Download the new Switched app for your iPhone

Skip to Content

Engadget for the iPhone: download the app now
AOL Tech

Filed under: Fun, Apple, iPhone

Commodore 64 vs. iPhone 3GS showdown

C64 vs. iPhone 3GSI have a confession to make: though I am an unabashed iPhone lover, nothing will ever top the infatuation I had with the Commodore 64. The C64 was my family's first computer, and it was soon to become my computer.

Harry McCracken over at the Technologizer blog latches onto a recent story about a Commodore 64 emulator (reputedly a very good one) that was rejected for entry into Apple's iPhone App Store due to the fact that code interpreters and emulators are expressly forbidden. Unfortunately, this appears to be a a blanket application of this rule, which seems to have been intended to block things like Adobe Flash, but the point is that it was blocked.

That story lead Harry to come up with a magnificent grid comparing the venerable C64 to the iPhone 3GS, a comparison which seems apt considering the fervent popularity of each platform.

A couple statistics from Harry's form really jumped out at me. For example, the iPhone already boasts over 50,000 software titles in the App Store. Compare that to only 10,000 titles total that were released for the Commodore 64 over the course of its life. Also, did you know that the iPhone's resolution is higher than the C64's was? The iPhone's display is 320 x 480, while the C64 sported a 320 x 200 pixel display.

The comparison grid isn't serious business; it's clearly intended to have some fun with a couple iconic computing devices, and for me at least it hits home.

jobs & resumes
Mac Support Technician

Kerdan - Cambridge, MA (2 weeks ago)

See More Relevant Jobs ›

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Featured Time Waster

Level Up! A platform-hopping RPG Time-Waster

I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before. Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...

View more Time Wasters


Follow us on Twitter!

More Tech Coverage

Joystiq

TUAW

DailyFinance

Autoblog

Urlesque

Engadget

WoW

Switched.com

FanHouse