Kogan Agora Android Cell Phone is a Major Breakthrough

Every once in a while you read an opinion piece that is so misguided that it begs for a response. Such was the case with an article that appeared on Blorge, a site that I generally enjoy browsing. The article in question was by writer Gareth Powell and entitled, Kogan Agora Android is interesting, not a major breakthrough.

First things first, most people probably haven’t heard of Kogan. Kogan is a small Australian electronics company that sources products from manufacturers in China, presumably from some of the same manufacturers that produce things for more famous brands. A browse of the Kogan site reveals a respectable, but not mind-blowing range of electronics with the budget-minded gadget hound in mind. While most of the goods at Kogan are pretty standard fare, there are two products that are said to be coming later this month that are attracting a lot of interest from tech aficionados, namely the Android based cellular phone known as the Kogan Agora Android and it’s more powerful sibling, the Kogan Agora Android Pro.

As Powell rightly states, Kogan doesn’t make electronics, they buy them from China. Presumably they bundled together a list of specs, and discussed a production run with a manufacturer and presto, they got themselves an affordable phone that has some cool features, runs an open source operating system and that is not locked to any carrier. Without Wi-fi it will set you back AUD0, while Wi-fi will hit you up for another 0.

It is in the latter stages of his article that Powell goes hideously off course, sounding one part jilted lover and two parts tall poppy hater:

Now sort out something [from Alibaba] that looks a bit like the Kogan Android and drop them a line saying you want an unique machine and your initial order will be 1,000 units and there will be a bank guarantee. Having done that you are a breakthrough Android mobile phone maker. No risk.

Android is merely the system created by Google. A mobile phone designed to use it is not a major breakthrough. A mobile phone with Android and a lot of other gubbins thrown in is not difficult if you have a contact in Shenzhen and if you have built up a relationship — very, very important, called guangxi (sic) in Mandarin — with the manufacturer.

If you look at the pictures appearing on other sites you, too, will come to the published conclusion that: ‘the Agora is a little bit Blackberry, a little bit Treo — with a decent looking QWERTY keypad and square screen. In other words, quite different to the G1.’

True, it is a little bit of a lot of things. But mostly it is Chinese.

While the Kogan Agora Android might not be as pretty as an iPhone, but it looks quite good, has a nice clear touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard. In fact it has everything that you need in a 3G phone. It is not locked to any carrier and Kogan will ship it internationally. Sure, in China and Hong Kong there are plenty of cheaper cell phones to choose from, but such phones rarely make it outside of Asia and their quality varies greatly. Here we see what appears to be a well-designed phone, with a good set of features that is priced to move. It has been brought to market by a virtually unknown brand, which has succeeded in making the tech world aware of its existence and it is not locked to any carrier, so anyone can get one. All of these things make it a break through in my book.

Building your own phone might be as simple as finding a manufacturer, but building up a relationship takes a lot of time and ordering 1,000 units requires a reasonable amount of money. Ruslan Kogan has put his money on the line under the assumption that people will want his phone and it looks like it has paid off; and I want one.