agorapro.jpgBy Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Android isn’t all about the T-Mobile G1; there are plenty of other Android phones in development, and now there’s even a second one available (for pre-order anyway). These are from Australia’s Kogan company. The Kogan Agora and Agora Pro will sell for AU$299 and AU$399, respectively. In US$, that’s $193 and $258.

These handsets are sold without a contract; you should be able to slap a SIM into them from T&T or T-Mobile and they should work just fine. Additionally, this handset might appeal to more traditional users, with a full QWERTY keyboard. It looks sorta Samsung Blackjack-ish, after all.

The Pro model adds GPS, Wi-Fi, and camera. Yes, you read that right; the Agora model doesn’t have a camera, unusual nowadays in a cell phone.

Kogan says the devices will ship on January 29th. Full specs for the Pro below:

  • Operating System: Android
  • Google Mobile Functions: Google Search, Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Calendar.
  • Display: 2.5-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with 262K QVGA (320 X 240 pixel) resolution
  • Device Control: 5-Way Central Navigation Key
  • Keyboard: QWERTY keyboard, backlighting
  • GPS: GPS navigation capability with Google Maps
  • Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate, Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g
  • Camera: 2.0 megapixel color camera
  • Audio: Built-in microphone and speaker, Headphone output
  • Ring tone formats: MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
  • Video formats supported: MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
  • Viewable document types: JPEG,GIF,WBMP,MIDI,AMR,MP3,WAV
  • Dimensions (HxWxD): 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm
  • Weight: 130g
  • Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, 1300 mAh
  • Talk Time: Up to approximately 400 minutes
  • Standby Time: Up to approximately 300 hours
  • Processor: 624 MHz
  • Memory: 256 MB On-board + 128 MB Flash, microSDâ„¢ card expansion slot
  • Network: UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz), GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)

Realistically, for a non-subsidized device, the price is actually pretty good. And, if you want a QWERTY keyboard, it’s your first chance at an Android phone.

Kogan Technologies is an Australian based, online-only retailer, and it says on its profile page it cuts out all the middle-men so it can offer great deals. It was founded two years ago by Ruslan Kogan.