The T-Mobile G1 captured all the headlines by being the world's first Android-powered mobile phone, but the plan was always to have Android be a completely open source operating system, available for use in, well, any mobile phones that people felt like sticking it in. And so, a freelance company has done just that, and made the world's second Android phone, according to Engadget Mobile.Hailing from Australia, it's the Kogan Agora. And if that's not an incitement to go, "Eh? Who?" I don't know what is…
Time for a bit of info on them, then. Kogan are a web-based brand, who basically have their mobile phones, and DVD players, and whatever else they sell, built to their exacting specs in China. And that's how the Kogan Agora's come about. But what can we expect from the world's second Google phone?
Well, first of all, this here mobile phone comes in two flavours: the Agora and the Agora Pro. On both phones you get a 2.5 inch touchscreen, 3G, a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth and a microSD slot. The Agora Pro, though, being the big brother of the two mobile phones, also chucks in a 2 megapixel camera and WiFi. As for looks, well… where the T-Mobile G1 can tend to come across like a bizarre mating between an iPhone and a Sidekick, the Agora mobile phones come across like Blackberry-a-like handsets. You know the ones, mobile phones like the Nokia E61 or Samsung i780. Not that that's a bad thing, because the Agora does actually look rather pretty, and for business-y type users, they may well prefer the more conservative design.
However… if you want one, you'll be buying it from Australia, since that's where the phones are made, and where Kogan's based. It'll start getting expensive to ship one over, I suspect, especially since you can get the T-Mobile G1 free on contract, if you really want an Android phone.
So, overall, looks pretty decent, and although I wouldn't get one, it's nice to see a whole range of mobile phones being released by people we've never heard of before.
I can't see Nokia losing too much sleep over them, though…
Want to get the first and best Google phone? Grab the T-Mobile G1 today!
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Posted By Get News to Elisa Shop on 12/05/2008 05:02:00 PM
