Even as competitor Hewlett-Packard tries to figure out what to do with its Palm smartphone division, Dell is charging ahead with plans to release its first smartphones.  Leading that charge is the "Thunder", a phone powered by Google's wildly successful Android operating system.

News of Thunder and a twin Windows Phone 7 handset "Lightning" leaked back in April.  Dell has since confirmed that Thunder is a real product.  Now the first video of the phone in the wild has been aired.

The phone looks slick.  It sports a glossy finish backplate, emblazoned with the Dell logo, and a metallic outer frame.  The phone looks razor thin -- though this is still an early prototype.  The device showcases a gorgeous 4.1" OLED screen.  The resolution is unknown, but is expected to be high, given the 7 x 4 icon grid on the the prototype.

The phone also features an 8 megapixel camera, centered on the back plate of the phone.  An LED flash is also seen directly beneath the camera.  No signs of a front-facing camera are seen -- just three touch buttons on the bottom of the screen area.

The prototype sports a swappable 1400 milli-amp-hour battery and runs on Android 2.1.  The final version, set to launch in Q4 2010 (just in time for the holidays), is expected to run Android 2.2 Froyo.

Dell is also showing Google more love, releasing a series of tablet devices.  The first of those -- the 5-inch Streak -- is already out, and the 7-inch Dell Looking Glass is expected to follow.  Two other phone handsets -- the Dell Smoke and the Dell Flash are also rumored to be incoming sometime in 2011.