The current phone I am using is a Sony Xperia Z, which I really like. I purchased the phone for about $700 from Kogan, and about a month or so later I notice that it is selling on Kogan for about $550. I probably should have waited.
I will likely go travelling soon to Malaysia. When I go travelling, I don't want to bring my Xperia Z along because, when travelling, I will be throwing my phone around and treating it roughly. It will be crammed in suitcases and SIM cards will be taken in and out, and I may drop it or have it stolen. Instead of carrying around a $500 or $600 phone that is made of glass and that looks very premium, I'd rather bring along a cheap phone for travel.
That is why I purchased the Kogan Agora 5. It is only A$149, and every now and then Kogan has free shipping. Today is one of those days.
Before buying the phone, I've done some googling. I've checked YouTube videos. I've also checked the hardware specifications.
Based on my googling, I don't expect this phone to be as great as phones like the Xperia Z, HTC One, or Galaxy S4. But these high-end Androids cost about five times more.
What really attracts me to the Agora 5 is that it has a dual core processor, which is not typically of phones in this price bracket. A dual core processor is not in the same league as the quad core Xperia Z or HTC One or even the octocore GS4, but since a lot of software is only designed for single or dual core processors, having a dual core processor is often enough. Dual core puts the Kogan into the same league as the Apple iPhones, which are all dual core, (although the cores of the iPhone are not Cortex A9 processors).
The major problem with the Agora 5 is its poor display with its low resolution pixel density of 186ppi, which is about the same pixel density as the iPad mini's horrible display. This is terrible compared to the full HD 1080p displays currently out with pixel densities ranging from 440ppi to 470ppi. Nevertheless, I decided to buy the Agora anyway because 186ppi is not that bad. Low pixel density is bad for reading. It can hurt your eyes. I don't plan to read much while I travel. There is no point travelling if you're just going to read on your phone the whole time. You may as well stay home and read on your tablet. I plan to just do light emailing, Facebooking, and instant messaging when I connect to a hotel's WiFi. Therefore, I will read, but I won't read much. If I really want to pass time, I can play light games.
Another issue with the Agora 5 that I have read about is the camera. Although 5MP seemed adequate, I have read that the camera is horrible and that it does not produce realistic colours. I checked some sample pictures out and though that although it is not perfect, it didn't look that bad, and it certainly looked good enough. Many people are very picky about their phone cameras and are especially concerned about accurate colour reproduction, but in don't mind it too much if the phone goes crazy and makes the colours more vivid horns bit different. It livens upon boring images. I'll have to wait until I actually get the phone before I test there camera. I will put sample photos up.
When I am not travelling, I can use the phone as a backup phone, or if I find someone who still uses a dumbphone, I can offer the phone to them as a gift. I find that smartphones make excellent gifts. I gave my old HTC Desire HD to my grandma and a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos to my mother. These are cheap phones, but people tend to perceive smartphones as very expensive devices, which explains why companies like Apple and Samsung can get away with pricing their phones so high even though it cost them little to make. My prediction for them future is that as time goes by, consumers will understand what they are buying and will choose devices based on price and specs, which will result in competition that will cut margins and make it difficult for companies to make profits. It's already happened in television. In see it happening in phones.
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