One of the biggest advantages that Droid has over the iPhone is the wide variety of phone models available. AT&T hasn't exactly been ahead of the game in terms of its adoption of the Droid, but it has lengthened its admittedly thin. Now even though the Aria is not the most powerful Droid phone on the market, but it's not supposed to be. The Aria is a little more portable than other smartphones, so if you're looking for HTC Aria Cases, you'll need a smallish one. It's compact and lightweight; at only four ounces, it fits easily into a pocket. While other smartphones seem to be getting bigger and bigger, the Aria is only 4.1 inches by 2.3 inches, and it's only half an inch thick. The Aria forgoes HTC's 1GHz Snapdragon processor in favor of a more streamlined 600MHz one, but it still performs admirably.

At 3.2 inches, the Aria's screen might be a little bit smaller than what's available on some of the beefier smartphones. The resolution is 320 by 480 HVGA. And altough it might not be the sharpest looking screen, it surprisingly good for a small sized phone. But you're going to stick this phone in your pocket, I suggest you think about HTC Aria Screen Protectors to keep it looking good. By default, the screen shows a regularly updated time and weather report. But even when the touchscreen's small size feels uncomfortable, you can always rotate the Aria so it give provide you with a more roomier landscape keyboard.

Navigation is simple with the four touch-sensitive buttons found below the display. The four standard buttons: home,  back, menu and search. There's no trackball to fall out or get clogged up with dirt; the Aria also marks HTC's switch to an optical pad. There's lots of room for HTC Aria accessories, including a 3.5 mm headphone jack on top and a micro-USB port on the bottom for updates, charging, and loading data. There's a 5 megapixel camera on the back, but sadly there is no flash or dedicated camera button. The Aria also has a SIM card slot and a microSD slot, but you'll have to take the battery cover off to get to them. You have to access it through the menu. It may look challenging at first glance with the visible screws on the back, you don't have to remove them. They don't attach the outer cover, and it can easily be removed.

This phone uses the newer 2.1 version of the Android OS with HTC's Sense skin. This skin manages to be attractive without swamping the system with too many processes. The latest version of Sense also comes with HTC's Leap software, which makes multitasking a breeze. The Aria even comes with "Friend Stream," which is for all those Facebook junkies of the world. It may be an unnecessary feature for some, but this app lets users view status updates, pictures and more in one place. It supports Twitter, Flickr, Facebook and others.

The Aria also comes with a several other useful apps, and the Droid App Store offers hundreds more options. It has Google Maps and GPS, so you won't get lost.