Kogan Agora phablet hands-on (video)

[ ](http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/09/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/)

[Kogan](http://www.engadget.com/tag/kogan) has released a budget-friendly [netbook](http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/12/320-kogan-agora-netbook-gets-the-hands-on-treatment-aussie-sty/) ([back when](http://www.engadget.com/2012/07/08/the-netbook-legacy/) netbooks existed), [laptop](http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/02/kogan-agora-is-worlds-first-google-chromium-os-laptop-ships-ne/) and [tablet](http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/29/kogan-agora-ics-tablet/), and now its got a new product to show us here at [CES](http://www.engadget.com/tag/ces2013) -- the Agora smartphone. It's verging on phablet territory with a 5-inch screen (800 x 480 resolution), and running the whole show is a dual-core 1 GHz Cortex-A9 processor and half a gig of RAM. A 5-megapixel shooter with flash is found top-center on the back, and a 0.3-megapixel camera off to the right of the speaker grille on the front. Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich is the OS of choice here, kept alive by a 2,000 mAh battery nestled under the textured back panel. Right next to that power source is space for two SIMs, and a microSD slot to boost the 4GB of on-board storage (up to 64GB cards supported).

Those specs should tell you that the Agora isn't aimed at the high end, but despite that, the build quality is solid. The square handset looks alright, too. We liked the dimpled back panel and prominent metal Kogan logo, as well as the shiny dark grey rim holding it all together. It's not exactly a retina screen, but it's not notably terrible, and performance-wise, it ranged from slick to jittery depending on how fast and how much we were telling it to do. We'll save the [Note II](http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/08/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-review/) comparisons, apart from the only stat you really need to know -- the Agora smartphone costs $149 (£119 in the UK). Pre-orders are live on Kogan's website now, and units should be hitting hands mid-February or earlier. We're assured the launch will go ahead without a hitch (various difficulties prevented a previous phone from reaching market). Check out the gallery and hands-on video below for more info.

_Kevin Wong contributed to this report._

**Gallery: [Kogan Agora phablet hands on](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/)**

[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/5555994)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/5555992)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/5555993)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/5555991)[](http://www.engadget.com/photos/kogan-agora-phablet-hands-on/5555995)

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Filed under: [Cellphones](http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/), [Mobile](http://www.engadget.com/category/mobile/)

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