New Android Phone on the Market
Australian Entrepreneur Rulan Kogan has designed and produced the world's second Android phone, the Agora, and has done so in less than two months. In November, he announced his goal of an unlocked Android phone for only $199 by December 15th. While the goal wasn't completely fulfilled, the new phone, available in two versions, the Agora Pro (US $256) and the Agora (US $192) are available for pre-order with delivery on January 29, 2009.
The regular Agora boasts a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, 2.5" touchscreen, microSD slot, and 3G connectivity. The Pro version adds a 2MP camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS to the already impressive specifications. Both versions offer, among others things, one-touch Google search, a customizable home screen with instant email, text, and IM notifications, as well as instant access to mobile internet services such as Youtube and Google Maps.
In developing the phone, the company illicited input from its consumers via its blog to make “the design and features of the Kogan Agora appeal to both consumers and business users." said Kogan, adding, “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.” As a long time supporter of open source as well as Google, this project seemed a natural fit for the Kogan and his company.
To keep the cost down on the products Kogan designs, his company is completely online based, and builds its products in China. When designing the Agora, Kogan said his team "worked closely with manufacturers and vendors to develop drivers, software, and tweaks to make the Agora an intuitive and exciting experience for everyone."
Take a look at the full Agora specifications:
PRELOADED APPLICATIONS:
The regular Agora boasts a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, 2.5" touchscreen, microSD slot, and 3G connectivity. The Pro version adds a 2MP camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS to the already impressive specifications. Both versions offer, among others things, one-touch Google search, a customizable home screen with instant email, text, and IM notifications, as well as instant access to mobile internet services such as Youtube and Google Maps.
In developing the phone, the company illicited input from its consumers via its blog to make “the design and features of the Kogan Agora appeal to both consumers and business users." said Kogan, adding, “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.” As a long time supporter of open source as well as Google, this project seemed a natural fit for the Kogan and his company.
To keep the cost down on the products Kogan designs, his company is completely online based, and builds its products in China. When designing the Agora, Kogan said his team "worked closely with manufacturers and vendors to develop drivers, software, and tweaks to make the Agora an intuitive and exciting experience for everyone."
Take a look at the full Agora specifications:
PRELOADED APPLICATIONS:
- Gmail
- Google Search
- Google Calender
- Google Maps
- Google Talk
- YouTube
- 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
- Customizable 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)
- Android Operating System
- Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Calendar.
- 2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 262K QVGA (320 X 240 pixel) resolution
- Central Navigation Key
- QWERTY keyboard
- Keyboard backlighting
- GPS navigation capability (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate
- Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- 2.0 megapixel colour camera (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- Built-in microphone and speaker
- Headphone jack
- Ring tone formats: MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
- Video formats supported: MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
- Mail attachment support
- Viewable document types: JPEG, GIF, WBMP, MIDI, AMR, MP3, WAV
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm
- Weight: 130g
- Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
- Capacity: 1300 mAh
- Talk Time: Up to approximately 400 minutes
- Standby Time: Up to approximately 300 hours
- Processor: 624 MHz
- Memory
- ROM: 256 MB
- RAM: 128 MB
- microSD card expansion slot
- UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
- GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
