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Kogan launches a budget Android tablet
LITTLE KNOWN electronics maker Kogan has launched a 7-inch Android tablet called the Agora in the UK, priced from just £89.
The Agora tablet has a capacitive touchscreen with 800x480 resolution. It is driven by a 1GHz Samsung ARM Cortex A8 processor and 512MB of RAM. It has only 4GB of internal storage, but at that price you should be able to fork out for a microSD card to supplement the available data storage.
The tablet is a respectable 390g and 12.4mm thick. There is no rear facing camera but the Agora does have a front facing 1.3MP camera and a microphone for video calling. A miniUSB port is present along with a miniHDMI port and a headphone socket.
The tablet runs Android 2.2 and comes with WiFi connectivity and a G sensor. Kogan says that the device supports HD 720p playback and the gadget also comes with an HDMI cable.
The specifications are comparable to those of the Archos 70 Internet Tablet which sells for more than double the price of the Agora. Kogan's tablet is also cheaper than other budget tablets that we are seeing appear, like the ones from Elonex that we saw earlier this week at the Gadget Show Live.
For such a rock bottom price, the specifications are pretty reasonable, so if you're looking for a tablet that won't break the bank then the Kogan Agora could be worth a shout. µ
Tags: Hardware
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Got this in an email about my Kogan Tablet order:
"Now compatible with 3G USB Dongles - stay online on the go! - (may require software update)"
720p is for HDMI output only. On the screen it will be downscaled of course.
I asked Kogan sales dept for availability outside the UK/AU and they said no. Only UK/AU sales.
On a 480 pixel screen? How's that then? Or does it just mean the source video can be 720p and it's downconverted?
In the Kogan UK site: AVAILABILITY :Expected dispatch date: 27th May 2011
Be quick or pay £119, the £89 price is a LivePrice only. So you need to wait 40+ days. And to expect delays and so. I never buy non-existent products (like preorders or liveprice).
THEY HAD A SALE RECENTLY, I BOUGHT THE ARCHOS 70 "HT" (HOME TABLET) AGAINST MY BETTER JUDGMENT, BUT I DID WANT TO GET A TABLET TO TRY OUT FOR CHEAP.
THE BEST THING ABOUT THE TABLET FAD IS THAT THEY CAUSED THE BOTTOM TO FALL OUT OF THE MARKET FOR LAPTOP COMPUTERS. I GOT A BRAND NEW AS7745G-3053 FOR $500, THAT'S WITH THE I5 AT 2.53GHZ, 8GB RAM, ATI 5650 VIDEO, DUAL 500GB HDDS, BLURAY PLAYER/DVD BURNER + BLUTOOTH AND GIGABIT + WIRELESS N. ITS THE MOST KICK-ASS COMPUTER I EVER OWNED AND NOBODY WANTS THIS FORM FACTOR ANYMORE. SHRUG!
At that price there is no room for complaints.
Android 2.x = phone
I dunno how or what he does, but Mr.Kogan looks like such an Aussie bogan, it's hard to believe he's cobbled together a home-grown electronics firm. (Albeit, the goods are manufactured in China).
Kogan products are renowned for being cheap and have been pretty low build-quality in the past. But recently they've apparently improved build-quality a LOT without lifting their prices. I haven't checked out any of their products myself, I'm going by reviews in the reliable and pedestrian Australian PC User mag which also reviews consumer electronics a bit.
Also, I thought Nick Farrell was the Inq agent in Australia?!
The original spec listed Bluetooth, but that seems to have vanished now... Pity
Because that seems insanely cheap for something that can play 720p video.