The Dell Aero is now on sale after being introduced to American markets on Tuesday.
The Aero is priced at $299 on Dell’s website, but the price drops to $99 if the phone is purchased alongside a two-year service contract from AT&T.
The smartphone is not yet available from AT&T though, and consumers cannot receive the $200 savings if they purchase it from Dell—but AT&T’s website assures customers that the phone is “coming soon.” Anxious buyers can sign up on AT&T’s e-mail list to be notified “as soon as the Dell Aero is available.”
Weighing in at a 3.67 ounces, the phone is “one of the lightest Android smartphones” on the market, according to Dell.
But the phone has been called an “embarrassment” to Dell by JR Raphael, a blogger for PC World, because it operates on an outdated version of Google’s Android system.
The Aero runs on Android 1.5, a mobile operating system, nicknamed “Cupcake,” introduced in April 2009, six months after Google introduced its first Android smartphone.
Since then, the Android operating system has received four significant upgrades, according to Raphael.
“No matter how you look at it, a phone with Android 1.5 is going to be slower and significantly less advanced than a device with a recent version of the [operating system],” Raphael said in a blog post. “And [the Aero]’s going to be crippled when it comes to third-party applications, too, as plenty of apps require Android 2.0 or higher to operate.”
Its operating system aside, the Aero does boast some up-to-date features, including a 5-megapixel camera and an enhanced version of the Android browser.
The Aero is priced at $299 on Dell’s website, but the price drops to $99 if the phone is purchased alongside a two-year service contract from AT&T.
The smartphone is not yet available from AT&T though, and consumers cannot receive the $200 savings if they purchase it from Dell—but AT&T’s website assures customers that the phone is “coming soon.” Anxious buyers can sign up on AT&T’s e-mail list to be notified “as soon as the Dell Aero is available.”
Weighing in at a 3.67 ounces, the phone is “one of the lightest Android smartphones” on the market, according to Dell.
But the phone has been called an “embarrassment” to Dell by JR Raphael, a blogger for PC World, because it operates on an outdated version of Google’s Android system.
The Aero runs on Android 1.5, a mobile operating system, nicknamed “Cupcake,” introduced in April 2009, six months after Google introduced its first Android smartphone.
Since then, the Android operating system has received four significant upgrades, according to Raphael.
“No matter how you look at it, a phone with Android 1.5 is going to be slower and significantly less advanced than a device with a recent version of the [operating system],” Raphael said in a blog post. “And [the Aero]’s going to be crippled when it comes to third-party applications, too, as plenty of apps require Android 2.0 or higher to operate.”
Its operating system aside, the Aero does boast some up-to-date features, including a 5-megapixel camera and an enhanced version of the Android browser.
