Commodore 64 - Photo Bill Pertram
Commodore has budgeted $30 million for marketing of its new line of PC-in-a-Keyboard computers. Commodore is renowned for the birth of the personal computer.
During the eighties, the Commodore 64 and the VIC 20 were popular DOS directed computer systems that hooked directly up to a television. The Commodore name is legendary amongst older age brackets like the baby boomers and even the generation to follow, but younger generations do not have a history with vintage computer systems.
According to Barry Altman, “I’m pushing 60 and people in that age group know the C64 very well, but there’s a whole other generation that has never heard of it. We have to get this brand back on its feet quickly.”
Commodore USA has set aside large budget for a marketing fund to cover national TV spots hoping to captivate holiday shoppers with their newest system, the PC64. The new PC64 is a reproduction of the original beige Commodore 64 with heavy-duty upgrades.
The system has a mechanical keyboard, Intel Atom D525 processor, a terabyte hard drive and Nvidia Ion 2 Graphics. The system also includes an optical drive and standard ports including USB ports. Commodore USA decided against installing a Windows operating system and chose the popular Ununtu System by Linux.
In addition to the PC64, the company is set to release the “Totebook”, a 10-inch laptop and other all-in-one keyboard personal computers. In an attempt to revive the company, Commodore has also upgraded some of its gaming PC’s.