This was one of the fallouts of an open-source OS: more makers could produce phones, even ones we might not have heard from before. This story is a case in point.

The first Google Android phone was the T-Mobile G1. Now we we’re looking to a firm called Kogan for the next official Android phone release. There are a few catches, namely….

Who or what the heck is Kogan? Heard of them before this report? Raise your hand. While we ponder, the pic shown here is the Kogan Agora Pro, the next major Google Android phone. As you can see, this phone grabs its design cues from the Blackjack line, and has a whole different feel and approach than the G1 did. This style may be more suitable for business, while the G1 was more of a gee-whiz, isn’t Android neat type phone.

Specs include: Full Android barrel of good stuff, including Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps, Talk and Calendar. Other specs: a 2.5-inch QVGA touchscreen display, backlit keyboard QWERTY style, GPS, Blueooth 2.0+EDR, Wi-Fi, a 2MP camera (weak), microSD slot, quad-band GSM and tri-band UMTS/HSDPA.

The phone is slated to appear in Australia at the end of January, and will retail for $399AU. For something a little more budget conscious, you can select the regular Kogan Agora for $299. The design and overall styling is precisely the same, but the regular Agora omits Wi-Fi and GPS support (3G is still there though).

No word on when the Agora will make it away from Australia, but assuming it does well, no reason why it shouldn’t appear on other shores later on.