Kogan Agora smartphone combines mid-range specs

When discussing new and emerging technology, it's natural to emphasize high-end products. After all, the low-end devices often sport components that were high-end several years before. But highly affordable technology can be significant in its own right. Like, for example, a 5-inch, dual-core smartphone that costs US$150 off-contract.

• 
• 
• 

Mid-range in the bargain bin

The phone is the Agora, and it's the creation of Australian electronics manufacturer and online retailer Kogan (who previously brought us budgettablets and laptops). It sports a 5-inch display, with a dual core 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and dual-SIM support. It even has a 5 MP rear camera and a front-facing shooter. Those aren't cutting edge specs, but for the bargain bin, you can do much worse.

The Kogan Agora has obvious limitations. 800 x 480 resolution on a 5-inch display is far from "Retina." It's running a year-old version of Android (Ice Cream Sandwich). It only has 4 GB of internal storage (though it's expandable with a microSD card), and there's no 4G of any kind.

Bang for your buck

But what do you expect? High-end phones typically cost more on-contract than the Agora does off. As Kogan's PR team spins it: $149 gets you 23 percent of a Galaxy Note, 22 percent of an iPhone 4S, or 100 percent of the Agora. Its quality isn't on par with those devices, but its price-to-quality ratio might be.