Commodore USA

Commodore USA
Commodore USA, LLC
Industry Computer Hardware
Electronics
Founded 2010
Headquarters Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
Key people Barry Altman
Leo Nigro
Website http://www.commodoreusa.net
Commodore USA Fort Lauderdale HQ

Commodore USA, LLC is a computer company based in Pompano Beach, Florida, with additional facilities in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Commodore USA, LLC was founded in April 2010.[1] The company's goal is to sell repackaged PCs using the classic Commodore and Amiga[2] name brands of personal computers, having licensed the Commodore brand from Commodore Licensing BV on August 25, 2010[3] and the Amiga brand from Amiga, Inc. on August 31, 2010.[4]

Contents

Products

Phoenix

The Commodore Phoenix is a keyboard computer resembling an updated style of the Commodore 64.[5] It was originally designed and manufactured by Cybernet as a space-saving workstation.

Commodore 64x

Main article: Commodore 64x
2011 Commodore C64x

The flagship product for Commodore USA is an updated Commodore 64 named Commodore 64x. The machine looks almost exactly like the original Commodore 64 except with a slightly different keyboard and power supply. The base model has an Intel Atom processor and an NVIDIA Ion 2 graphics card, while the top version released August 13, 2011 called the C64x Extreme features an Intel Core i7 CPU with 8Gigabytes SO-DIMM Random Access Memory and 3 Terabytes hard drive using the Intel Sandy Bridge chipset.[6] It is the first Commodore computer in years to be manufactured with its own keyboard design with C= key instead of the Windows Key and Windows Keyboard. Other features are optional DVD or Bluray optical drive and built-in memory card reader. There is a fan inside the C64 keyboard computer. As of June 2011 the first batch of 20,000 C64x machines had sold out.[7] There is also a barebones version of the C64x which comes without a motherboard, power supply, or optical and hard drive that allows hobbyist enthusiasts to install their preferred Mini-ATX motherboard.

VIC

2011 Commodore Vic-Slim

The Vic product line[8][9] is a group of keyboard computers with original Commodore function keys.

  • Vic Slim:

Computer that is the same size as most internet keyboards.[clarification needed]

  • Vic Pro:

The Vic Pro is a keyboard computer with the same external appearance as the Phoenix mentioned above, with a built in touchpad, memory card reader, and two fans. Originally designed and manufactured by Cybernet as a space-saving workstation.

Amiga PC

A product line (coming in late 2011), of Amiga branded x86 desktop and all-in-one computers based upon the Intel i7 chipset with emulation of the old Amiga systems built-in.[10][11]

Commodore OS

As of 2011 Commodore USA is developing Commodore OS, a Linux-based OS system to be used throughout its product range. It is a media center operating system, bundled with software. It also has proprietary elements, but is not related to in any way to Amiga OS. The operating system will be free and only bundled and supported with purchased Commodore USA systems.[12] It does support emulation of some of the previous Commodore operating systems.[13]

History

Commodore USA consistently focused[14] on bundling an alternate operating system, preferring Linux. It previously claimed that their machines support every operating system available from Ubuntu specifically, to Windows and even OSx86,[15] but disclaiming that they do not and will not sell Mac OS X. Commodore USA's online store sold Microsoft Windows separately and bundled Linux in their keyboard computers. Their keyboard computers available at the time were rebadged and were introduced with the Windows Key. Later, Commodore USA announced that they would officially support, develop, and ship their computers with AROS,[16] but shifted their focus on redesigning Linux as Amiga Workbench 5, and Amiga Workbench X, but decided to name it Commodore OS and dropped all plans of making it resemble an Amiga-like operating system due to additional legal proceedings.[17]

The flagship product has been focused on the most, leaving all other announced items as vaporware. Examples of announced products that appear to have been cancelled are Invictus[18] and Amigo.[19][20] The Commodore USA website was redesigned and an interactive forum was launched at the same time. High-end Amiga-PC designs were posted on the website. The company licensed the Commodore brand from Commodore Licensing, BV on August 25, 2010. It licenced the Amiga brand from Amiga, Inc. shortly afterwards on August 31.

Marketing strategies: the "Retro" look

One marketing strategy used by Commodore USA is to appeal to the growing trend among consumers for purchasing products whose style imitates or replicates those styles and fashions of the past century, with a particular emphasis on the 1960s, 70's, and 80's. In the case of Commodore USA, the emphasis is on the 1980s, as their new flagship computer closely replicates the look and feel of the original Commodore 64 of 1982.[21] This trend can also be seen in recent-model sports cars that seek to replicate the look and feel of their predecessors from the 60's and 70's.[22][23]

Despite the technological differences between the original C=64 and the new one, the physical design aesthetics of the new machine are so popular that sales of the new machine have soared; the first production run of 20,000 units sold out quickly, and began shipping on June 24, 2011.[24] As of 28 June 2011 (2011 -06-28), no further sales figures have been released by the company.

