We admit to being more than a little
skeptical when Ruslan Kogan, Aussie tech entrepreneur, promised a cheap netbook within weeks, after his Agora smartphone
stumbled out of the gates, but sure enough he's come through, making a run down to
Australian PC Authority with a very working prototype of his upcoming netbook -- confusingly also called the Agora. What he demonstrated was a fairly standard 10-inch netbook package, featuring an Atom N270, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard disk, and a 3-cell battery, as well as a Pro model with twice the RAM and battery, both available with gOS and, eventually, Windows 7. What makes this upcoming model notable is the price: the cheaper model is expected to retail for $499 AUD, which in American dollars is just a tick over $320, while the Pro will go for $549 AUD, or about $355 US. Both models are expected to drop down under next month, and while no domestic release was confirmed, at that price this is one import we wouldn't mind seeing come up over.
posted March 12th 2009 7:44AM
A "pro" netbook?
"I have a Kogan Agora netbook" just doesn't sound cool.
Just the kind of netbook the world has more than enough of already...
True, but doesn't this one have the lowest price?
I suppose once you throw Windows in there it will go up some....
A little bit cheaper maybe, but then again I'd rather pay a tiny bit more for an established brand that can offer proper support etc.
This just a clone of
- Eco Buddy
- Sotec DC101 :
- Sotec Hello Kitty C1
- A10 Mini Laptop
- Olevia X10A
Again, nothing new here
I thought it looked familiar. As you say, this is a turnkey oem netbook.
I'm in the UK and from all the netbook I've heard that the best one is the Samsung NC10, so I went to PCWORLD and they dont sell it anymore!!! the alternatives they tried to show me just doesnt fit the bill, either they have a 3cell battery life at the same price as the NC10 or they don't have bluetooth, or they have an ugly glossy screen. I now wish I had brought the NC10 when it was available.
Nice story. Totally relevant to this topic...
Its not really. I had to let it out at some point, you know let out my frustration Detective L.
Reason PC World probably don't sell the NC10 any more is the same reason they delayed selling the EEE PC 901 (one of the other best netbooks). The NC10 has received such positive reviews (mainly due to battery life and versatility) that it's outselling all else. This leaves such resellers with unsold stock of lesser hardware. Us geeks know what's good for us, but the people who visit PC World, Curry's and similar do not really know what they are doing (not their fault), so will just buy what the sales guy says. It's all about moving boxes, not selling the best product. (Sadly.) Of course, I may be wrong and they may be clearing out to prepare for the NC20, but not that convinced.
Anyone who can open a high street store selling only the top rated hardware would be onto something - for those of us who prefer to buy in bricks and mortar.
Sure you can find the NC10 online if you're not bothered about buying away from bricks and mortar. BTW, I got to play with an NC10 for a day and thought it great.
Or, because O2 have them now with mobile BB contracts...
if you want to get it online, here is a link, you might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere
http://www.priceinspector.co.uk/p/Samsung%20NC10/f/desc,True/
as an owner of the samsung nc10, I believe it it worth the plunge, I use it everyday for all my computing needs, and it doesn't slow down, within windows 7, I have about 5 and a half hours of battery life, in xp I got about 6 and a half, but i switched to windows 7 a few month, meaning the battery could have lost a bit of charge. Linux, except for Fedora, doesn't work very well on here, apparently many people are having trouble with ubuntu on it.
Also, If you want to, they now make a black nc10 that has an extremely high capacity 6 cell battery that gets 9.5 hours of battery life, but costs about $500, on the other hand, you can get a 9 cell battery for the samsung nc10, which will get some insane amount of battery life also.
Basically, go buy it, it has lowered in price since when I got it. It is a great and sturdy machine, my only regret is not holding out for the high capacity battery model
Netbooks. What a laugh.
3 cell batt, 1 GB ram, 10 inch screen.
I suppose even welfare recipients deserve to download porn too.
Can't you get similarly specced netbooks from Dell and Acer for $250?
Didn't anybody else get the down under/up over joke? :/
i lol'd.
yeah, but it wasn't hilarious.
Trust me, "up over" jokes aren't funny. We've heard them a million times.
sweet.. gettin one!..
decent price (locally), unless someone can tell me where in oz i can get a simillarly specced net top for cheaper?
I've just posted a VIDEO hands-on with the Kogan Agora Netbook at my podcast, Midnight Update. http://www.midnightupdate.com/ The founder dropped by the studio today to give me a look. We didn't have long, so ran over the specs, took a quick tour of gOS, and ran some boot tests side-by-side with gOS and Windows 7 (Windows 7 is looking damn fine on a netbook!) Hardware is no great leap forward, but this is all about the price point.
Interviews from the FUUUUTURE!
GF's like - "Wait, it's not the 13th..." . "Was shot in Australia hun." I reply.
Did he take an Eee and slap a badge on it - looks that way...
I was hoping he was going to do an Android netbook. Imagine:
1) TI OMAP ARM processor (very low power consumption)
2) Convertible Tablet/Swivel Screen form factor, 9" screen
3) Standard netbook stuff (Wifi, USB slots, external VGA display)
4) Gobs of battery and RAM
5) Options for 4GB/8GB/16GB of internal storage (not a ton compared to other netbooks, but a ton compared to other Android devices)
6) One or two full size SDHC card slots
7) An internal PCI Express Card slot, for WWAN
I'd probably buy that.
Good God that thing is ugly.
ugh, gOS...