The HTC Aria is the second Android device on AT&T, and arguably the first worth really considering on the U.S. carrier. It is exclusive to Optus and provides all the features and benefits of more expensive HTC smartphones in a compact form factor. The HTC Aria is compact, feature rich smartphone that runs on Android version 2.1 with HTC's Sense user interface.

HTC Aria Review

At just 4.1 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.5 inch thick and weighing 4 ounces, the Aria stands in stark contrast to the HTC Evo 4G. Easy to fit into a shirt or pants pocket, it's roughly the same size as the Motorola Cliq XT, but the Aria feels like a higher quality handset. Gone are 5 touch-sensitive Windows Mobile Keys from the HD mini, replaced by touch sensitive Home, Menu, Back, and Search keys to compliment Android. Regardless, the handset feels well constructed and balanced enough to survive a good dose of punishment from everyday usage.

The HTC Aria is definitely snappy, with fast performance. The Aria starts out as a 600 MHz Android 2.1 phone running HTC Sense, and there's a lot to recommend with that. The 600MHz Qualcomm processor coupled with 384MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM far exceeded our expectations.  It is extremely responsive to my every command, opening apps and loading web pages very quickly indeed. There's so much to find in the 50,000+ apps on the Android Market that it can be a chore.

The Aria's screen measures 3.2-inches diagonally and has a 320×480-pixel HVGA resolution. The display on the HTC Aria is bright and vibrant, and even looks good outside. Text looks sharp and icons are detailed and colorful. The Aria's capacitive touch screen supports the pinch-to-zoom multitouch gesture, so if you have any problems seeing something on the display, you can easily magnify it. There is no camera button on the side of the device; you take photos by pressing the optical joystick.

The Aria doesn't have a physical keyboard. On one hand, the HTC custom virtual keyboard in Sense is far better in every which way than the stock Android virtual keypad.  Beneath the screen are four touch sensitive keys: Home, Menu, Back and Search.

The Aria is a competent little shooter, with a 5-megapixel camera strapped to its back. It produces sharp looking images, as long as you have a steady hand, but colors do have a harder tone to them. Images taken in low lighting conditions did produce some subtle color tones to compensate its lack for a flash. The autofocus is as snappy as usual on a smartphone.

 

Battery life on the HTC Aria is pretty good, better than many other Android phones. The Aria sports a 1200mAh battery. The 1200 mAh lithium-ion battery that comes with the phone is able to easily last through an entire day of heavy handset use.

 

The HTC Aria is a pocket-friendly Android phone that offers better performance than what its small screen might suggest.  If you're looking for a very small, yet very capable device, the Aria is worthy of your consideration.