Introduction
There’s no such thing as a small WP 7 phone. However, 4.3 inches of screen estate are really something else. The best case scenario: the HTC HD7 is the phone you’ve been waiting for. The worst case scenario: it’s too big to fail.
The HTC HD7 was inevitable. Was it not the first Windows Phone 7 ever rumored? And rightly so. There’s no phone too big or too powerful for Windows Phone 7. In fact, if you ask Microsoft they’d say the bigger the better. HTC – on their part – didn’t have to think too hard. They simply skipped right to number seven.
HTC HD7 official photos
Come to think of it, it may as well have been exactly with the HTC HD2 in mind that Microsoft laid down the law about the Windows Phone 7 required hardware. Effectively, HTC had a Windows Phone 7 flagship on standby for nearly a year – waiting for as much as a nod from Microsoft to let it off the leash. Anyway, as we’ve seen on a number of occasions, this whole thing is about getting things done on the biggest mobile screen possible. And the HTC HD7’s best course of action is to ensure no surprises.
Key features:
- 4.3″ 16M-color capacitive LCD touchscreen of WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels)
- Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE support
- Dual-band 3G with HSDPA (7.2 Mbps) and HSUPA (2Mbps)
- Windows Phone 7 operating system
- 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 576MB RAM, 512MB ROM
- 5 megapixel autofocus camera with dual-LED flash, geotagging
- 720p video recording @ 25fps
- 8GB of built-in storage
- Standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Standard microUSB port (charging)
- Dolby Mobile and SRS sound enhancement
- Wi-Fi b/g/n
- Bluetooth 2.1 with A2DP
- Accelerometer for screen auto rotation
- Office document editor
- Facebook integration and cloud services
- Built-in A-GPS receiver
- Stereo FM Radio with RDS
- Comes with HTC Hub and exclusive HTC apps
- Voice-to-text functionality
- Kickstand with trademark yellow accents
- Great audio quality
Main disadvantages:
- High screen response time causes visible ghosting
- Non-expandable storage
- No lens protection
- Quite heavy at 162 g (not that we mind)
- Somewhat susceptible to the “antenna death grip” (signal drops by at least two bars)
WP7-specific limitations
- No system-wide file manager
- No Bluetooth file transfers
- No USB mass storage mode
- Limited third-party apps availability
- No Flash (nor Silverlight) support in the browser
- Too dependent on Zune software for file management and syncing
- No video calls
- New ringtones available only through the Marketplace
- Music player lacks equalizer presets
- No multitasking
- No copy/paste
- No DivX/XviD video support (automatic transcoding provided by Zune software)
- No sign of free Bing maps Navigation so far
- No internet tethering support
- No handwriting recognition support
Alright, one thing we can be sure of – the HTC HD7 is playing strictly by the Microsoft book in terms of hardware. On the other hand, it does look like a simple copy/paste job. You know, WP7 phones have a hard time demonstrating a personality. The HD7 has the extra task of identifying itself as something different from the HD2.
The brand new OS is the right place to start. In terms of hardware, the kickstand is certainly an eye-catcher – not to mention it tells you’re dealing with a phone that will keep you entertained. Next on the list is the HTC Hub and the exclusive apps it offers.
HTC HD7 live shots
It still seems the HTC HD7 offers little in the way of creativity. It will be up to the other WP7 phones in the HTC portfolio to do that. The HD7 might just be supposed to be a mere display of power – the one that completes their grand slam of massive screens.
Final words
Having the biggest screen around is a matter of prestige and the HTC HD7 is a marvel – the bezel around the screen is so thin it makes other phones look fat, despite their smaller screens.
We’ve already seen the same basic setup as the HD7 with two other OSes – first the WinMo-powered HD2, then the Desire HD Android (and its CDMA cousin, the EVO 4G).
But the HTC HD7 comes with the newest OS on the market and it’s one of the flagships. There are so many things that just work better on a bigger screen (web browsing, viewing photos, even typing on a virtual keyboard), which is what the HD7 thrives on.
There are potential showstoppers however – and, disappointingly, it’s the display itself. It obviously has some high response time, which results in ghosting when scrolling or watching videos. Now that certainly reduces the perceivable fluidity of most UI elements (and is a serious disadvantage when it comes to watching videos). The screen is also a little less saturated that we would have liked.
The camera is not perfect (especially that shutter key), the gallery with no slideshow is a missed opportunity, the singular loudspeaker on the back – the HTC HD7 has its flaws.
But if you want Windows Phone 7 and a big screen the HD7 has a good lead on the competition. The QWERTY-fied Dell Venue Pro (4.1” WVGA) aside, the 4” Samsungs (Omnia 7, Focus) are the only ones that come close.
So, the Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 is the closest competitor – it sports a 4” WVGA screen but it’s SuperAMOLED and offers a much better picture than the HD7.
Samsung I8700 Omnia 7 • HTC 7 Trophy • LG E900 Optimus 7
The HTC 7 Trophy and LG E900 Optimus 7 have screens that are a good half an inch smaller. Unlike the 7 Trophy and the euro version of the HD7, both the Omnia 7 and Optimus 7 are available with 16GB built-in memory.
3.8” is the screen size of the HTC 7 Surround as well and it’s got a kickstand just like the HD7. However, it adds slide-out surround speakers to the mix and it’s got 16GB internal memory too.
HTC 7 Surround • HTC Desire HD
Finally, you can ditch Windows Phone 7 all together and go with the HTC Desire HD – pretty much the same hardware, besides the 8MP camera, the microSD slot (with 8GB card already in it), more RAM and of course Android 2.2 Froyo. You can even just buy the older HD2, install Android on it and thank the devs that made it possible.
It’s a tough call between the HD7 and the Desire HD – unless you insist on Windows Phone 7, the Desire HD is better (even if it’s a bit pricier). The HD7 has one of the poorest displays we’ve seen in a while (regardless of OS and manufacturer) but if that doesn’t bug you, you are welcome to give the HTC HD7 a serious consideration – there are no compact WP7 phones, so you might as well get the biggest screen around.
Fredy Blog 