Commodore Announces New Commodore64, VIC Computers

Commodore, the legendary brand that helped drive home computing with an emphasis on entertainment, has opened a Web store where consumers can buy a modernized Commodore 64 and two new versions of the VIC, now redesigned as a "keyboard computer".

The new Commodore 64 costs anywhere from $250 for a "barebones" configuration for modders, to an $895 "ultimate" configuration with a terabyte hard drive, Blu-ray., and wireless. The VIC-Pro costs $495 to $1,195, while the VIC-SLIM costs $295 to $495.

Commodore also posted some basic specs of three new Amiga models: the 1000, 2000, and 3000.

Strangely, the new offerings bear almost no similarity to what Commodore showed off behind closed doors at this year's CES. Then, the company emphasized smartphone apps and gaming, and the E715 all-in-one PC. Instead, the company's Web site now focuses almost exclusively on updating the company's iconic machines of yesteryear with modern components.

Although Commodore celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2007, the company has languished in obscurity for many of those years, a faint shell of the company that helped launched computing and computer games.

"I'm sure you'll appreciate the Commodore thing has been in a state of flux over the last 20 years," Peter Bromage, the vice president of sales and marketing for Commodore said in January. "But now the ownership is resolved, we 100 percent own the brand."

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