G1 Android gPhone already on sale down under

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 05 December 2008 06:57

IT Industry - Market

The CDN report report also suggests that HTC might soon be selling the G1 Android in Australia officially itself from next year, although with a much larger touch screen and all the “pro” features likely costing a lot more than the Kogan model.

This was based on an HTC briefing in the last couple of months where such hints were supposedly made, but whether this was bravado in front of journalists or a serious plan is yet to be seen.

Ruslan Kogan told APC Magazine that he would consider building a fullscreen Agora in the future, but that at the moment, the two configurations he now has on offer represented the best mix of technologies and capabilities at affordable prices. He also said that he'd received quite a few international orders, as I predicted would surely happen given the global interest in the Android platform. Kogan has even suggested he'd be happy to make Euro and US specific models, complete with appropriate chargers, should global interest continue.

Clearly with Kogan thinking of new designs, HTC itself must have long been planning the successor to the G1 Android gPhone.

Technological advancement is the natural order of progress, after all. No doubt Apple’s next iPhone, which we’re tentatively calling the iPhone 3.0 and expect to be released in June or July 2009, has features to surprise and delight us all, just as Steve Jobs (or is that Steve Mobs, as per the Simpsons episode?) always likes to do.

Nokia’s N97 is also very much a major contender, with its 32GB of storage, slide-out keyboard and numerous other features outshines may existing competitors, with the only downside being the N97 is not yet available for purchase.

Samsung’s Omnia phones, LG’s Renoir and even Windows Mobile phone maker imate, who has finally released its WM 6.1 OS upgrade and a new easy-to-use, iPhone-esque interface shows just how truly competitive this market is.

Kogan’s Agora is a firm line in the sand from an Australian technology company that could find itself riding an Android wave that could go around the world in orders and interest.

This is especially at the low, low prices Kogan is charging, which are even lower in US Dollars, UK Pounds, the Euro and other currencies.

Despite the “economic crisis”, and despite the last two years of incredible smartphone advances, from the Nokia N95 to the iPhone itself, 2009 is shaping up to be a massive year for smartphones.

Thank goodness there are devices that are usually purchased on a 24 month contract, thus spreading out the cost for consumers. Outright buy prices will still be expensive for all top end phones (save the two Kogan Agoras) but smartphone sales should still be strong worldwide in 2009, even if there are cutbacks elsewhere.

That’s my prediction, we’ll see what unfolds, while we closely track the Kogan Agora’s progress, and will bring you a review as soon as Kogan has review stock for journalists in the country.