Controversy

Commodore USA has been criticised for altering previously announced plans,[25][26] threatening legal action against an OS News writer's article,[27][28] and mistakenly attempting to obtain licensing from a Commodore licensee unauthorised to sublicense.[29][30] Commodore USA has been alleged to have used various images, artwork, and designs without the permission of the original authors,[31][32][33] though it has been confirmed that in some examples this has been due to image authors leaving the Amiga user community without leaving contact details regarding their artwork.[34] Further controversy surrounding company's image use policy has revolved around alleged photographs of the C64x assembly line in China, revealed to have been old promotional images for a facility in Augsburg owned by Fujitsu.[35]

Some of Commodore USA's announced products have become vaporware since their announcement. Some of these examples have been cancelled due to intellectual property disagreements, most notably concerning the rights of licensor Amiga Inc. with regards to the possible use of AROS in future Amiga systems from Commodore USA.[17] Others have simply been cancelled as the business plan evolves away from their sector of the market.

Commodore USA has also received criticism from various retro computing groups[36][37][38] who do not recognise any uniqueness to their products.[39][40] Some criticism is due to the company's use of generic PC components, a choice some retro fans see as incompatible with the original products' heritage of custom chipsets. Commodore USA has responded to this position by pointing out the high cost of researching and developing original chipsets, and the relative expense and lack of mass-market software support for other CPU ISAs such as Power Architecture or Motorola 68000 family.[41]

Commodore USA has attempted to address these differentiation related concerns by announcing Commodore OS, intended to be developed to support and be released with Commodore USA systems. Their Amiga product line is not compatible with original Commodore Amiga systems including the operating system, AmigaOS which is in fact developed by a separate company. Commodore USA originally claimed the intention of developing AROS to be bundled with their Amiga systems,[42] however this plan was later publicly discarded by CEO Barry Altman.[43]

