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Kogan posts

Kogan's Twitter reading, Facebook browsing digiframe

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 23rd 2009 at 10:51AM

Let's face it: digital picture frames are kind of lame. But companies seem to think that if they keep throwing more features at us we're going to suddenly decide that we actually want an extra 800 x 600 display that does nothing but flash pictures of the yokels we were escaping when we hitchhiked out of Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, at the tender age of 16. To that end, Kogan's 8-inch WiFi LCD digiframe packs in a number of tricks we've seen before, and a few we haven't: it accepts photos via email, RSS feeds, Flickr, and Facebook. Email pics to a central address and see them displayed on a group of these things. The free SeeFrame app for iPhone even lets you send images directly from your handset. Or if Twitter's your bag, you can apparently view your feed on the thing as well. Sound great? All this can be yours for a not-so-cool AUD $169 (about $139 in the States). Now all you need are some friends -- friends with digital cameras (or access to a scanner). Sadly, not even Kogan can help you there.

Read - Look where they're Twittering at you now: from a photo frame
Read - Kogan 8-inch WiFi LCD Digital Photo Frame

Continue reading Kogan's Twitter reading, Facebook browsing digiframe

Kogan's Bluetooth GPS watch is not for the fashion forward

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Mar 16th 2009 at 9:54AM

If we have one word of advice for folks looking to get into the tech game (that is, besides "why bother?") it would probably be "set the bar low." Don't try to change the world with an unlocked 3G Android handset until you've mastered the basics, like maybe a netbook or, better yet, a watch. Of course, it would be a bit much to expect a true visionary to stop short of a humble timepiece. To this end, Kogan's rebranding that old Mainnav chronometer, the one that packs Bluetooth, a GPS receiver, a temperature sensor, speedometer, pedometer, altimeter, and Google Earth functionality into a package that most of us would probably rather not be seen wearing in public. Available for AUS $129 (about US $85).

[Via SlashGear]

$320 Kogan Agora netbook gets the hands-on treatment, Aussie-style

by Tim Stevens posted Mar 12th 2009 at 7:44AM

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.

Kogan promises Linux netbook in "weeks," we have our doubts

by Darren Murph posted Feb 24th 2009 at 10:44AM

Ruslan Kogan, the Australian who built up our hopes only to let them down recently with his make believe Agora, is back with more outlandish promises, and for whatever reason, we think he actually expects us to just believe him this time. During a recent interview, Kogan noted that he would like to be taking orders for a Linux-based netbook that he designs and specs in as little as "two to two and a half weeks." He's expecting to sell the 10-inch machines for around $529 to $539, which will buy you an Intel Atom processor, 160GB of HDD space, 1GB of RAM and a decent amount of magical pixie dust, we imagine. In related news, Kogan's also hoping to have OLED TVs out within just a few months and region-free BD decks shortly thereafter. See, our skepticism isn't that unwarranted, now is it?

Back to the drawing board: Kogan working on a redesigned Agora

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 27th 2009 at 12:23PM

It's always fun to root for the little guy, but more importantly, it's fun to root for the $200 unlocked Android phone with 3G, right? It wasn't clear what would become of Ruslan Kogan's dream of building his own Android set after Google apparently told him the Agora's design wasn't such a good idea, but let's be honest: the dude probably didn't build his Australian off-brand electronics empire by giving up every time he hit a bump in the road. We talked to Ruslan today to confirm reports that there's a new model in the works, and he assured us that his company is "certainly in the process of redesigning and launch [sic] the improved Kogan Agora" -- which presumably means he'll be putting a phone onto the market that'll overcome the app compatibility issues that kept the original model from shipping this month. We don't have a timeframe yet, but considering how quickly he was able to pump out the first draft, we wouldn't be surprised to see something within a handful of months.

Kogan 'not aware' of sketchy Agora clone

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 21st 2009 at 3:38AM

Only in the bizarro world of KIRF can canceled, nonexistent handsets be cloned and released in quantities of 100 for just $240 a pop, and by all accounts, that's what has happened -- already -- to poor Ruslan Kogan and his doomed Agora. The Aussie with an admirable desire to get one of the first Android devices on the market recently had to delay his pet project indefinitely over compatibility concerns, but knockoffs running knockoff OSes have no such concerns, which is where the lovely Shining phone comes into play. After seeing the all-too-familiar render, Kogan contacted iTWire to say that "I am not aware of this manufacturer and I have doubts that it runs Android OS. It is certainly not what the Agora was going to be or in anyway related to it." 'Course, all it'd take is a couple chats over dinner between Chinese ODMs for Kogan's design to get recycled running something less than Android -- and granted, the Shining isn't identical to the Agora, but the similarities are striking, are they not?

