HTC Aria Doubles AT&T's Google Android Arsenal
Adding the HTC Aria to its arsenal doubles AT&T's Google Android presence. Once seen as a laggard in the Android ecosystem, which was dominated by T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, AT&T's first Google Android offering was the Motorola BackFlip.
According to AT&T, the compact HTC Aria will run Android 2.1, also known as clair, and leverage HTC Sense, the smartphone maker's interface overlay that delivers up-to-date information to the home screen from a host of content providers including social networks. The HTC Aria ties in a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and video recording; a 3.2-inch HVGA touch-screen display with an optical joystick; and 3G speeds via HSPA 7.2 Mbps.
AT&T said the Aria also offers Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, and GPS connectivity, along with a digital compass. It is supported at AT&T's more than 20,000 hotspots nationally and also supports tethering, which AT&T revealed earlier this month when AT&T unveiled its revamped wireless data plans, which eliminate unlimited wireless data.
It also boasts access to a host of Google services available through Android, such as Google search, Maps, Navigation, Gmail, YouTube and others. It also features access to the Android Market, Google Android's mobile application marketplace.
The pint-sized HTC Area comes in at just over 4 inches long and weighs a featherlike 4.05 ouches. It's powered by a 700 MHz Qualcomm processor and comes with a 2 GB microSD card, but can support up to 32 GB.
The device will hit stores on June 20 and run $129.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year AT&T contract with a smartphone data plan.
Along with the launch of the HTC Aria, AT&T said it plans to add more Google Android smartphones to its lineup in the second half of this year. The carrier's push toward Android could be a sign that AT&T is preparing for the expiration of its agreement with Apple to be the exclusive carrier for the Apple iPhone in the U.S. AT&T has held iPhone exclusivity since the now-iconic Apple iPhone first hit stores in 2007. Since then, there has been wide speculation that Verizon would get its own version of the iPhone. And as recently as last week analysts predicted that T-Mobile is the next carrier in line for the iPhone when AT&T's exclusive deal expires.