References

  1. ^ "Commodore USA". Commodore USA. http://www.commodoreusa.net/CUSA_AboutUs.aspx. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  2. ^ Commodore (April 7, 2010). "The Commodore 64 Lives Again". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/04/07/commodore-64-computer-lives-vintage/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  3. ^ "Commodore Announces Exclusive Worldwide Licensing Rights – Companies Ink Deal For New Product Line". PRLog. August 25, 2010. http://www.prlog.org/10884490-commodore-announces-exclusive-worldwide-licensing-rights-companies-ink-deal-for-new-product-line.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  4. ^ "Amiga News". Amiga.com. August 31, 2010. http://www.amiga.com/news/2010-08-31-commodore-amiga-aio.php. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  5. ^ "Commodore 64 to reboot as 'Phoenix'". Evergeek. http://evergeek.com/News/3438.aspx. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  6. ^ Jacobsson, Sarah (April 8, 2011). "New Commodore 64 is Finally Here-For Real!". PCWorld. http://www.pcworld.com/article/224722/new_commodore_64_is_finally_herefor_real.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  7. ^ Time to create page: 3.37 seconds. "Commodore OS". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/27-commodore-usa/4703-re-commodore-os#4703. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  8. ^ "New Commodore 64, Vic-Slim, Vic-Pro Available for Pre-Order, New Amigas Coming Soon | Geek Beat Technology News". Geekbeat.tv. August 1, 2011. http://geekbeat.tv/new-commodore-64-vic-slim-vic-pro-available-for-pre-order-new-amigas-coming-soon/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  9. ^ Hachman, Mark (April 6, 2011). "Commodore Announces New Commodore64, VIC Computers | News & Opinion". PCMag.com. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383185,00.asp#1_undefined,0_. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  10. ^ "Commodore Launching Amiga-brand Desktops". Tomshardware.com. September 1, 2010. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Commodore-Amiga-AROS-Commodore-64-amiga-retro,11205.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  11. ^ Time to create page: 2.87 seconds (April 13, 2011). "The Amiga 500X reumors". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/5-commodore-amiga-hardware-wishlist-/3013-the-amiga-500x-reumors. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  12. ^ Time to create page: 2.35 seconds. "How Commodore OS Could Look". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/7-commodore-os-configuration-and-themes/2826-how-commodore-os-could-look?limit=15&start=30. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  13. ^ "The New Commodore 64 – Slashdot". Hardware.slashdot.org. http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/11/04/06/1924207/The-New-Commodore-64. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  14. ^ AussieAmigan (July 19, 2010). "Commodore Phoenix Triple OS Boot". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzsmiuEYUQY. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  15. ^ "Latest Commodore 64 incarnation hopes what's old is new again". ZDNet. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/computers/latest-commodore-64-incarnation-hopes-whats-old-is-new-again/1833. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  16. ^ on 08/31/2010 17:11 PST (August 31, 2010). "Commodore AROS – Commodore USA to release AROS-supporting desktops". Ubergizmo. http://www.ubergizmo.com/2010/08/commodore-usa-to-release-aros-supporting-desktops/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  17. ^ a b Time to create page: 1.51 seconds. "AmigaOS 4". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/27-commodore-usa/3656-amigaos-4?limit=15&start=45#4132. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  18. ^ "Commodore Invictus Keyboard-Computer Specs Bests the Asus Eee Keyboard". Gizmodo.com. June 3, 2010. http://gizmodo.com/5554750/commodore-invictus-keyboard+computer-specs-bests-the-asus-eee-keyboard. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  19. ^ "Commodore USA introduces new Amigo computer!!". Amiga.org. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=52243. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  20. ^ "Commodore Amigo [Forum – General chat". AROS-Exec. http://aros-exec.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=4603&post_id=40385. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  21. ^ Bilton, Nick (April 6, 2011). "The New Commodore 64, Updated With Its Old Exterior". Bits.blogs.nytimes.com. http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/the-new-commodore-64-updated-with-its-old-exterior/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  22. ^ "Challenger | Muscle Car, Performance Car, Sedan, 2011". Dodge. March 15, 2011. http://www.dodge.com/en/2011/challenger/index.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  23. ^ "2012 Chevy Camaro Coupe | Performance Car". Chevrolet. http://www.chevrolet.com/camaro-coupe/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  24. ^ Time to create page: 3.02 seconds. "They'Re On Their Way!!!". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/27-commodore-usa/5142-theyre-on-their-way. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  25. ^ [1][dead link]
  26. ^ 09:20 am. "Workbench 5 renamed Commodore OS". Amiga.org. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=56724. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  27. ^ http://www.osnews.com/story/23756/Commodore_USA_Threatens_OSNews_with_Legal_Action
  28. ^ http://www.osnews.com/story/23993/Commodore_USA_s_CEO_Retracts_Legal_Threat_Apologises
  29. ^ "Commodore Gaming disavows Commodore USA (and its decals)". Engadget. http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/12/commodore-gaming-disavows-commodore-usa-and-its-decals/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  30. ^ http://www.osnews.com/story/23753/Commodore_Gets_Rights_to_Amiga_Hyperion_Takes_Legal_Action
  31. ^ "The Amiga Computer Community Portal Website". Amigaworld.net. http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=33650&forum=17. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  32. ^ "Commodore USA announces the PC64. PC in a replica Commodore case (Page 1) – Commodore Computers – Forums". ChipMusic.org. http://chipmusic.org/forums/topic/2232/commodore-usa-announces-the-pc64-pc-in-a-replica-commodore-case/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  33. ^ "Barry Altman and Commodore USA – Page 5". Amiga.org. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54252&page=5. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  34. ^ "Commodore USA". Amiga.org. September 14, 2010. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54428. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  35. ^ "The Amiga Computer Community Portal Website". Amigaworld.net. http://amigaworld.net/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic_id=33812&forum=17&start=60&viewmode=flat&order=0#618370. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  36. ^ Ulanoff, Lance (April 7, 2011). "You Can Keep Your Fake Commodore 64 | Lance Ulanoff". PCMag.com. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2383266,00.asp. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  37. ^ "New Amiga On The Way". tech.nocr.at. September 3, 2010. http://tech.nocr.at/tech/new-amiga-on-the-way/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  38. ^ "Anyone noticed Commodore USA's "Amiga" mockup?". Amiga.org. August 26, 2010. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=54171. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  39. ^ "Commodore USA puts the new C64 up for pre-sales, unveils far-less-retrotastic VIC-Slim". Engadget. April 6, 2011. http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/06/commodore-usa-puts-the-new-c64-up-for-pre-sales-unveils-far-les/#1_undefined,0_. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  40. ^ "Commodore USA and the New C64 « Joe Cassara's Online Binder". Joecassara.wordpress.com. April 6, 2011. http://joecassara.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/commodore-usa-and-the-new-c64/. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  41. ^ Time to create page: 1.63 seconds. "Workbench 5 Question thread". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/6-commodore-os-software-development/418-re-workbench-5-question-thread#418. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  42. ^ Time to create page: 2.23 seconds. "AmigaOS 4". Commodore-amiga.org. http://www.commodore-amiga.org/en/forum/27-commodore-usa/4000-re-amigaos-4#4000. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 
  43. ^ "View Single Post – Amiga PCs on the way". Amiga.org. http://www.amiga.org/forums/showpost.php?p=578528&postcount=183. Retrieved November 11, 2011. 

External links

v · d · eList of Commodore microcomputers
6502-based (8-bit)
68000-based (16-bit / 32-bit)
PowerPC Based
A1-SE · A1-XE · Micro-A1 · AmigaOne X1000
x86-based
Commodore C64x
v · Amiga companies
Property owner
Original developer
Mainly software
Grasshopper LLC • Haage & Partner • Hyperion Entertainment • Runesoft GmbH
Other companies - Present
ACube Systems Srl • A-EON Technology • Commodore International • Commodore USA • Genesi
Other companies - Former

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