Dell Aero first hands-on!
By Darren Murph 
posted March 23rd 2010 11:08PM
posted March 23rd 2010 11:08PM
Outside of that, we learned that this will indeed be the planet's lightest Android phone ever when it ships (believe us, it was light), and while v1.5 will be onboard, Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch. We were also told that it would ship with a 5 megapixel camera (a step up from the Mini 3's 3 megapixel shooter), an undisclosed amount of internal storage, a new color / design scheme (the one you see here will be the only shade available at launch) and a 2GB microSD card bundled in at purchase. You'll also find a good deal of AT&T baked into the OS, but it's not like you should be surprised to hear of carrier meddling. Finally, we were informed that pricing would be set by AT&T, and that it would be shipping "soon" -- far sooner than "six months from now" -- from both AT&T and Dell channels (though not available unlocked from the latter). There's also the possibility that Dell could arrange some sort of Aero / Mini 10 combo deal for those looking to really sink their teeth into a hefty AT&T contract, but there's nothing substantial to go on just yet in that department. Enough chit-chat -- give the gallery below a look to see what's coming your way.
It's an Androidtastic day.
@Proverb There are too many cell phones that seem to be coming out just for the sake of another phone. The Evo is a worthwhile phone. There are so many that aren't. IMHO
NOW that's one shiny lookin phone right there.. Literally. :P
@Proverb They better not criple it
@werty1432k
Agreed, though I do have to say I don't think there will ever be a phone that one can deem "perfect" as there will always be that flaw that just kills a chunk of it in our heads. I love the EVO so far, but I'm sure something will kill it; maybe my lack of a good Android experience so far [I've only played with a friends HTC Hero for a couple seconds and found no snappy-ness and lack of Sprint support in our living area]
@Proverb Honestly I wouldve bein happy to hear about this phone but since the EVO was announced all I can think about is I envy sprint users and also for some reason I keep on peeing my self every time I think about the EVO lol
@liftedngifted1 I have a sad feeling that the "google os experience" will feature web surfing with yahoo
@Proverb
Is there any posibility for engadget to wipe the phone clean other than an iphone before taking a picture of it. it only make you guys look bad!
@nickcraze
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Same thing as
@Janvito5
ASCII art FAIL.
Ship the damn thing with 2.1!!!
What's with all these phones shipping with 1.5/1.6 with "2.1 coming soon?"
@ScienceProUSAcom That is an available feature on all XPS models.
@ScienceProUSAcom Pardon me?
@ScienceProUSAcom It was a joke. See, its funny because Dell doesn't actually make XPS phones, but they do make XPS computers. Get it?Dell? ...XPS? ...Dell's high-end computers? ...you know? ...*cricket gets run over by a tumble-weed*...
;)
@InspectorEngadget swing and a miss.
Holy fingerprint magnet
@HamThrax
Booth Attendant: "Want to try out our new Dell Aero?"
Engadget Minion: "Why yes! Yes I would"
*picks up Aero*
Booth attendant: "Congratulations, you now have the flu"
@HamThrax : When they say 'hands-on' they really mean it!
i think htc, followed by dell would be the best buyers/mergers for palm. (htc and palm merge, dell would just buy palm). Nokia and others probably have too much pride and wouldnt want to use somebody else's os, but dell needs to differentiate themselves from the competition and HTC could make some awesome handsets.
if the EVO 4g had webOS, it would be a bigger deal in my opinion and more people would purchase it.
AT&T baked in?
*cringe*
AT&T please don't crap it up with your stuff like you did the BackFlip
@TheGM They probably did, considering they didn't want Engadget to look at the software.
@TheGM Blame it on Dell then bent over willingly for AT&T.
@pika2000
Jesus christ, shut up with that already. You write that in every single thread, and it's always stupid. Yeah, it's all Dell's fault for not "standing up to the man." They'd definitely be way better off selling their lower end device unlocked for $400, bringing in the big bucks from the 10 people that'd actually choose it over some other subsidized phone. To hell with all those sales projections and all that other complicated real-world business stuff, they just need to grow some balls. Idiot.
