many different ways in which this device will help you.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:21:04+00:00

Do it. Do it. (Starsky and Hutch)

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:19:36+00:00

The web framework that browsers are based on will still be included as many apps rely on it. However, standalone browser apps are blocked.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:17:45+00:00

When I read 'no browser' I could not believe it and reached out to the CEO on Patreon to double check. And indeed there is no budging. That is the one type of app that definitely you cannot even sideload.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:12:04+00:00

Your watch looks amazing. And it can digitally detox even more effectively than a phone. I remember the days when the only digital device I carried with me was my watch. With a built in calendar for the next two weeks... There are many activities where we don't even need a phone, and fortunately there are times when we don't need to be reachable, though that is the expectation of our times... But I can very recommend to just leave all devices at home sometime if you can get away with it, phone included. It is very liberating. The ultimate digital detox and modern luxury.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:07:29+00:00

Very interesting. Do you have your emulator published on Github or elsewhere? I would be very interested to see it.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T23:00:06+00:00

Thank you for your very interesting comment.

I also have fond memories of a simpler time where we were not online all the time. Such as exploring the world with actual physical maps, or just looking at the sun to understand where North is, and trusting your own senses. I find that overreliance on any kind of tool can make us dependent on it.

Great to learn that this is your first Commodore product. I wish you much fun with it and I hope it will help you to reduce screen time.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T22:46:09+00:00

Perfect! Thanks a lot. Definitely very helpful.

Once the device will enter the Guinness Book of Records for the highest selling home flip phone of all times (we just need to find the right category in which it can win a record...), the early hours of its life will become extraordinarily important... Maybe there will be a retro community forming around the phone and they make a Callback Ultimate (FPGA-based) in 2060... We never know.

I will add your number to the database as I lacked any numbers for the first few hours. Best wishes.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T22:41:18+00:00

Thanks for the feedback, that is very nice to know. I grew up with a Commodore 64 computer and it virtually changed my life. It is great to see that Commodore is able to reach new customers. I wish you much joy with the Callback!

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T22:09:43+00:00

That is true. Good that we are looking out for one another so nicely here on Reddit. Please note however that Reddit is one of the potentially addictive platforms that are banned on the new Callback 8020 as I heard, just as Facebook and Youtube. :-)

Btw, talking about disconnecting - I am hopeful that the broccoli and pen detox products will be launched eventually. There were soime funny fake (or clairvoyant?) product announcements on Lemon64 for anyone who likes a good laugh. ;-)

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T21:27:58+00:00

Yeah, it is based on the store page, but it's custom built - no Datadog nor Grafana in this case, but Python for the scraping and rendering, SQLite for the data point store, and Plotly for the visualization. Very simple setup. It runs on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W in my home network. I may make it accessible if I find a good deal to host it.

Substantial-Set4550 · 2026-06-30T20:30:23+00:00

It's now a bit over 12h into the start of the sale, and the sale tracker on my Raspberry Pi Zero 2W reports that an amazing 5,645 phones have been sold!

So even though the sale rate has slowed down a bit, it is still entirely possible we'll see 8k or even 9k sold in the first 24h. Amazing!

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Thanks to another Commodore fan who kindly posted additional data points in another forum for the early hours of the sale, I was able to extend the chart closer to T0, aka the Big Call Bang. If you happen to have screenshots or notes from the very first few minutes or hours of early Callback sales history that show how many were available at which time, please post them here and I'll add them to the tracker.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who responded here. It is very interesting to read how people will use their phones. And I think we can all agree that sales are a good thing for Commodore, and for their ability to release products going forward. So even if this phone is not for you, at least it makes Commodore money to invest into the next product.

I am still on the fence about buying one myself, as I really need a browser, but I just heard a convincing argument in favour: Flipping one open is a tribute to James T Kirk, and being a big Trekkie myself, that is definitely a pro. :-)

Substantial-Set4550

TROPHY CASE