Dell Aero is 'the lightest' Android phone yet, poses for pictures

AT&T's teaser site for the Dell Aero has gone live and we can now fill in a few more gaps in our knowledge about this forthcoming handset. It's looking every bit the renamed Mini 3 we thought it was, so click here and here to get a closer look at the body of the device. The official web mouthpiece confirms a 3.5-inch screen with nHD resolution -- which may or may not signify the same 640 x 360 as on the Brazilian and Chinese versions -- and one definite point of departure, a 5 (rather than 3) megapixel camera on the back. Claimed to be the lightest Android smartphone yet, the Aero will also come with WiFi and GPS built in, though its biggest attraction will undoubtedly be the thoroughly tricked out Android UI, which promises Picasa, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitpic integration right out of the box. Check out the gallery below for some hints of what that will look like.

[Thanks, Chilko]

Dell Aero

[gadgetfanboy Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:16AM]

@InternetExplorer

that was 5 years ago. the tech industry changes.

[malexandria1 Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:23AM]

Has anyone done the iPhone Vs. AT&T test? I wonder how much AT&T's flaky service is related to the iPhone vs. other handsets on AT&T. I don't own any other AT&T phones so I never know if the reason my service never works in crowded places like Conventions is a Service issue or not. This Dell phone is really nice but I'm not getting another AT&T phone because the service is so spotty.

[Johnny Rockets Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:39AM]

Terrible. It reminds me of a pill... like one you put in your butt.

[shawnjuan Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:41AM]

Lame. Give me Android 2.1 without the skin that makes it UnAndroid.

[OmegaThirteen Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:49AM]

Windows Vista Series Mobile Phone Series?

[xanavi Posted Mar 23rd 2010 12:02PM]

Whats up with the Vista theme/name ripoff. It is gross.

Mini 5 NAO!

I WANT MASSIVE ANDROID PHONE!

[dan828 Posted Mar 23rd 2010 1:24PM]

@xanavi No doubt. I want a ginormous cell phone now! Only thing I don't like in the specs is the non-quiet speaker so that you can't really use it as a handset without everyone hearing your call. Yeah, it's not ideal, but there are going to be times when you just have to use it that way.

[Inspector Gadget80 Posted Mar 23rd 2010 1:06PM]

Don't you mean the ugliest Android next to ugly Backflip? This is STRIK TWO FOR YOU AT&T. ONE MORE STRIKE AND I'M LEAVING!

[genomecop Posted Mar 23rd 2010 2:13PM]

Light and Ugly...just how I like em.

[DakotaDAllen Posted Mar 23rd 2010 3:48PM]

Only Dell could make Android look like Windows. Instead of skinning it to death, why didn't they slap it with WinMo7?

[aikiwolfie Posted Mar 23rd 2010 3:51PM]

I wonder if Microsoft will sue them of the name Aero?

[koneill Posted Mar 23rd 2010 4:02PM]

Companies (like Dell) who know absolutely NOTHING about good UI design should cease being so arrogant as to believe they can be successful by re-skinning 'stock' OSes.

It looks like a REALLY BAD mix of Android (status bar), iPhone OS ("dock" - moved to the top of the screen), and Vista (wallpaper, fronts, etc). And the icons are just fugly.

[SoCoolCurt Posted Mar 23rd 2010 8:15PM]

whoever made picture 4 needs to learn a little about perspective. that screen they posted on there looks pretty off.

[Fanfoot Posted Mar 23rd 2010 8:42PM]

@aubreyq Yup, although its not just the cellphone industry. I think a lot of people now realize that mobile phones aren't just phones anymore, they're little mobile computers. And for many people some day may supplant their need for desktop and laptop computers. The iPad is just the start of a possible move in this direction, i.e. a move to mobile appliances rather than PCs. We'll have to see how it develops. But I assume Dell sees the writing on the wall, and knows the if it wants to grow, something they have to do given their stock is listed in the US, this is a market they need to be in...

[Pwn2Own Posted Mar 23rd 2010 11:01PM]

Aero? Microsoft Lawsuit in 3...2...1...

[michellecarrys Posted Mar 25th 2010 3:58AM]

@aubreyq Looks like they plan to use the extra screen real estate (3.5" vs 3.2" standard for similarly spec'd phones) to put an iphone-like navigation bar with a back button and a menu button. although the arrow button on the side could also be a back button. perhaps the button below the volume rocker on the side serves as a home button? all just guesses
Hopefully that bulge doesn't mean it's heavy. Opinions: http://bit.ly/dell-aero-verdict