Back in the halcyon days of the 80’s, my siblings and I were lucky enough to receive a VIC-20 computer for Christmas. As much fun as I had whiling away the hours on such classics as Missile Command and Lode Runner, I was always insanely jealous of friends who had the power of the Commodore 64 at their fingertips. Now, some 20 plus years later, I may finally be able to satiate my jealousy with the news that the good ol’ C64 could soon be back on the market – and with some much more impressive specs.
Commodore USA has just announced that it has reached a licensing agreement that will allow it to produce a full line of new Commodore branded All-in-One (AIO) keyboard computers and intends to start selling an exact replica of the original beige chassis C64. Cue some misty eyed reminiscing from a large part of our readership.
Because users would think the original 8-bit C64’s specs a bit lacking nowadays and would find the prospect of loading games from a tape drive positively antiquated, the updated Commodore PC64 will include an Intel Atom 525 CPU with NVIDIA Ion2 graphics, 4GB DDR3 memory, 1TB Hdd, HDMI, DVD/CD optical drive (Blu-ray optional), dual-link DVI, six USB ports, integrated 802.11n WiFi, bluetooth and a 6-in-1 media card reader.
The company will also release a Pro version featuring a 2.66 GHz Intel Core I7 processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M with 512 MB, 2 TB hard drive, 4GB DDR3 SDRAM and BLU RAY drive. However, the PC64 Pro won’t feature the original C64 casing.
The PC64 and PC64 Pro will join Commodore USA’s current lineup which includes the Amigo (that's an “o” not an "a" at the end) – a basic entry level AIO computer featuring a system on a chip configuration –, the Invictus – another keyboard computer but with an embedded LCD display –, and the recently released Phoenix – the company’s flagship model powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo or Quad Core processor. Images of these are in the gallery.
Commodore USA plans to release the PC64 and PC64 Pro in time for Christmas. No word on pricing as yet.
Via engadget
