We knew it was coming, we just didn't know anything about it. Well now we do: Australia's first Android phone (and one of the first in the world) is called the Kogan Agora. A second handset that will launch at the same time goes by the self-explanatory moniker, Agora Pro. Both handsets are available to order now for $299 and $399 respectively, although they won't ship until January 29 2009 to both Australian and international customers.

Spec-wise, there's a 2.5-inch touchscreen LCD sitting right above a full-qwerty keyboard. It's a tri-band HSDPA handset (running on the 850, 1900 and 2100 bands, so fine for NextG) and quadband GSM phone, measures in at 108 mm x 64 mm x 14.8 mm and weighs 130 grams. Inside there's a 624MHz processor (not sure who from), 256MB ROM and 128MB RAM. There's a MicroSD slot, Bluetooth 2.0 and all the Android apps we've been reading about from the US coverage of the G1.

On top of that, the Pro version adds GPS, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and a 2.0-megapixel camera for an extra $100.

Obviously we'll try and get our hands on one as soon as possible, but from the spec rundown and the photo supplied with the press release, I reckon Kogan's on a winner here - historically the biggest problem has been their UI on their products, and with Android taking over that domain, this could well be the "smartphone for the rest of us" Android supporters have been looking for.

Story from Gizmodo Australia