A lot of visitors to GizmoHeaven have been searching for info on the Android powered Agora. I was about to write a pre-release review when the bombshell was dropped two days ago by Kogan head honcho Ruslan Kogan on his company website;
“I’m disappointed to have to tell you that the Kogan Agora has to be delayed indefinitely.
This delay comes due to potential future interoperability issues.
The Agora did reach a very late stage of development. Manufacturing had commenced and it was a matter of days from being shipped to … ”

Due to be released at the end of this month, and after several long delays, it seems the plug has been permanently pulled from this much anticipated android powered gadget.

Originally to be an iPhone like device complete with touch screen at a much cheaper price, the Agora was to be the first android based phone to be released in Australia. Kogan also promised the Agora would be in the $199 price range.

The Kogan Agora

As it turned out the Kogan is a BlackBerry copy, with a lower resolution screen (320 x 240), and costing $299 for the standard Agora,or $399 for the Agora Pro which includes WiFi, GPS and a 2 megapixel camera.
And therein lies the reason given for the latest delay. Kagan says; “I now believe that in order to access all the Android platform has to offer, the Agora must be redesigned.”
The screen resolution would have been substandard for Googles Android applications, and the Agora would have come face to face with the real deal when the G1 gets released in Australia through Optus shortly.

At the original price range, and the promise of being able to purchase the Agora free of any lock in contract created a buzz, and put the Agora on a lot of wish lists. Many had already pre-ordered through the Kogan website.

As Kogan’s mantra is cutting out the middle man by manufacturing, importing and retailing straight to the customer, he has delivered in the past and has built a good following in the tech community and simple consumers alike. So there was no reason to doubt Kogan would deliver on his Agora dream.

So for now the Agora saga continues…..

Building on the good looks and functions of last years E61, Nokia has added a little more fire power to their E71 in the battle of the smartphones.

What you’ll notice first is the supper slim, solid design with elegant metallic finish. Weighing in at 127 grams Nokia have trimmed a little fat to make the E71 a 10mm thin pocket friendly unit. As well as looking good the metal finish avoids those nasty finger prints that other black finish phones attract.

Having a full QWERTY keyboard on a slim portable smartphone is like walking a tightrope. How small do you make the buttons without upsetting those with slightly pudgy fingers? Nokia have almost got it right, the 37 buttons on the keyboard are just big enough, and are dome shaped to distinguish each from the next. Mistakes and mishits are common at first, but you do get used to the key spacing. Having fingernails helps greatly!!

The center menu navigation button on the other hand needs to be worked on. Maybe raising it slightly from the key-pad would prevent accidental pressing and opening of the application buttons on either side….

The screen resolution is a ho-hum 320 x 240 pixels 2.36 inch, compared to the Blackberry Bold’s dazzling 480 x 320 2.6 inch display. While the screen shines brightly, the dull colors and bland icons are a little spartan, simple and unsophisticated. This was a calculated move and contributes to E71′s excellent speedy performance. But of course you can download more exiting themes and icons to brighten your phone up.

Housing a 3.2 mega-pixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, the E71 takes great pic’s in daylight but is lacking when lighting is low. Those that like to be quick off the draw when a good photo opportunity comes up will be peeved. The omission of a dedicated camera button requires the user to return to the menu and press a soft key. The lack of a camera button also means the auto focus is achieved by pressing one button, and then the actual photo is taken by pressing a second button.

Battery life is superb with 410 hours standby and 10 hours talk time.

	Nokia E71 - Black (Orange) Smartphone - Grade B

	
£100.00
 End Date: Thursday Feb-16-2012 11:37:10 GMT
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£182.00
 End Date: Monday Mar-05-2012 16:20:56 GMT
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£109.99
 End Date: Sunday Mar-04-2012 17:51:59 GMT
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	Nokia E71 - Steel grey (Unlocked) Smartphone

	
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 End Date: Monday Feb-13-2012 13:17:08 GMT
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 End Date: Friday Mar-02-2012 16:32:08 GMT
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 End Date: Saturday Feb-25-2012 22:48:58 GMT
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	NOKIA E71 Classic Mobile Phone in Grey Steel - Brand New - Unlocked

	
£169.99
 End Date: Wednesday Feb-22-2012 17:38:05 GMT
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	Nokia  E71 White Unlocked

	
£119.00
 End Date: Saturday Feb-18-2012 21:19:04 GMT
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	NOKIA E71 - NEW CONDITION - UNLOCKED/ UNBRANDED - FREE 2GB CARD - 3.2MP CAM - 3G

	
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	Nokia E71 - Steel grey (Unlocked) Smartphone

	
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 End Date: Saturday Feb-18-2012 14:15:12 GMT
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Lenovo, largely known as a PC manufacturer is making themselves known in the smart phone market by developing a touchscreen smart phone that strongly resembles the iPhone.

The iPhone is currently the leader in touchscreen smart phones, gaining massive popularity since it’s launch just over a year and a half ago. One of the reasons for the iPhone’s success is it’s simple, intuitive interface and design. Lenovo plans to expand on those qualities and have the phone be powered by the open source Android platform.

The design takes a few concepts from the iPhone such as a full touchscreen interface which fits right into the phone’s body, and it will have minimal buttons which cuts down on the clutter. Having buttons for basic tasks such as calling, hanging up, and navigating menus increases the functionality, but the less buttons the better. These two design aspects will help the Lenovo phone have a modern, minimalistic appearance.

The “oPhone” as it has unofficially been nicknamed will be able to support China’s TD-SCDMA standard for 3G data transfer due to a modified version of Android. This modified version is called the Open Mobile System, which many analysts say will boost sales of the phone since it supports the faster data speeds combined with it’s functionality and looks.

One surprising speculation is that the “oPhone” does not have a visible keyboard which leads some to think that they will incorporate an on screen keyboard into their modified Android.

The “oPhone” is set for a release between February and March 2008 for China Mobile. This seems like a very promising phone, combining the functionality of the open source Android platform as well as the stylish looks.