Dell Aero to come loaded with custom apps

The Dell Aero when it ships will veer far from the usual Android smartphone lineup, a leaked presentation slipped out late last night. The Mini 3 variant will support protected Windows Media music for download and streaming audio and may be the first Android phone to support PlayReady DRM. Sheets in the Engadget documents point to more Microsoft hooks as it would get both Exchange support (including ActiveSync) and QuickOffice for basic Office file editing.

The hardware is comparatively old and would use a 624MHz Marvell processor with Android 1.5, but Dell's internal schedules have the phone getting Android 2.1 in the summer or fall. Whether that holds true isn't apparent as Google is already testing Android 2.2 and may make that the most current version by the time the Aero is ready to ship. It should provide a minor speed boost and enable newer apps and features than possible on the older Android build.

Unofficial scheduling has the Aero shipping in June, but AT&T and Dell have so far only committed to a spring target.

By Electronista Staff