Saw yesterday pictures of an upcoming mobile phone with Android. And read and saw amazed the specs and pictures of this device. Especially the prize took me by surprise. $299 Australian Dollar.
The new KOGAN AGORA offers:
- 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.
- Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
- microSD™ expansion slot for all your storage needs.
Well – I’ve never heard of this company, which is claimed to be 100% Australian owned. (Is this good?). The Name Kogan sounds familiar to me, but I gave Wikipedia a shot:
Kogan: is a popular Russian version of Jewish surname Cohen
Wikipedia offers for Agora this:
The agora is a denomination of the currency of Israel.
or what is more likely (IMO):
The Agora was an open “place of assembly” in ancient Greek city-states.
So I think it about the place Agora offers you in any king of form. Storage: Internal 256MB and external MicroSD slot, place for your thoughts, ideas, and the ability to share it with others connected via the Internet due to the variety of communication possibilities. And the circumstance not being constrained by a closed source operating system. Well – sure, “place of assemply” could also mean: Asian parts assempled in Australia. But that slogen fits for all, i think ;-).
The Pro version of this phone should also offer a 2megapixel cam and a GPS device for $399 Australian Dollar. All costs without shipping (+$44.85AUD). Very very tempting.
All sound like too good to be true. The design is nice and held in a Blackberry alike style. Display with its 320×240 resolution and 2,5″ diameter is small but it’s a touch-screen though. The body is flat, what looks really sexy, and the black and reflecting finish hits the zeitgeist like the look of Windows Vista and KDE4/Plasma. A 2 megapixel cam, WiFi (WLAN) and GPS will be available in the Pro version and HSDPA, EDGE, UMTS, GPRS, Bluetooth is a default connectivity feature in both versions. The size of the body is 108 x 64 x 14,8 mm (4.25 x 2.52 x 0.58 inch) is a compromise about a qwerty-keyboard + display and handiness. Both devices will have the same weight. Odd, but that’s the facts: 130 Gramm / 4.58 ounce.
I’ve checked out there site, to see if I could make an order or a pre-order.
And yes – I can do a pre-order. The site states also:
“PRE-ORDER NOW TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT
DEMAND WILL EXCEED SUPPLY!”