First Aussie Android Phone Rejected

The Agora, amde by no-name company Kogan, will be the first Android phone to hit Aussie shores, but the Big Four telecoms are rejecting it pretty much out of hand.

Optus says it will probably work, but its not an Optus handset, so they won't even test it or look into it any further.

Telstra is running a similar line saying it should work, but it hasn't been "optimised" for their network, so there is no guarantee on quality of service...

3 say it might happen, saying Android is "an excellent platform", and saying they might launch an Android phone in the future, but they only say that the Agora should "in principle" work fine.

Vodafone, however, look like being the sole carrier for the Agora. From ZDNET:"Vodafone Australia continues to evaluate the Kogan Agora and will make further information available at a later date," a spokesperson said.

That's more positive but still no guarantees...

Android is definitely looking to rival WinMobile and Apple's proprietary systems with phones popping up everywhere: The HTC Dream, The T-Mobile G1 (with rumours of a G2 in the pipeline), the Agora, plus the Lenovo-badged oPhone, and a Samsung-built, Google-badged phone all in the works...