Android phone Agora delayed indefinitely

Australia's first smartphone to run on Google's Android, the Kogan Agora Pro, has been delayed indefinitely, with its distributor citing its low-resolution display as the reason for not shipping the handset in its current form.

"It now seems certain (that) the current Agora specifications will limit its compatibility or interoperability in the near future," Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan said in a statement.

"Since the design of the Agora, the Android community has been growing quickly," Kogan said. "I now believe that in order to access all (that) the Android platform has to offer, the Agora must be redesigned."

The Kogan Agora and Agora Pro smartphones feature a 2.5-inch QVGA (240x320-pixel) resolution display. The only other commercially available Android phone to date, the HTC Dream, features a 3.2-inch display with a 320x480-pixel resolution.

Google's Android operating system is an open-source platform allowing software developers to freely create new applications and make them available to download from the Android Marketplace. As the Dream is the only Android handset on the market, developers will have been developing for screens with a resolution similar to its display.

Kogan will refund all money raised through the presale of the Agora handsets. A new Android phone from the company is in development.

Joseph Hanlon of ZDNet Australia reported from Sydney.