Kogan Agora is world's first Google Chromium OS laptop, ships next week
Kogan, the Aussie company behind such gadgets as the fist-sized Bluetooth GPS watch and gesture-controlled IPTV, is adding a Chromium OS laptop to its family of Google-powered Agora products. The 11.6-inch computer has a spec list rivaling the midrange notebooks of 2006, including a 1.3 GHz Celeron processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 30GB SSD. That's not a lot of oomph, but with cloud-based storage and Google's open source Chromium running the show, this thin client laptop should be in decent shape. There's also a 3.5-hour battery, SD card reader, webcam, Bluetooth, and an HDMI output. Like all Kogan products, the Agora is only available in Australia (AUD 349, about $372) and the UK (£269, about $440), so if you live down under or across the pond and don't want to install the open-source (free) OS yourself, look for the laptop to hit Kogan's online stores tomorrow.
Show full PR text
Kogan Launches World-First Laptop Powered by Google's Chromium OS
Sydney, Australia, 3 June 2011 - Kogan today released the world's first laptop powered by Google's Chromium OS, available for sale and ready to be dispatched.
The Kogan Agora Laptop powered by Chromium OS goes on sale today for £269 in the United Kingdom and $349 in Australia and ships direct to customers next week.
Kogan's Chromium OS Laptop is based on the popular Agora hardware, adds a Solid State Drive, lets users operate entirely in the cloud, and boots in 4.5 seconds.
Ruslan Kogan said the world-first product was testament to Kogan's efficiency and agility.
"We've been able to beat the rest of the world to bring the first commercially available laptop running Google's Chromium OS.
"Google's Chromium OS is an open source project, making it a constant work in progress. This means the system will improve over time and new features and improvements will keep getting introduced by the open source community.
"While Chromium is still in its early stages, we know the operating system is innovative technology which represents the future of computing. It may take some getting used to for some to operate entirely in the cloud, but the massive benefits for the end user are driving acceptance of entirely web-based services.
"What we've found from talking to our customers is that many of them are already using cloud services without even realising it. They're uploading photos to services like Flickr, storing all their contacts in Gmail, and even hosting files on DropBox.
"Loading up a laptop with Google's open source software can be strange at first. However it's clear that everyone from casual users to pros are embracing cloud services with all their personal computing needs.
"The real beauty is that no matter which Chromium powered computer you're on anywhere in the world, it will appear exactly as you expect, tailored to your needs. Google is also working hard to ensure that Chrome integrates seamlessly with all Android based devices.
"Samsung and Acer announced Chromebooks based on Chromium OS last month, but we've beaten them to market. Kogan is the most agile consumer electronics manufacturer in the world. We react faster to market trends than anyone else.
"The first Kogan Agora Laptops powered by Google's Chromium OS will be in customer's hands next week and we're very excited. Our business has already been operating entirely in the cloud for years!" Kogan said.
For more information on Google's open source Chromium OS project, which powers the Kogan Agora Chromium OS Laptop: http://www.chromium.org/chromium-os
About Kogan
Kogan is a designer, manufacturer and retailer of consumer electronics. Kogan's streamlined business model allows us to bring the latest and best consumer electronics and home appliances direct to the door of smart shoppers through kogan.com.au and kogan.co.uk. We engage our customers through our blog, Facebook and Twitter, and release new products based on the feedback we receive. We believe there is always a better way to create and deliver the technology people want.
