Well, that came out of nowhere. Although we knew the device existed early this year, today’s arrival of the Dell Aero at AT&T Mobility was a total surprise – at least to us.

And also a bit of a mystery. 

Dell’s Aero smartphone runs not Android 2.2, 2.1 or even 2.0.  The Aero runs Android 1.5 which is so, well… HTC Hero.  Even the Dell Streak tablet runs Android 1.6.  Dell doesn’t think a year-old OS is a problem though, noting that the Aero is running  many “Dell user interface enhancements.”  One would hope.

Features include a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen (640×360), UMTS/HSDPA mobile broadband, 802.11b/g Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a 624Mhz CPU, a microSDHC card slot (a 2GB card is included, 32GB max), GPS, a 1000mAh Li-Ion battery, and a 5MP camera.

Leaving the disappointing OS version aside, the Aero has a few selling points.  First, it’s only $99 with a two-year agreement, a price which is certain to drop in the coming weeks, at least from third-party retailers.  It’s also a great looking device that’s thin and sleek.  And at only 3.6-ounces, it’s quite light-weight for an Android-powered phone.

You can order the Aero today via Dell.  The handset is slated for direct sale by AT&T “soon.”

Today RIM and AT&T Mobility made the BlackBerry Torch 9800 official.  The new smartphone – available for purchase August 12th for $200 with a two-year contract – is a slider, which is a new direction for RIM. The Torch will also be the first phone to run BlackBerry OS 6.

Noteworthy features include 4GB of internal flash storage, a 5MP camera, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, 512MB of RAM, a 3.2-inch touchscreen display with a 480×360 resolution, and an optical trackpad.

Wirefly.com currently has the best out-the-door price on the AT&T HTC Aria Android phone: free. 

With a two-year service agreement, you can get the Aria free at checkout (no rebates required).  Shipping is also free.  If you already have an AT&T wireless account and want to upgrade to the Aria, Wirefly can do that too – for $19.99 at checkout.

Learn more about the AT&T HTC Aria Android Phone…

Amazon.com currently has the Aria for $0.01 with a two-year contract. 

The AT&T Mobility direct price is $129.

Almost a month to the day after it was officially announced, the Samsung Captivate is available for purchase.  This phone is the first high-end Android device to be sold by the carrier. 

The Captivate is a Galaxy S variant, similar to the recently-released T-Mobile Vibrant.  Features include Android OS 2.1, a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird SoC CPU, 16GB of built-in flash storage, a 4-inch AMOLED touchscreen, and a 5MP camera with 720p HD video recording.

The direct AT&T price is $199 with a two-year service agreement.  Wirefly has it today for $149.

Learn more about the AT&T Samsung Captivate…