Traditionally, you’ve been far more likely to find Chrome OS powering a PC-like device than Android. That’s even been true for all-in-one devices, where even Chrome OS has been a rarity. But for those who want something that’s like an Android tablet experience that stays put and is always plugged in, AliExpress offers a 10″ 1280×800 Android 13 touchscreen device that includes two USB-A ports, HDMI out, Ethernet and a microSD slot in white or black finishes for a bit under $170 in a configuration that includes 2 GB of RAM and 16 GB of flash. Bumping the specs to 4 GB of RAM, 32 GB of flash, and Android 14 brings the price to almost $210. There’s also an option that includes the display in a portrait orientation. The devices are marketed as being for signage and kiosks, but could likely serve as a basic general computer.
Desktops
Retro Games goes full-size 32-bit with the A1200
Retro Games, Ltd. has won fans for its miniature recreations of classic computers like the Commodore 64, Atari 400, and Amiga 500. But the usable keyboards on its larger recreations of the Commodore 64/VIC-20 and ZX Spectrum have provided a more authentic retro experience. Now, the company has revealed plans for a full-sized Amiga recreation, the A1200, complete with a numeric keypad, gamepad, and mouse. Preorders should begin in November, but the products aren’t expected to ship until next June.
The Commodore 64 Ultimate gets the ultimate GUI of 1982
There have been no shortage of Commodore 64 revivals big and small. This fall, though, fans of the pioneering computer will get an official reboot from its new owner. While games have been the primary application behind modern recreations of classic computers, followed by a renewed exploration of BASIC, those computers also had their share of productivity applications. And some of those early applications ran in an early graphical interface called GEOS. Now, Commodore, Inc. has noted that GEOS will be included with all flavors of the Commodore 64 Ultimate, making it easier for those familiar with modern GUIs to find their ways around and making more of a distinction between consoles and true home computers with great game libraries.
Comm-adored 64: A retro reincarnation
If you’ve ever seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, you’ll remember Charlie Bucket’s joyous disbelief when (Spoiler Alert!), Willy Wonka tells him that he’s giving him the chocolate factory. Those emotions have no doubt been felt by Christian Simpson, the Commodore superfan YouTuber who has orchestrated the purchase of the Commodore trademarks and who has become the co-founder and CEO of the “new” Commodore.
Simpson has wasted little time in getting the band back together to launch a low-risk proposition, a reincarnation of the Commodore 64 with a few crucial nods to modern connectivity such as USB and HDMI. The Commodore 64. However, Commodore 64 fans recently had a crack at a reliving the product’s glory days via The C64, which, while designed primarily as a video game machine and based on emulation, can run virtually all Commodore 64 software. It even includes a VIC-20 mode!. (The company behind TheC64 also produced The Spectrum recreation of the ZX Spectrum, but hasn’t sold it in the U.S.)
In contrast, few of the Commodore 64’s contemporaries have gotten much in the way of a 21st Century reboot. In contrast to the beloved breadbox, enshrined as the best-selling computer model of all time, Sean Harrington has taken on one of the least popular computers of all time, the Mattel Aquarius. And since at least 2023, a Polish team called Revive Machines has been looking to do for the Atari 800XL what the new Commodore has done for the Commodore 64. Last month, they showed that they are getting close.