"Shining" phone steals a little Agora magic

by Nilay Patel posted Jan 20th 2009 at 6:02AM

Okay, we don't really know what's going on here, but a "Shining" phone that looks almost exactly like the original version of the Kogan Agora Android phone just popped up on Alibaba with a three-day delivery time and a 100-unit wholesale price of $240. Of course, the Agora was just delayed indefinitely, so this could just be nothing; contracting design and development out to faceless Chinese manufacturers like Kogan's doing is pretty much a deal with the KIRF devil, and those are definitely renders on the site, not actual pictures. Still, we're dying to see a flood of non-G1 Android handsets shake up the mobile market, and if getting stoked over sketchy Asian copies of semi-vaporware Australian phones is how we have to get our kicks, well, we're looking for new friends with an extra 24 grand and a healthy sense of forgiveness.

[Thanks, Raymanism]

So close, yet so far: Kogan Agora delayed indefinitely

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 16th 2009 at 12:48AM

Oh, Kogan -- we were so, so hopeful that you weren't peddling vaporware, and the latest indications seemed to suggest that the Agora and Agora Pro were very much real devices. We wanted to root for the little guy, get another Android handset out into the unlocked market, review it, and love it to death. Unfortunately, scrappy Australian entrepreneur Ruslan Kogan has decided to delay the launch of his independently-designed phones indefinitely citing concerns over compatibility with future Android apps -- concerns that were likely raised in a hush-hush meeting he'd recently scored with Google. One issue, it seems, is that the Agora's screen resolution won't likely play nice with Android apps going forward; that doesn't seem quite right since the form factor is totally standard, but who really knows? The dude's had working prototypes on video, so we can't totally write it off just yet.

[Thanks Alex Z., and everyone who sent this in]

Kogan's Android-powered Agora gets handled on video

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 7th 2009 at 1:03AM

Color us believers, friends. Not only did we catch the Agora in full glorious -- albeit blurry -- color yesterday, we're now seeing it handled by some lucky type who owns a video cam that's able to focus. We're pretty stoked about this device and with a dash of luck we may have a chance to check it out ourselves in the next few days. Video follows the break.

[Thanks, Vuki]

Continue reading Kogan's Android-powered Agora gets handled on video

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

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 5th 2009 at 10:42PM

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.

Kogan's Agora gets tweaked ahead of release -- in Photoshop, anyway

by Chris Ziegler posted Dec 13th 2008 at 3:47PM

You're bound to face a few hiccups when you're a no-name brand trying to source an Android handset from a no-name ODM buried deep inside a Shenzen industrial park, and it seems Kogan's going through those growing pains right about now. The Australian company still says the Agora and Agora Pro will ship before the end of January (barely), but it looks like they're down to the wire with tweaks to the phone's design. For starters, the soft keys are gone -- not much use for those in Android anyway, last we checked -- replaced with a decidedly WinMo-esque set of home and back keys; the keyboard's been redesigned, too, and the d-pad is looking more usable than it had been before. For the Agora's price point, we're still sold on this thing -- but only if we can get something more than a printout of a pretty render delivered to our doorstep.

[Thanks, Big Mike]

Kogan intros world's second Android phone: Agora / Agora Pro

by Darren Murph posted Dec 3rd 2008 at 10:23PM

We'll be totally honest -- we pretty much blew Ruslan Kogan off when he proclaimed that he was about to push out a $199 Android phone by the year's end. And truthfully, the guy still hasn't totally delivered, but you won't find us kvetching about more Googlephones, regardless of MSRP. The Agora (AU$299; US$192) and Agora Pro (AU$399; US$256) are available for pre-order as we speak, though neither one is scheduled to ship out until the end of January. For those unfamiliar with Kogan, it's an online-only enterprise that has wares built specifically to its dimensions in China, and so far as we can tell, it's as legit as they come. As for specs, the Agora packs a 2.5-inch touchscreen (320 x 240), 3G networking, a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD card slot; the Pro adds in GPS, 2-megapixel camera and WiFi. So, with unsubsidized prices this low, are you willing to take a chance?

[Via iTWire]