@jroff Well, thanks to morons like you, we keep having provider-locked phones with carrier-laced firmwares. There's no reason why Dell couldn't do both (carrier version and standalone version), but obviously the typical idiot consumers like you like a phone that is filled with your lovely wireless carriers' junk. Yeah, rather than paying for $400 up-front, you rather pay thousands of dollars more and locked with your lovely ass-rimming carriers for years. Why don't you do a backflip too while you're at it.
@pika2000 Yes there is, Dell doesn't get AT&T's contract if they also sell it unlocked. Dell has no leverage, everyone can do Android.
Dell: Don't put you're crap on here, or we won't let you have it.
AT&T: Okay. GTFO
ATT: *Now where can we get an Android phone besides, Dell. Oh yeah, Motorola, HTC, Sony, Samsung, LG, and pretty much anyone else.*
@pika2000
Yeah ok, good idea. I'll go out and get a $400 unlocked phone and somehow save "thousands", nevermind being forced in to a data plan regardless of how I got the phone. So much for all that family plan business too - I'll get unlocked phones for my whole family, then we can all save "thousands."
For the love of android! Got to get that OS man!
About 2 years behind in design, thanks Dell
@Jayden i think you're giving it too much credit calling it design. i could crap out a better "design"
hey DELL. nobody gives a crap now that the EVO and other great android hardware is out. GG
@Kaitou KID
Agreed. Sprint releases HTC EVO, T-Mobile releases the HD2, and AT&T the Dell Aero? Come on!
There is still another HTC Android device to be released for AT&T soon, hope at least it is the Desire otherwise bye bye AT&T
@Jayden
Seriously. I love Dell, and am psyched for the Mini 5, but it's a bit embarrassing that this phone will mark their first entry into the States. At least it's light, I suppose.
Hook, line and sinker Engadget.
Smart people don't want customizations, they want to be able to run the latest open source Android release. Being at the carrier and vendor's mercy is no fun.
And 5 megapixels means nothing if its 5 lousy megapixels.
Ugh. Somebody get a roll of Bounty and a bottle of 409 and wipe that phone down.
Plus, the AT&T branding is now a turn off for me. Only going GSM unlocked and unbranded by carriers.
@Johnny Tremaine Didn't you hear? It's called, "Plenty" now.
Looks like the Pre without the slider?
Aero, sorry but "you ain't got no alibi."
1.5 at launch plus at&t baked in = neutured POS ala the Backflip. Oh well, with devices like the EVO and the other three carriers taking Android seriously, who needs at&t if you care about a good Android experience?
Yeah, update to 2.1, no prob, trust me. After all, I've never done you wrong before...
Right AT&T?
No 'non-market' apps for this one too AT&T?
Larding it up with 5+ AT&T apps that can't be removed?
I wouldn't expect anything less.
I'm commenting as JackBauer.
"Dell seemed confident that 2.1 (and beyond) would be made available shortly after launch."
Remember the Axim? Dell DJ? What made you think Dell will stand by their non-PC products long term anymore?
Load of fail:
-1.5
-AT&T locked and laced.
-Not even shipping. Really, this is 2010. Announcing products without shipping them is just talk, big talk. Shipping "soon" is not good enough anymore. The least Dell should do is give us a date. By the time this ships, who knows what update(s) Google have for the Nexus One, and who knows what Apple will release.
Am I the only one that thinks that it looks like one of those cheap phones you get for free with a new 2-year contract?
Love the finger prints on that Dell, dude!
Look at that thing. Now look at those Supersonic pics again. Don't you feel bad for Dell?
How was dell able to pry the "Aero" name out of Compaq's cold dead hands? Especially for such a similar device (albeit a few years later). I loved my Compaq Aero running WinMo!
I don't care about anything from Dell but the mini 5. They need to get the ball rolling on a launch date, please and thank you!
@dubnobass
Yeah! :)
Seems like AT&T has become the new Verizon of crippling phones. I feel like I need to switch providers. Besides the iPhone, everything has gone downhill... and yes, I'm jaded by Sprint's Supersonic, Tmob's HD2 and subsidezed N1, and VZ's Droid.
What's that tiny thing Murph is holding. Are they still making phones that small.