“I’m disappointed to have to tell you that the Kogan Agora has to be delayed indefinitely.” posted Ruslan Kogan - founder of Kogan Technologies - on his blog, not easy to announce such bad news while he know that he might be missing the chance of beeing the second Android-based device worldwide.

About two weeks from the official launch date of Agora, Ruslan is just coming back from the CES ‘09 in Vegas. Seems that something happened there, but we cannot confirm because we was tracking Ruslan for an interview for more than a month, and today we have the press release of delayed Agora instead.

“Good to see an honest businessman out there, who is willing to lose a little face, rather than cost his customers money. Many people would have just sold customers the current model of the phone. Well done. It is clear that Kogan is a trustworthy company.” someone commented on Ruslan’s announcement.

Australia have to wait longer to get an Android phone, but the good news for Kogan that they become a known brand now in US, Europe, and elsewhere in the world. Keep up reading OHM, we will keep you updated as soon as we get more info on the Agora 2 !

Below the press release :

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA, 16th January 2009 - Kogan Technologies’ Agora phone will be delayed indefinitely due to potential future interoperability issues.

Kogan Technologies founder Ruslan Kogan said the phone will undergo a significant redesign in order to ensure its compatibility with all future Android applications.

The Agora reached a very late stage of development, manufacturing had commenced and we were within days of shipping the product to customers. But it now seems certain the current Agora specifications will limit its compatibility or interoperability in the near future,” Ruslan Kogan said.

One potential issue is that developers may create applications for the Android operating system at a higher resolution and screen size than the Agora provides in its current form.

I am sorry for this delay, but in the interests of proving the best possible product at the best possible price, I cannot disappoint my customers by supplying a product that I am aware will shortly have significant limitations.

“My priority is to release a phone that will do justice to the Kogan brand and offer great value to our customers. Since the design of the Agora, the Android community has been growing quickly, with new developers setting out their objectives to create a host of feature-rich applications. I now believe that in order to access all the Android platform has to offer, the Agora must be redesigned.

The Kogan team is already hard at work designing a new phone that will be better suited to the needs of Android application developers and our customers.”

All customers who pre-ordered the Agora will receive a full refund.

Ruslan Kogan will continue to blog about and discuss the redevelopment of the Agora at www.kogan.com.au/blog

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