Commodore hops on the netbook bandwagon with UMMD 8010/F

As we've seen countless times by now, the folks behind the Commodore brand will stop at nothing to keep the venerable name alive, and they've now finally hopped on the biggest bandwagon going, with the UMMD 8010/F marking the company's first foray into the netbook game. Unfortunately, apart from that familiar logo, there's not too much that stands out here, with the netbook packing a 10-inch screen, a 1.6GHz VIA C7-M processor, an 80GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, built-in WiFi, and optional Bluetooth. The nearly $600 price tag also doesn't do it any favors, but we're guessing there's at least a few nostalgic folks out there that'll add one to their Commodore collection as soon as they're available.

[Via GottaBeMobile]

[Stiv @ Sep 1st 2008 3:02PM]

My first computer was a VIC 20. Somehow it gives me comfort to know Commodore is still around.

[joeyboy @ Sep 1st 2008 3:35PM]

Commodore died long ago when they failed to coin the success of the Amiga into a next generation computer/console. The Amiga really was an amazing computer at that time and Commodore a small but innovative brand for a short time.

But they filed bankruptcy soon after (somewhere in the 90s) and the only thing still existing is their brand name... Sad story, I know :)

[LondonConsultant @ Sep 1st 2008 4:15PM]

Fort Apocalypse, Archon, and M.U.L.E. - hopefully it'll link up to a 1541 drive and 1702 monitor!

[SFO Kevin @ Sep 1st 2008 4:28PM]

Yes a very pleasant name from the past... Which can date many of us...

[Charles @ Sep 1st 2008 5:34PM]

The Commodore name was bought by Escom who went out of business themselves soon after buying it. Given the price of this netbook it looks like the makers might by aiming to continue the tradition.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Sep 1st 2008 7:42PM]

I'm old too, I remember my older brother programming one of these to count down to New Years eve. We were all quite amazed at it. Anyone who bashes Commodore deserves a kick in the nuts!
I also remember Hard Hat Mac. Hmmm a taste of things to come?

[Greg @ Sep 1st 2008 8:39PM]

Hard Hat Mac was pretty good. Nothing beats Beachhead II in my opinion...except for maybe California Games and Curse of the Azure Bonds or Impossible Mission.

[Mike @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:52AM]

Owner of vic20, c64, c128, amiga 500 and amiga 1200 here.

From what I recall..when Comodore when bankrupt there was an auction for the company and its patents.. Either Gateway won or the group that won soon sold it to Gateway. Then Gateway for months promised a new Amiga only to later say they never were going to and only wanted the patents. The later sold the name and i think Amiga OS to a German company. I eventually sold my Amiga1200 and built a pc clone and lost all my individiality.

Lot of great games...jumpman was great given it's stick figure form.

[Mac @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:26AM]

I also learned programming with VIC-20 :) I wish Commodore can return and become a big player in PC, I just like the name.

Apple came back with IPOD (which brought money to their company) and they were able to sustain that by producing other products.

Let's wish Commodore can do that too.

[Mac @ Sep 2nd 2008 1:47AM]

By the way, specs are available on commodore website:

http://www.commodorecorp.com/repository/document/90.pdf

[Madoc @ Sep 1st 2008 3:02PM]

Stongbad will be so excited...

[Muhammed @ Sep 1st 2008 3:03PM]

I never even heard of it, and it doesn't look like something special.
I think I'll pass.

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Sep 1st 2008 7:43PM]

Never heard of it, hell you weren't even thought of when this came out...

[Kris @ Sep 1st 2008 3:03PM]

I really wish the Dell one oult come out and at a good price point ($299?). This would really force all of these manufacturers to lower their prices.

I really like the idea of a netbook but there is no way I'm pay $600 for one. $300? Yes. $400? Maybe.

[KilgoreTrout @ Sep 1st 2008 3:29PM]

You can buy both versions of the dell one (XP & Liux) everywhere in my scandinavian town since last month.. The most expensive version is just under 3000 DKK. You do the math.

[KilgoreTrout @ Sep 1st 2008 3:34PM]

I forgot to add that after trying both machines, I spent about 10 Euros more and bought myself an MSI wind and I'm happy i did.

[chop @ Sep 1st 2008 3:47PM]

um you can buy the dell version? how so when it hasnt been officially announced.

pics or it didnt happen

[who? @ Sep 1st 2008 3:09PM]

Ha! Funny, I don't believe that company is still alive! You have to respect them though, if only for their longevity!

[matt @ Sep 1st 2008 8:38PM]

YES!!! THIS IS THE GREATEST THING TO HAPPEN IN THE TECHNOLOGY WORLD IN FOREVER! no seriously i am going to sell my eee 1000h and get this thing. the commodore logo alone is enough to persuade me to get it.

[Cybergypsy @ Sep 1st 2008 3:13PM]

Funny looking......

[Eric @ Sep 1st 2008 3:13PM]

Wow. I didn't know Commodore even existed anymore.

If it were cheaper, and was pre-installed with some Linux distro, I'd buy one just because it's a Commodore.

[Benson @ Sep 1st 2008 3:57PM]

Commodore doesn't exist; the Commodore trademark got bought by when they filed for bankruptcy way back when. Sad.

[SteveS @ Sep 1st 2008 4:36PM]

It's precisely the Commodore name that would prevent me from buying this...

[RiddleMeThis @ Sep 1st 2008 3:16PM]

The notebooks get smaller, and the phones get larger, seems like its becoming a little white rabbit, I dont like it. sorry i"ll stick wih my three-year-old gateway

[Bob @ Sep 1st 2008 3:32PM]

That is technological convergence at play.

