Android-powered Kogan Agora meets Mr. Blurrycam on way to CES debut

Okay, yes, we were mad skeptical that the Agora would ever see the light of day, and you know what? This is one situation where we're absolutely delighted to be proven wrong. Kogan's homegrown Android handset just got pictured in the wild -- the first time we've seen anything but a render -- on its way to a supposed CES debut. Rest assured: if it's really going to be meandering around Vegas this week, we will hunt it down.

[chambo622 @ Jan 5th 2009 10:47PM]

gotta love engadget...mr. blurrycam...

[brandon @ Jan 5th 2009 11:09PM]

Helloooooooooooooo, Blurrycam!!!
How would we conspire without him???

[dan! @ Jan 5th 2009 10:47PM]

ces, i love u

[refriedbeans19 @ Jan 5th 2009 10:48PM]

@_@

[Ahmad @ Jan 5th 2009 10:49PM]

It looks like a Pantech Slate with a slightly altered keyboard.

[Jonathan Tyler @ Jan 5th 2009 10:51PM]

Hellooooo Bezel.

I wonder if acts as a mirror, too.

[Jonathan Tyler @ Jan 5th 2009 10:51PM]

If.. It acts.

[RD. @ Jan 5th 2009 11:38PM]

Werd. Definitely glad I didn't pre-order. It's not ready to run with the big dogs just yet.

[decapitor @ Jan 5th 2009 10:53PM]

If I could just find Mr. Blurrycam I'd buy him a real camera and free him of his cell phone camera dillusions.

[Chase @ Jan 5th 2009 11:00PM]

i havent heard that one before...

[good grief @ Jan 5th 2009 10:52PM]

Mr. Blurrycam meets Mr. Bezelphone

[iB3nji @ Jan 5th 2009 10:53PM]

i really don't like this in non-promotional photos like this, the device looks way better on the kogan website. Whats with the silver boarder around the screen??

[neodorian @ Jan 5th 2009 11:06PM]

Lokks kinda like a Blackjack. Screen needs to take up more of the front but otherwise pretty nice looking phone.

[shugg @ Jan 6th 2009 2:01AM]

wow.,this phone will tank hard here in the usa.mark my words.,android needs to get with the times.....usa cellmarket is too competitive for a boring looking phone.has no future.

[CJ @ Jan 6th 2009 5:35AM]

Let me guess shugg; iphone is bettter u dont know anything about.

[Malaycobra @ Jan 5th 2009 11:40PM]

"Okay, yes, we were mad skeptical that the Agora would ever see the light of day"
So I guess this handset is "Agoraphobic" ??

Sorry, couldn't help it...

[bdewong @ Jan 6th 2009 12:34PM]

Yeah, I think that was what they were going for

[TareX @ Jan 5th 2009 11:45PM]

It has to be dirt cheap to sell with that huge bezel surrounding that freakishly small low-res screen. Yuck.

[Alex @ Jan 5th 2009 11:48PM]

Looks nice! Any idea if a carrier will be picking this baby up? If so, which one?

[digitallysick @ Jan 5th 2009 11:54PM]

Looks like about a half inch black bezel all the way around? wtf?

[Valter @ Jan 6th 2009 10:52AM]

OMG, what's with the bezel? Android is attracting all sorts of weird form factors, first G1 now this? WTF?. This is definitely not ready for primetime. I'll wait for the G2, thks

[shugg @ Jan 6th 2009 1:03AM]

wow, this is a piece of shhh, oops better not say it.when i hear the so very overhyped android word, i start to think. ok these people will make the "iphonekiller" one of these years. hopefully before jobs kicks the bucket. but when i see clunky,weak,2001 like handsets it makes me realize iphonekiller is nowhere in sight. to think they gonna display that at ces is embarassing.,unless im wrong,does anyone think this is the "iphonekiller"????????

[MobileGeek @ Jan 6th 2009 1:34AM]

Why is it every fanboi assumes that all phones produced since the iphone have to be just like it (or be the proposed iphonekiller)? Rather than just realize the iphone does what it does well nothing more nothing less and isn't the end all in phones....

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 6th 2009 7:37AM]

This thing isn't intended to be an iPhone killer in any way. It's a low-end smartphone that uses Android because it's cheaper and nicer than WinMo. This phone is supposed to be $200 unlocked, that's significantly cheaper than the iPhone, which means it isn't in the same class.

[Landon @ Jan 6th 2009 9:23AM]

Must be a dee dee deeee....

[1n4b4 @ Jan 6th 2009 1:58AM]

The fact that it only costs 399 aussie bucks and wasn't locked in to any carrier made me want to buy this but now that I see the screen bezel.......ugh.

[arphaus @ Jan 6th 2009 2:16AM]

What were they thinking with the bezel?! Back to waiting for the next Android phone...

[BritSwedeGuy @ Jan 6th 2009 4:15AM]

If you're going to photograph a camphone, what better than a camphone?

[Theli @ Jan 6th 2009 5:37AM]

Reminds me a bit of the first EEE-PC (considering the bezel).
http://xtreview.com/images/Asus%20Eee%20PC%20701.jpg

I'm sure the phone will be usable, but judging from screenshots of the operating system running on different devices, Android appears more suitable for higher resolution screens. I think I'll wait.

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 6th 2009 7:40AM]

It is extremely easy to legitimately replace the home screen in Android (it's just another java program with a certain option flipped in its settings file to declare itself to be a home screen). It seems lazy for these guys to attempt to shoe-horn the home screen designed for the G1 (HVGA Touchscreen) onto this thing when it was fully within their power to make their own custom QVGA screen tailored to this hardware without even screwing with the Android source code.

[Homeboy @ Jan 6th 2009 7:39AM]

MOAR BEZL PLZ!!1

[Asby @ Jan 8th 2009 4:44PM]

*groans*
Does anyone here actually believe that bezel will stay silver? It's pre-production.
The bezel also isn't any bigger than the render on the website, the silver just draws attention to it.

It's a Au$299 (or 399 for the Pro) Android Smartphone.
It's cheap and not half bad when you look at the specs.

Why do so many people feel the need to just whine?