Kogan Announces Australia’s First (Two) Android Phones
We knew it was coming, we just didn’t know anything about it. Well now we do: Australia’s first Android phone (and one of the first in the world) is called the Kogan Agora. A second handset that will launch at the same time goes by the self-explanatory moniker, Agora Pro. Both handsets are available to order now for $299 and $399 respectively, although they won’t ship until January 29 2009 to both Australian and international customers.
Spec-wise, there’s a 2.5-inch touchscreen LCD sitting right above a full-qwerty keyboard. It’s a tri-band HSDPA handset (running on the 850, 1900 and 2100 bands, so fine for NextG) and quadband GSM phone, measures in at 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm and weighs 130 grams. Inside there’s a 624MHz processor (not sure who from), 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM. There’s a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth 2.0 and all the Android apps we’ve been reading about from the US coverage of the G1.
On top of that, the Pro version adds GPS, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a 2.0-megapixel camera for an extra $100.
Obviously we’ll try and get our hands on one as soon as possible, but from the spec rundown and the photo supplied with the press release, I reckon Kogan’s on a winner here – historically the biggest problem has been their UI on their products, and with Android taking over that domain, this could well be the “smartphone for the rest of us” Android supporters have been looking for.
MELBOURNE, Thursday 4th December 2008 – Kogan Technologies today unveiled the Kogan Agora, the first Australian mobile phone powered by the Android™ operating system.
Kogan Technologies will sell the Agora for AU$299 and the Agora Pro for AU$399. Both models are available for sale today on www.kogan.com.au. The phones are sold outright – with no contract – and will work on any network.
The Kogan Agora (AU$299) features a full QWERTY keyboard, central navigation key, 2.5″ touchscreen, microSD slot, and 3G connectivity.
The Kogan Agora Pro (AU$399) adds a 2 MP camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS to the Agora’s impressive specifications.
Both models will ship to customers – in Australia and internationally – on January 29th 2009.
Kogan Technologies founder, Ruslan Kogan, said the Agora is proof that his company is achieving its goal of offering the latest technology at the best value prices.
“The Kogan team have been working very hard to bring out the exciting new phones powered by Google’s Android operating system at the right mix of price and specifications,” Kogan said.
“We’ve been listening to customers through our blog, and crammed in all the features we possibly could. The end result is the best value, fully-featured phone in the Australian market.
“We worked closely with manufacturers and vendors to develop drivers, software, and tweaks to make the Agora an intuitive and exciting experience for everyone.
“The design and features of the Kogan Agora makes the phone appeal to both consumers and business users.
“The Android operating system means the handset can capture and play music, photos and video, surf the web, play games, navigate, and organise your life with extremely powerful applications.”
Kogan has been a long time supporter of open source and Android™ provides a real alternative to Apple’s proprietary operating system for the iPhone.
“Google is a key player in developing efficient and innovative online solutions for customers around the world. The open source nature of Android means the operating system will continually improve over time,” Kogan said.
Some of the applications pre-loaded on the Kogan Agora are:
· Gmail™
· Google Search™
· Google Calender™
· Google Maps™
· Google Talk™
· YouTube™HIGHLIGHTS:
· 2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen
· Integrated QWERTY keyboard
· High-speed 3G network connection
· One-Touch Google Search ™
· Easy Web Browsing
· Easy-to-use email with attachment support for images, videos, music and documents
· Customisable Home Screen with instant Email, text message and IM notifications
· Instant access to mobile Internet services (Gmail ™, YouTube ™, Google Talk ™, Google Calendar ™, Google Maps ™)
· Music Player
· microSD™ expansion slot for all your storage needs
· Wi-Fi network access (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
· GPS navigation capability (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
· 2.0 megapixel camera (included with Kogan Agora Pro)SPECIFICATIONS:
Operating System
Android™
Google Mobile Functions
Google Search™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Maps™, Google Talk™, Google Calendar™.
Display
2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 262K QVGA (320 X 240 pixel) resolution
Device Control
Central Navigation Key
Keyboard
QWERTY keyboard
Keyboard backlighting
GPS
GPS navigation capability (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
Connectivity
Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11b/g (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
Camera
2.0 megapixel colour camera (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
Audio
Built-in microphone and speaker
Headphone jack
Ring tone formats:
· MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
Video
Video formats supported:
· MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
Mail attachment supportViewable document types:
· JPEG, GIF, WBMP, MIDI, AMR, MP3, WAV
Dimensions (HxWxD)
108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm
Weight
130g
Battery
Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
Capacity: 1300 mAh
Talk Time
Up to approximately 400 minutes
Standby Time
Up to approximately 300 hours
Processor MHz
624 MHz
Memory
ROM:
256 MB
RAM:
128 MBmicroSD™ card expansion slot
NetworkUMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
[Kogan]
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Comments
It actually does sound OK, except for the camera spec..
none on the base model and a tiny one on the upper model.
Surely the 2mp on the base and a 5mp (3 at least) on the Pro would be expected?
Nice. If Kogan deliver a good quality phone, I may have found my next device. Here’s hoping it’s actually decent!
This still seems a little suss to me.
Why is there a BlackBerry button on the device if its for Android.
Wow, this is unexpected and looks the goods! I’ll be in the market for a new phone soon, and was tossing up whether to buy an iPhone or maybe a blackberry bold (or even maybe a storm). This looks like a very attractive option! Since it’s selling through kogan does that mean there’s no way to get our hands on the device to see how it feels? ie, is it plasticy? How are the keys? how’s the touchscreen? etc, etc.
Maybe we’ll just have to wait for Giz to do a review? :)
do we finaly have an iphone killer? i hope so..
This is exactly what I want. A cheap phone that keeps up with all my google stuff and has mobile mapping. Will this work with a “Three” mobile service? If so, it looks like a fantastic idea.
Just noticed it’s not 900MHz HSDPA, so it’s a 3 (when they get NextG access) and Telstra phone more than an Optus/Voda Phone..
It’ll still work on Optus/Voda, but will drop to GSM in the country.
@StevoTheDevo: Megapixels on phone cameras are meaningless anyway…it’s the quality of the lens that will make a difference. If the camera is just for basic snaps (MMS or email)why bother putting more pixels in?
@Dave: Yes, it works on all Australian 3G networks.
It certainly looks decent and it’s pretty cheap compared to just about everything else. I’d give it a go, but I would prefer a sliding keyboard (X1 & Touch Pro style) and a bigger, hi-res screen.
no blackberry button/logo on the product shots on the kogan website… but its pretty easy to see where the “inspiration” for this phone came from.
It’s funny that even this product mockup still suffers from the analogue clock not matching the digital clock error that was discovered months ago.
And Dave, as it supports UMTS2100 it will work fine on 3 (though internet access may require some minor configuration to set the right network settings). As a bonus, it also supports UMTS850, so next year when 3 have ironed out their roaming arrangement for Telstra’s 850MHz network, you’ll be able to take advantage of that too.
Kogan, you’ve made me the happiest boy in this technologically bankrupt husk of a continent.
What will be the SAR value for this phone?
Has this been fully tested and approved by Telstra to operate on the Telstra NextG Network? The Big T have a habit of blocking the imei’s of non approved 850mhz devices operating on their NextG network