14 DAY TRIAL // Following the G1, we have not seen any other Android device, with rumors spreading fast and saying that the next one will come from China. However, these rumors have turned out to be false, for as you can see, Australia was the next destination for the Android OS. Thus, the Agora was born, produced by Kogan Technologies.
Should you be looking for a well-built, good looking business-like smartphone, Kogan has prepared two devices for you: the Kogan Agora and the Kogan Agora Pro, which packs several extra features. With all that, the focus of this article will be on the Agora.
Being a GSM/EDGE phone, with a 624 MHz processor, 258MB of ROM and 128MB of RAM, it's obvious that the Agora is more than worth considering, as you will probably also come to see even before this brief presentation is over. The Agora also comes with a 1300 mAh battery, which should be functional for 400 minutes of talk time, and approximately 300 hours in standby. Next up comes the audio experience, which is a pretty formidable one, using the built-in microphone and speaker plus the headphone jack.
As for the most impressive features this Kogan has to offer, this is where the 2.5'' QVGA 262K (320x240 pixel) TFT LCD flat touch-sensitive screen and the QWERTY keyboard come into play. On top of that, on the Pro version, we also have the additions of the 2.0 Megapixel camera, which may not be much, but is better than nothing, the Wi-Fi support and the GPS navigation system, all of them presenting a much more appealing and detailed bigger picture. Adding to this the central navigation key, the 3G connectivity and the microSD card slot, we find that the Agora has somehow managed to surpass our initial expectations, especially should we consider the price tag it comes with.
Despite all these specs, the fact that this device runs using the Android system overshadows it all of a sudden, in the sense of having to deal here with a highly advertised operating system. Nonetheless, this can only mean good news for this Australian creation, mainly because of the services provided by Google on top of the great OS. Among these applications, the “stars of the show” are the one-touch, Google search, Gmail, YouTube, GoogleTalk, GoogleMaps and GoogleCalendar. As a plus, all Internet services are very easy to manage, while the email service is flawless.
“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. [...] The Android operating system means the handset can capture and play music, photos and video, surf the web, play games, navigate, and organize your life with extremely powerful applications.” Ruslan Kogan, the founder of Kogan Tech, proudly declared regarding the release.
The Kogan Agora is to be available for a price of AU$299, while, for those looking for better capabilities, the Pro version will be priced at AU$399. Both models will go on sale starting January 29.
