iPhone 5 Launch Day Brisbane

4am Westfield Chermside lineup right down to the carpark. Update Steve Wozniak really is here!

Review of Kogan Wi-Fi DAB+ Deluxe Internet Radio

The first thing that attracted me to Kogan Deluxe is that it had stereo speakers. The second was the price at only $199 including free delivery anywhere in Australia.

Delivery was excellent and fast and it arrived 2 days after ordering it.

The Kogan Deluxe has shiny black glossy finish to the top and sides and matt black on the front. The rear has a telescopic antenna and connections for earphone, R/L line out, Aux input, and Ethernet LAN connection. The manuals are available online rather than in the box, which contains the radio unit itself and the remote control.

The twin speakers are unusually placed on either side of the unit rather than in front which means that the unit is best placed in the open and not in an enclosed shelf. On the front is a tweeter, the display, power and control buttons which are in an unusual circular design which at first may seem confusing but becomes very intuitive.  The remote is a bit disappointing and is a credit card sized flat type with all the functions on it as well, however I found that the buttons themselves needed quite a firm press for it to register on the radio itself.

One of the best things about the Kogan Deluxe is the display itself. Rather than the one or two line displays of some DAB+ Digital Radios, the Kogan has an orange three line OLED display with brightness settings. It will display artist and song title as well as news and information that in most cases does not need scrolling. 

Modes are DAB Radio, FM Radio, iPod, Aux In, Internet Radio, and Music Player for music sharing.

Setup for internet radio was simple via a wireless connection, but you can also use an ethernet cable direct from a router or modem. The Kogan deluxe also plays and charges iPod's and I had no issues at all with my 3rd Gen iPod Nano. 

Sound quality is fantastic for a digital radio in this price bracket. Base is good and strong, sounds excellent from the twin 30W speakers. There is a sub woofer under the unit.

I have been using the Kogan Deluxe Wi-Fi DAB+ Radio for over a week now and am not only impressed with the sound quality but the feature set. At this time there are not many full stereo DAB+ units available under $200. With what you get here with DAB+, iPod Dock, Internet Radio, and Music Player, this is a no brainer.

$199 from Kogan Online http://www.kogan.com.au

Kogan's Google Phone on hold....

I'm pretty disappointed with this as was looking forward to it. Apparently, the Agora phone has been put on hold citing "future operational issues". Basically what that means is that it may not be able to handle new Android features which may use higher screen resolution and a larger screen. (I thought that the phone should have been designed as a full screen device anyway). Its also obviously disappointing for Kogan in that phones were in production and days away from the January 29 launch date.

Kogan has said in its website that customers who have paid their deposit will recieve a full refund.

It will be interesting to see what eventuates in the future regarding the re-design and pricing of the new Agora.

The Sydney Morning Herald has an interesting article on this as well

http://tinyurl.com/7v9wru

Telstra looking at HTC Android Phone?

HTC, the company that made the G1 phone for T-Mobile, reportedly is working on a new Android-based touch-screen phone for Telstra.

The gadget-focused Smarthouse wrote on Monday it heard that word from a senior Telstra executive at the just-ended Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas:

The new touch phone has been developed using a combination of the Google Android operating system and Linux based software written by HTC. The screen is believed to be bigger than current offerings from HTC.

Apparently, Telstra--and other Australian phone companies--aren't showing much interest in what's likely to be the country's first Android phone, the Kogan Agora. The Agora is scheduled to ship to buyers on January 29. Im still trying to get my hands on a pre-release version but without much luck so far.

Telstra seems inclined to hedge its bets on Android gadgets. In November, Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo--in the company of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer--was somewhat dismissive of Google's phone technology: "My view is, (Android is) interesting, not compelling," Trujillo said. He also wondered aloud whether Google could follow through. "First generation, you make the sale. The question is when you get into the second, third, and fourth generation(s)," he said at the time.