Kogan Mobile Cameback Again

Kogan Mobile came back from the dead yesterday, complete with super-weird Lion King references. But after what happened last time, should you go with the revived carrier? Kogan Mobile blasted back onto the market with its new partner, Vodafone Australia. Kogan had been saddled to a wholesale provider called ISPone, which resold the Telstra 3G network. However, after the wholesaler went bust, Kogan Mobile folded up. Vodafone announced its pleasure at being the new partner for Kogan, but after all the handshaking and waving for TV cameras is done, is it actually a good deal? The offering is broken down into two plans: the 3XL and the 5XL. 3XL  The 3XL plans start at just $29.95. That gets you unlimited standard calls, text and MMS within Australia, as well as 3GB of data to use over 30 days. Kogan Mobile is also offering longer expiry times for those who don’t use their phone as often. Of course, that bumps up the price by a fair whack when you consider you have to buy it upfront. Upping to a 90-day expiry time costs $79.95 (costing $26.65 per 30 days), while a 365-day expiry will cost you $299.95 (costing $24.66 per 30 days). Both of these still include unlimited talk, text and MMS, as well as that 3GB of data. 5XL  The 5XL plans start from $36.95 per month. That includes unlimited talk, text and MMS, as well as 5GB of data. Upping to a 90-day expiry time costs $99.95 (costing $33.32 per 30 days), while a 365-day expiry will cost you $369.95 (costing $30.41 per 30 days). Both of these still include unlimited talk, text and MMS, as well as that 5GB of data. The Network Kogan is now saddled to Vodafone’s network, but not the Vodafone network you might think. Vodafone is currently giving Kogan Mobile customers access to its rejigged 3G network, as opposed to the fast 4G network customers are currently enjoying. Vodafone has indicated it will bring 4G to Kogan customers in early-2016, but we’re not yet sure if the extra speed will cost EXTRA MONEY. Nor are we sure if the 4G bump brings with it 4G benefits like VoLTE and free visual voicemail for iPhone customers. For those wanting coverage in rural areas on a cheap pre-paid offering, Kogan Mobile might be a bit risky. Try Boost or Telstra instead. Should You Buy It? There are two types of customers that will be well served by Kogan Mobile 2.0: people who use their phone a fair bit, and people who don’t use their phones at all. What’s interesting for customers who barely use their phones at all is that Kogan Mobile is one of the only carriers to offer a 365-day expiry option. Sure, you have to pay an absolute mint for it up front, but it works out to an absolute maximum price of $30.41 per month if you buy the 5XL option for $369.95. Not a bad deal For users who need a fair bit of data every month are also going to benefit from Kogan Mobile. 3GB of data per month for just $29.95 is actually a bit of a steal. Take a look at the competition to give you an idea: • Boost: $40 = Unlimited talk/text, 3GB of data (+1GB to use on Sundays) • Vodafone: $40 = Infinite national calls/text, 3GB of data • Amaysim: $29.90 = Unlimited talk/text, 2GB of data OR $44.90 = Unlimited talk/text, 5GB of data • Vaya: $27 = $650 of calls, unlimited text, 2.5GB of data It works out to be better value if you take the 5XL plan, which nets you 2GB of extra data (bringing it up to a total of 5GB per month) for just $7. If 5GB is all you use, Kogan Mobile is your new discount friend! The above offers from competitors are all good, but if you want to go dollar for dollar on your data, Kogan Mobile has the competitors beat on price. It all comes down to whether or not you can trust the new-look Kogan Mobile to stay afloat. Have you subscribed to Gizmodo Australia's email newsletter? You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. TAGS australian stories kogan kogan mobile ruslan kogan the price is right You May Like 5 Things You Might Not Know About 6th Generation Intel® Core™ Processors Intel The World Finally Admits Microsoft Surface Was The Shit by Taboola Promoted Links DISCUSS 11 COMMENTS | REPLY  mubear @mubear 20/10/15 12:06 PM more worried about one of the worst customer service ever Reply  drifterau @drifterau 20/10/15 12:38 PM Isnt Boost now on 4G Reply  vlad @vlad 20/10/15 2:13 PM It is Reply  That Guy Guest 20/10/15 3:55 PM It is (and always was if you got a Telstra SIM swap, but I digress). $10 extra a month for 4G and access to Telstra's network for both speed and coverage (and not having a highly questionable reputation/track record)...yeah, i'll stick with Boost thanks. Reply  wouldnt Guest 20/10/15 12:51 PM i wouldn't trust them after last time Reply  D33zay Guest 20/10/15 1:59 PM Except they're not the only carrier with a 365 expiry at all... Vodafone: http://www.vodafone.com.au/personal/prepaid/prepaid-options Reply  vlad @vlad 20/10/15 2:15 PM The problem not with Kogan, but with rural coverage of Vodafone. Reply  stirlo @stirlo 20/10/15 2:16 PM It's 3G only (on the smallest 3g network as well), almost every other provider is on 4G now and if I was using 5gb per month I'd find it way too frustrating to be limited to 3g speeds. It's not mentioned in the summary but Amaysims $29.90 deal has 4G Optus coverage, far better than Vodafone 3G. Vaya's $27 deal is 4G optus as well if you don't need unlimited calls. As for the comments about people that rarely who use their phone benefiting from this it is absolutely absurd to suggest this is a deal. Aldi mobile offers far broader (Telstra 3g) coverage and a long life 365 day expiry with a $15 recharge not $360. For those who use their phone infrequently paying $360 per year is completely ridiculous. Overall compared to Kogan Mobile 1.0 these plans are very mundane and nothing like the exceptional value last time. I guess the only positive is that with such middle of the road pricing we can expect them to be profitable and not collapse like last time.