Company launches flip phone with no social media to combat smartphones

The computer company behind the Commodore 64 has unveiled a phone to combat "always-on" smartphones.

The Commodore Callback 8020 is a retro-inspired flip phone that has no social media, no email, no browser, and, the firm says, "no apologies."

Describing it as "the not dumb dumbphone," the device does offer popular apps like WhatsApp messaging, maps and Spotify.

The Callback also has a retro exterior display featuring red digits, inspired by classic Commodore calculators of the 1970s.

It shows just date, time, battery and signal with no pop-up notifications.

Peri Fractic, CEO and president of Delaware-based Commodore, says becoming a father inspired the idea of a less addictive phone.

He said: "Becoming a new parent a few years ago made me ask myself what type of father I wanted to be, and led me to realize that like so many of us, I was addicted to my smartphone.

"Switching to a dumbphone three years ago changed my life. I'm more present. I enjoy looking at the world around me. I don't reach for my phone every few minutes."

The Commodore Callback 8020 will be available later this year in five styles, from a "BASIC Beige" edition for $499.99, to a 24k gold-plated "C=" button model for $640.

Fractic adds: "And my 2-year-old daughter doesn't see me staring at something she doesn't understand for half of the day.

"The Commodore Callback is the phone I wished had existed when I started my journey, and the one we now want to put in the hands of everyone who's ready to escape the doomscrolling and distractions, with a speed bump for the mind."

The Delaware company's C64 computer was the best-selling home PC of the 1980s, with worldwide sales estimated at around 17 million units.