Second Android phone goes on sale — in Australia

The new smartphone—complete with a touchscreen, Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G data access, and Google's Android OS under the hood—isn't coming to the U.S. (except as an import), but it offers an intriguing glimpse at what upcoming Android phones might look like.

Shipping next month Down Under, the Kogan Agora Pro (AUS$399, or AUS$299 for its Wi-Fi-less, GPS-less counterpart) comes with the standard slim-smartphone look of such handsets as the Samsung Blackjack, the Motorola Q, and the BlackBerry Curve, including a medium-sized display (2.5 inches) with a four-way navigational pad and a full-QWERTY keypad underneath.

Measuring 4.25 by 2.5 by 0.6 inches and weighing in at 4.5 ounces, the Agora appears considerably more compact than T-Mobile's clunky G1—indeed, it looks like the phone would fit quite nicely in a jeans pocket.

From the look of the press images, the Agora has essentially the same Android interface as the G1, complete with home-screen icons, a slide-out application drawer, and the cool "status" bar along the top of the screen.

Unlike the BlackJack and the Q, the Agora's display is touch-sensitive, although I imagine you could just as easily control the interface with the four-way navigational pad and soft keys.

As far as other features go, the Agora Pro packs in Bluetooth, a microSD memory expansion slot, and a 2MP camera; the cheaper Agora ditches the camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS.

So, what does it all mean for those of us in the U.S.? Well, Sprint is supposedly next in line for an Android phone, and given its proclivity for slim smartphones like the BlackJack and the Ace, I'd think a handset like the Agora might be right up its alley. Heck, I'd probably get one.

And if you really want the Agora, you can always snap it up as an import—and at AUS$458 unlocked with shipping (or USD$295), it's actually a pretty good deal (and yes, the 850/1900/2100 UMTS/HSDPA phone should work on U.S. 3G networks).

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Second Android device [MocoNews]