[RiddleMeThis @ Sep 1st 2008 5:18PM]

One pill makes you larger, an the other makes you small, and the ones that mother gives you don"t do anything at all.

[mattb4rd @ Sep 1st 2008 3:26PM]

Good grief! What are they thinking? $600 Phail

[Shadyman @ Sep 1st 2008 3:45PM]

Make it 350, and it's SOLD.

[digitallysick @ Sep 1st 2008 3:45PM]

Nice design it even looks like it is from the 80s

[Geir E @ Sep 1st 2008 3:49PM]

I am torn between beeing a huge fan of old Commodore and the lust to have something modern with their logo I actually would use - and the fact it is an overpriced and not very pretty netbook. But if it comes on sale....

[Atanas Boev @ Sep 1st 2008 3:57PM]

Maybe Palm should also try to milk their old brand, and cash in from a few nostalgic user which would pay for a netbook with a palm logo on it.

oh, wait...

[Atanas Boev @ Sep 1st 2008 4:01PM]

Maybe Palm should also milk their brand and try to sell a few nostalgic customers a netbook with a Palm logo.

Oh, wait...

[terry @ Sep 1st 2008 5:26PM]

Meh! There is way to much tech out there for most of this shit to really stay around. And that's why you always see new models every damn day.
As for commodore, it's only a name. That company like the poster said b/f died in the early 90's . The name is a licensed trademarked. So if you have the cash, you can slap commodore on a freaking maxi pad.
Cheap ass ODM swag and MS's OS inside. Everyone is doing this tried and true biz model.
But not Apple. Oh yeah!!!!!!!!

[kuade @ Sep 1st 2008 5:36PM]

That was the best justification for the Apple brand ever!

[SOOPERGOOMAN @ Sep 1st 2008 7:45PM]

Ummm, yes they are.

[rita hainsworth @ Sep 1st 2008 5:30PM]

I loved the Commodores!

[Thomas @ Sep 1st 2008 6:04PM]

Yes... but can it play 1942?

[Mike @ Sep 1st 2008 6:26PM]

LOL. If you can find a Linux C64 emulator...

[nanobis @ Sep 1st 2008 6:35PM]

At this rate SEGA will annoucing there coming back into the hardwear scene

[j @ Sep 2nd 2008 12:23AM]

i don't know about that. i'm wearing a sony.

[Devilmachine @ Sep 1st 2008 7:11PM]

It even looks like it's taken straight from the era when Commodore was at it's peak in the 80s.
It might just be the lighting of the photo, but it looks to have that same beige yellow plastic, lol.

[hemmy @ Sep 1st 2008 7:12PM]

How I loved the c64 and Amiga Lines when I was younger... So much gaming goodness there.

[Bjorn Nitmo @ Sep 1st 2008 7:14PM]

There's a free Commodore 64, VIC-20, 128, Plus/4 and PET emulator for Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and many other operating systems. It's called VICE and you can find it here: http://www.viceteam.org/

[OpenBear @ Sep 1st 2008 7:38PM]

There is nothing truly Commodore about this netbook, the thing runs Windows XP for crying out loud! This is just another company publicly raping the corpse that is the Commodore brand to make a quick buck. How sad and pathetic.

The real Commodore machines (e.g. Vic 20, C64, Amiga) were cool boxes. The Amiga was an amazing computer at the time. As someone who grew up on these original machines, please just let the brand fade away respectfully.

Okay, the "get off my lawn" moment is over :-)

[Conda @ Sep 1st 2008 7:55PM]

wait, is this being done by Commodore Gaming (who currently owns the rights to the name and is selling gaming PCs), or someone else? seems out of place for Commodore Gaming

Ive wanted to get some sort of Netbook, and I would totally be down for a Commodore branded one

[MJ2 @ Sep 1st 2008 8:02PM]

Shame that this seems to be a re-badged netbook. Love the Old style Commodore colouring! (my first computer at the age of 3 was a C64, first game Bruce Lee lol).

Here's the version i've seen before, Elonex, been available in Carphone Warehouse stores for a good few weeks (maybe a couple of months now), seen one in the 'flesh' and it's hideous.

http://shop.carphonewarehouse.com/accessories/webbook/10.2inch-xp-edition-black/

[oyanobaka @ Sep 1st 2008 8:19PM]

If they had used the Commodore 64's brown color scheme, I think they could have exploited the nostalgia even more.

[acb @ Sep 1st 2008 8:22PM]

I once (around late 2004) bought some Commodore-brand DVD+R discs. They wrote perfectly well; the problem was, nothing I tried could read anything off them afterwards.

The Commodore brand these days is probably a guarantee of it being the cheapest, lowest-quality crap sold at a steep markup to nostalgic GenXers whose first computer was a C64. (Say, how's the "VIC-20" MP3 player doing?)

[Jaimi @ Sep 1st 2008 8:29PM]

Yeah, it's expensive for a netbook, but then again - it's a bit more than a netbook, with a full 80gb drive, etc. And it has that good old c64/vic-20 look. I'd have known the brand even without the logo on the front. Good job on a retro min-laptop, guys!

[dudeInAmerica @ Sep 1st 2008 9:38PM]

This is a bit sad actually. In its hayday, Commodore was never a company to play catchup. They were innovators. Read "On The Edge, The spectacular rise and fall of Commodore" by Brian Bagnall

A "netbook" running Windows? Shame.

Rest in peace big C.