With 5-inch smartphones becoming the emerging trend for 2013, the new year has already seen the arrival of a gamut of bigger smartphones. However, most of these top-of-the-line smartphones cost a pretty penny and are not a viable option for most consumers, especially those in emerging markets. Kogan's Dual-SIM Agora is an exception.

Those who don't have deep pockets but want to get their hands on a 5-inch smartphone without doling out the extra dough, need not fret as Australia-based Kogan has launched a $149 budget-friendly option. The company has released its dual-SIM Agora smartphone for the price conscious.

The Agora, which is just 9.8mm thick (it measures 142.8 x 80 x 9.8mm) and weighs 180gm, sports a 5-inch LCD capacitive touchscreen with 800 x 480 pixels (186ppi). A dual-core 1GHz Cortex A9 processor powers the smartphone.

The device also packs in 512MB of RAM, a 2000mAh battery, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 0.3-megapixel front-facing snapper. The device also has 4GB of on-board storage and offers microSD card support. The entry-level smartphone also offers Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi, and 3G support.

Kogan is expected to ship the Agora from Feb. 14. The smartphone will be available in 11 countries, including, the UK, U.S., and Australia. To order the Agora, head over to Kogan's Web site.