Commodore is back in the form of a cheap Chinese smartphone

Commodore was once a brand that manufactured electronics and home computers. They were one of the original big computer brands that lasted from 1954-1994 when it finally claimed bankruptcy. With that long lifespan many people grew up with Commodore and still hold them true to their hearts. It looks like fans may or may not be excited to see them make a comeback in the form on an Android phone.

When Commodore filed for bankruptcy back in 1994 an unknown company purchased all the rights to the brand. We heard nothing for years, but only two years ago, a federal court ruled that the trademark belonged to Commodore Holdings B.V., a Dutch company that has been silent ever since. Now two Italian entrepreneurs Carlo Scattolini and Massimo Canigiani have registered the name Commodore Business Machines Limited in the United Kingdom and say they own all the rights to the brand and trademark in the mobile industry in 38 countries, including the US.

The “Commodore PET”, was once a desktop computer launched in 1977. While the computer has long been gone it is now making a comeback in the form of an Android phone with the same name.

Commodore PET smartphone specifications

• 5.5-inch IPS 1920×1080 pixel screen, coated with Gorilla Glass 3

• 1.7 GHz Mediatek 64-bit octa-core processor

• ARM Mali T760 GPU

• Main camera has a 13MP Sony sensor with a bright f/2.0 aperture, dedicated shutter button

• 8MP selfie camera with 80 degree wide angle lens

• Dual-SIM 4G connectivity

• Aluminium frame construction with interchangeable polycarbonate covers in white, biscuit-beige, green, blue and other colours

• 3000mAh battery

• Android 5.0 Lollipop

There is said to be two models made with the above specs, but with different amounts of memory. The cheaper $300 Light model comes in 16GB with 2GB of RAM and a $365 model with 32GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. Both ship with a 32GB micro SD card with a maximum 64GB card support. It all looks good on paper, but that’s when things start to get fishy.

Earlier reports were going around that Commodore was back with a new smartphone, but after some research from Android Police it appears that may or may not be true, but leaning more towards not true. The phone in question appears to be a “Orgtec Wa Phone” with a Commodore logo slapped on the back. This Chinese phone sells for only $145 for the 64GB model. That is a $220 markup just for the Commodore logo on the back. The two phones appear to literally be identical with just different printed logos.

Not only that, but the phone itself may be illegally using the logo. A company named Asiarim Corp got the trademark back in 2011, but lost control to creditors shortly after. The Commodore brand seems to be in a weird situation where not one company can just use the trademark. We are not sure at this time if a Commodore phone will be coming soon or if it’s basically a knock off.

Source: Wired
Via: Hexus, Android Police, Android Community

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