While Apple and its big smartphone competitors are competing on applications, speed and resolution, Dell’s (News - Alert) looking to wow the lower-priced smartphone market its latest rollout.

The new Dell Aero, the computing company’s first Android-based U.S. smartphone, is available today at www.dell.com/mobile for $99.99 with new AT&T two-year contract, and $299.99 without.

Dell, known as the world's No. 2 personal computer maker behind Hewlett-Packard (News - Alert) Co., has been looking for ways to diversify its business as profit margins on traditional PCs have grown thinner and thinner, the Associated Press observed.

At just 104 grams, the Dell Aero is one of the lightest Android smartphones out there,” bragged Dell guest blogger Linda Logan through the company’s community forum. “The display is bright and oh so durable. Corning’s (News - Alert) Gorilla Glass keeps the Dell Aero safe from those pesky car keys, loose change, or other items prone to cause harm.”

Dell Aero is equipped with the usual suspects: Quick Office, Facebook, the Android Market and other applications. YouTube (News - Alert) is fueled by Adobe Flash Lite; the cell also includes a five-megapixel camera with 8x zoom, flash and advanced shooting and editing capabilities.

Other redeeming qualities include:

* WiFi access at more than 20,000 AT&T (News - Alert) Hotspot locations;

* 3.5-inch (640 x 360p) capacitive multi-touch display with pinch-to-zoom functionality;

* Quad-Band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz);

* Tri-Band UMTS/HSDPA (850/1900/2100 MHz);

* WiFi and Bluetooth support; and

* 2 GB on board user accessible Micro SD with expandable memory available up to 32 GB.

Stay tuned for a full TMCnet product review. We can't wait to test out the Aero and experience the power of Adobe Flash Lite.