Aussie ‘Agora’ To Be Second Google Phone

An Australian video electronics maker will enter the cell phone business January, offering the “Agora,” the second handset to use Google’s Android operating system.

The cell phone by Kogan Technologies, will start at $193 and offers a 2.5-inch touch screen, QWERT keyboard, 256MB of memory (expandable with a microSD card) and Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and 3G support. The handset allows 400 minutes of talk time and 300 hours of standby, according to CNET.

The Agora can be only be ordered from Kogan’s Web site begins shipping Jan. 29, 2009.

The phone is seen as a stop-gap for Australian and other international smartphone users awaiting the arrival of the G1, the first Android-based handset from U.S. carrier T-Mobile. The $179 G1 is expected in other countries sometime in the first quarter of 2009.

PC World said Kogan is known for selling online inexpensive but high-quality China-made electronics.

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In related news, an AT&T executive Thursday hinted the U.S. carrier may not offer an Android-based phone. Roger Smith, director of next generation services, said AT&T may concentrate on Symbian-based smartphones. Phone makers Nokia and Samsung would most benefit from such a decision.

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Ed Sutherland is a veteran technology journalist who first heard of Apple when they grew on trees, Yahoo was run out of a Stanford dorm and Google was an unknown upstart. Since then, Sutherland has covered the whole technology landscape, concentrating on tracking the trends and figuring out the finances of large (and small) technology companies.

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“The phone is seen as a stop-gap for Australian and other international smartphone users awaiting the arrival of the G1, the first Android-based handset from U.S. carrier T-Mobile.”
Stop-gap? I’m not sure I would call it that. This phone looks pretty good on its own. From a simple appearance perspective, I think I like the look of the Agora over the G1. Something about the G1 just looks cheap IMO. The Agora (at least from these pics) appears to be a little more polished (and no I don’t mean shiny).