Commodore Returns to the PC Market After 16-Year Hiatus

The classic Commodore 64 personal computer is set to make a surprise comeback in the next few months, this time featuring a modern design and some of the latest computer technologies.

Commodore USA is a new company that has licensed the Commodore namesake from Commodore Gaming. The entire advertisement campaign thus far has played on the former glory of the Commodore 64 to promote the new PC.

New Commodore PC Packed with Power

Besides the Commodore namesake and similarities in keyboard design, very little is reflective of the 1980's computer model.

The new Commodore PC offers up to 500GB of hard drive storage and 4GB of RAM. It also includes a DVD-RW drive, a touchpad, four USB ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port and a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) port to connect monitors. (Source: computerworld.com)

The device is rather small, measuring 17.5 inches (0.44 meters) wide and 2 inches (0.05 meters) tall. This is designed to take up far less room and far less energy than any other desktop computer. The PC can run the Linux, Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

The Commodore USA website also mentions that the new model will feature an all-in-one keyboard, with Intel's 64-bit quad-core microprocessors and 3D graphics capabilities.

One of the Most Successful PCs At its Peak

It is hard to believe that the above description has anything to do with the 8-bit processor released by Commodore International in 1982. Back in the day, the computer was one of the most popular models of all time, selling close to 17 million units between 1982 and 1994, according to the Computer History Museum. (Source: idg.no)

Another secret to the their previous success was that Commodore kept updating the original Commodore 64 design, becoming the first to sell more than a million PCs. However, in 1994, the company filed for bankruptcy and liquidated its assets.

The new Commodore personal computer will be available through the Commodore USA online store, which is set to open June 1, 2010. There is no price information as of yet.