In case you haven't heard of Ruslan Kogan, he's the entrepreneur who's carving out a name of himself as a sort of gadget man of the people - cutting out the middleman to deliver Google Android phones and cut-price Blu-Ray players and geeky all-in-one TVs sourced from cheap Chinese manufacturers.
Kogan hit a rough patch recently when his mythical Google phone failed to materialise for sale (though spy shots are still surfacing). But he's hit on another idea which is generating some buzz - the Kogan netbook.
While some might say all this hype about a theoretical, but not-actually-existing product, is a bit premature, we say that if hyping an unreleased product was a crime, then half the industry would be up on charges.
There's a few reasons a Kogan netbook could be interesting:
- You get to suggest features. Ok, Kogan could ignore all the comments on his site, but he's at least letting people have their say about what they want the device to look like.
- Price. Big name notebook makers are pushing netbooks into $900+ territory. Based on Kogan's business model of cutting out the middleman, you would think that if anyone can reverse that trend, it's Kogan.
- Less crapware. We've experienced some terribly laggy netbooks which have been loaded with shovelware. Again, here's hoping Kogan uses restraint when it comes to loading open source apps.
- Ubuntu on the notebook. There's still no Linux option for Dell customers, despite some other vendors offering it in the past, including HP and ASUS. Kogan says he's "leaning toward Linux", so it's at least a possibility. [UPDATE: Ruslan Kogan contacted us to say the Kogan netbook will have Linux - "either gOS or Xubuntu". Thanks Ruslan]
- Colours. Gone are the days of black and white being exciting notebook design schemes. Dell says it is planning a range of colours for its new Mini 10, though we're yet to see anything truly unusual on the market. Maybe Kogan can come up with something different - a Fear and Loathing-inspired psychedelic scheme, perhaps?