HTC Aria debuts as AT&T's next Android phone

At CES 2010, AT&T said it would introduce an Android phone from HTC this year, and over the past couple of months, we've seen signs of an imminent release. On Monday, however, AT&T officially introduced the HTC Aria as its next Android device.

Available starting June 20 for $129.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate, the Aria is an Android 2.1-based smartphone running HTC Sense. It has a design similar to the HTC HD Mini, which we saw back at Mobile World Congress. It features a 3.2-inch HVGA capacitive touch screen and an optical joystick and measures just 4.6 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by half an inch thick.

Despite its petite size, the Aria is pretty packed with features, including 3G support, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a 5-megapixel camera. It also has a 600MHz processor, 512MB Flash/256MB RAM, and comes with a 2GB microSD card.

The Aria may not the most powerful Android phone, but it certainly looks a bit more promising than the Motorola Backflip and the Dell Aero. We will, of course, work to get you a full review soon. In the meantime, you can check out this unboxing video from AT&T's Android product manager, Dante Martin, and also sign up for news updates on AT&T's Web site.