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Commodore USA begins shipping replica C64s next week, fulfilling your beige breadbox dreams (video)
If you're like us, you've probably been holding your breath in anticipation since Commodore USA announced its replica of the famous C64. It promised a keyboard PC that duplicated the original's retro-beige finish, with an Atom CPU and an NVIDIA Ion graphics card under the hood. But despite numerous announcements, and even after a cross-promotion with Tron: Legacy, they've yet to ship any products. The latest word from the company has pre-orders shipping next week, in five different varieties, from a barebones chassis and card reader to the C64x Ultimate – an $895 machine that includes 1TB hard drive and a Blu-ray player. If you haven't been teased enough over the past year of delays, hit the video after the break for more preview images.
Commodore USA announces the PC64, an Atom-powered PC in a replica Commodore case
We have a fondness for Commodore computers (as you've probably noticed by now) and we are psyched that Commodore USA is still flying the flag for the once-ubiquitous brand, but as they always are in this biz, things are a little... complicated. We were first contacted way back in March when the company shared the news that it had acquired the rights to sell PCs under the name. Then what happened? Turns out this was not exactly the case... although CEO Barry Altman assured us that they were on their way towards hammering out a deal. And here we are, in possession of a press release saying that indeed, Commodore USA, LLC, and Commodore Licensing B.V. have finally come to an agreement, meaning that your subsequent purchases will at least come with a Commodore decal. But that ain't all! This also paves the way for the company's newest offering, the Commodore PC64, an Intel Atom-powered PC featuring 4GB DDR3 memory, SATA 1TB HDD, HDMI output, optical drive (either DVD/CD or optional Blu-ray), and more -- all in "an exact replica" of the original beige C64 chassis. Of course, doing any significant amount of work with the original Commodore keyboard will probably be a challenge, but we like to think we're up to it. As always, we'll believe it when we see it, but in the meantime we'd like to be the first to formally request a review unit. If everything goes according to plan, this bad boy should be out in time for the holidays. PR after the break.
Man attempts to turn MacBook Air into keyboard PC
The attempted revival of keyboard PCs may not have exactly caught on in a big way, but it looks like modder Bart Reardon is certainly a fan -- so much so that he ripped apart a perfectly functional MacBook Air in an attempt to make his own. While he's not quite finished yet, he has managed to get all the main components to fit under an Apple keyboard and Magic Trackpad, and he's apparently almost ready to replace all the tape holding it together with something more permanent. Hit up the source link below for a look at the complete build process.
Commodore USA unveiling Eee Keyboard rival?
We're not sure where things stand as far as Barry Altman's rights to the Commodore name, but a little red tape isn't going to stop this Commodore fanatic (and all-around good guy) from moving onwards and upwards with his Commodore USA venture. Recently, a photo of a keyboard PC with resistive touchscreen popped up on the company's website, labeled Commodore Invictus. Details are scant, but a certain "BigBentheAussie" over at the amigaworld.net forums is really excited by the thing. Apparently, this Eee Keyboard-doppleganger sports an Intel Atom processor, wireless HDMI, NVIDIA ION chipset, and five hours of battery life -- in addition to the aforementioned touchscreen display. Currently there is no price, street date, or detailed spec sheet available, but we're sure that all will be revealed in due time.
ASUS EeeKeyboard shipping out now
The saga, dear friends, is at an end. After making it to pre-order status last month, the EeeKeyboard is at long last ready for public consumption. Lest you've forgotten, this truly all-in-one pc comes with an Atom N270 inside, a gig of RAM, and old reliable Windows XP Home to keep you company. A 5-inch 800 x 480 multitouch display is supported by a Broadcom Crystal HD chip for decoding of high-def video, UWB connectivity to wirelessly stream to a nearby HDTV, and a battery that promises four hours of autonomous use. Yours for only $599. [Thanks, Joe F.]
ASUS EeeKeyboard gets really, really official
It's already gone up for pre-order and been unboxed, but ASUS has only just now really, officially "launched" its EeeKeyboard, completing a long, strange journey that began way back at CES 2009. Since then, we've seen the keyboard PC get a June launch date, run Moblin, get an August launch date, get gutted, hit the FCC, get an October launch date, hit the FCC again, get a capacitive touchscreen upgrade, get a price and a February launch date, get delayed, lose a space, and get a late-April launch date before now finally launching... in May. Thanks for the memories, ASUS. [Thanks, Sal]
Great Wall Cross PC U150 Ion-izes the Eee Keyboard
Our interest in the ASUS Eee Keyboard has thoroughly waned as the Atom N270-based internals have aged with time, but the new Cross PC U150 from China's Great Wall puts a little juice back into the remixed C64 form factor with the addition of NVIDIA Ion graphics. Sadly there's no battery or wireless HD out, and it doesn't support dual displays -- the internal 5-inch touchscreen on the right shuts off when an external monitor is connected -- so we're not sold on this guy as a lap-based HTPC, but we're willing to check it out. Anyone got 3888 Yuan ($570) and an extra ticket to China?
