You might have read that Google’s Android mobile phone operating system had made it into devices overseas. Well today, Australia’s Kogan Technologies, a company which bypasses regular retail channels and sells direct to the public, have announced that as of today, they are taking pre-orders for two Google Android-powered phones, the Agora and the Agora Pro.
Pre-ordering is via the Kogan website (link will open in a new window) – the phones are are sold outright, with no contracts, and which Kogan claim will work on any network. The Agora will sell for $299, the Agora Pro for $399. The Kogan Agora features a full QWERTY keyboard, central navigation key, 2.5 inch touchscreen, microSD slot, and 3G connectivity. The Kogan Agora Pro adds to the specs mix a 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS.
A Kogan representative told GadgetGuy.com.au that there has been a lot of interest in the phone today, and the finite nature of the first order could well mean that the first shipment will sell out – but that there have been additional orders placed. The first batch of phones will ship to customers from January 29, 2009.
Applications pre-loaded on the Agora include Gmail, Google Search, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Talk and YouTube.
Specifications
- 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: Central Navigation Key
- Keyboard: QWERTY keyboard, with backlighting
- GPS: GPS navigation capability (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- Connectivity: Bluetooth 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate; Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11b/g (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- Camera: 2.0 megapixel colour camera (included with Kogan Agora Pro)
- Audio: Built-in microphone and speaker, headphone jack
- Ring tone formats: MIDI, MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, PCM
- Video formats supported: MPEG2 H263, H264, MPEG4, AVI
- Mail attachment support: Viewable document types – JPEG, GIF, WBMP, MIDI, AMR, MP3, WAV
- Dimensions: 108 x 64 x 14.8 mm (H x W x D)
- Weight: 130 g
- Battery: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery, capacity: 1300 mAh
- Talk time: Up to approximately 400 minutes
- Standby time: Up to approximately 300 hours
- Processor: 624 MHz
- Memory: ROM 256 MB; RAM 128 MB. microSD card expansion slot
- Network: UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz); GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
