While the smartphone world waits for Apple to open up pre-orders of the iPhone 4 on Tuesday, AT&T is rolling out its second Android-powered device: The HTC Aria. The HTC Aria will come to market four days before the iPhone 4 and at a significantly lower price.
HTC is billing the Aria as a pocket-sized device running the Android 2.1 platform. The Aria is smaller than other smartphones at just four inches long and weighing 4.05 ounces. The design doesn't have any sharp edges, which HTC said makes it more convenient and more comfortable to carry and hold.
The Aria offers a five-megapixel camera, a 3.2-inch HVGA display, a captive touchscreen, and an optical joystick. The cost is $129.99 after a $100 rebate when consumers sign a two-year contract with AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the HTC Aria.
According to Michael Gartenberg, a partner at Altimeter Group, the HTC Aria demonstrates how smartphones are becoming increasingly smart. "It's going to be increasingly hard to make distinctions between Android devices," he said. "But what Android has done is make it possible for consumers to get into the smartphone experience fairly cheaply."
The HTC Aria will not only tap into AT&T's 3G network, but the company said the phone is compatible with its High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology. That means faster than 3G speeds, and it sets the stage for mobile broadband use. The phone is also Wi-Fi capable. AT&T has more than 20,000 hot spots users can connect to across the U.S.
Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America, said although the compact size and design sets the HTC Aria apart from the pack, its HTC Sense experience is the major differentiator. The Sense experience automatically delivers information that users deem most important to the home page of the mobile device....
Posted: 2010-06-14 11:43:24
