Australian hardware vendor Kogan released a new Android tablet with impressive specs, but the most notable of all is its price tag — the Agora tablet starts at just AUD$179.
What’s a tad peculiar about the low price of the Kogan Agora is the fact that it doesn’t give any impressions of being cheap or of low quality. The tablet has a 10-inch 4:3 1024×768 display, much like that of the iPad and iPad 2 at least in form, and ships with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. On the back is a 2MP camera and there’s no front-facing camera. The Agora is powered by a 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor and 1GB of RAM inside. The external design is pretty nice with a Samsung-esque look to it, but the materials used to build it are not disclosed.
The Agora has built-in WiFi, HDMI output, 3.5mm stereo output and a microSD card slot to expand the storage. The entry-level device comes with 8GB of internal memory for AUD$179 (about $177.) For AUD$20 more at AUD$199 (about $196,) the tablet’s storage doubles to 16GB, so I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t take advantage of the extra space for the small extra fee. Both models promise eight hours of battery life.
The Kogan Agora is only available for Australian residents. While its specs make it seem like a terrific buy, take caution. Cheap Android tablets often lack in build quality and long-term stability, so it’s generally a better idea to spend more money on a tablet to get a better value.