Microsoft’s latest revamp back into the smartphone market brings us Windows Phone 7 OS as they leave Windows Mobile in the past. AT&T and T-Mobile signed up to be official carriers to support it as T-Mobile armed themselves with the HTC HD7. Released back in late October/early November, we only recently received our review unit armed with the latest update that offers Copy/Paste abilities among other new features in which it didn’t have in the beginning. In honor of AT&T announcing their version of the phone and today’s Mango WP7 preview, we present the TechGuySmartBuy review on the HD7.
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| WP7 Homescreen |
On the hardware side of the HTC HD7, it is well-equipped to be considered an almost up-to-date device. The HD7 has a 4.3inch touchscreen w/ 800 x 480 resolution (nothing fancy like Super LCD or Super AMOLED Plus though), powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 16GB of internal storage (no microSD expansion), 576MB of RAM, Bluetooth 2.1 w/ A2DP Stereo, Wi-Fi b/g/n support, GPS, 5MP camera w/ auto-focus + dual LED flash that can record videos in 720p HD, kickstand, Dolby Mobile/SRS WOW HD surround sound, 3.5mm audio jack, micro-USB port and a 1230 mAh battery.
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| HD7 kickstand |
Wish the HD7 had Super LCD or Super AMOLED Plus display? The 4.3inch of the HD7 doesn’t need any special treatment due to clean look of the OS. The processor and RAM gets the job done with zero lag during my experience. The 1230 mAh battery should have been bigger but it can get through the most part of the day but it could have been a little bit bigger. The phone quality and speakerphone was a little bit below the average standard in my humble opinion. It could have been my review unit but I wouldn’t use the speakerphone on this device as whoever was on the other end had trouble hearing me. The camera worked pretty well for the most part. Sometimes it was a hit or a miss with successful photo but the video capture picked up the slack. The kickstand on the HD7 is definitely in a strange place as you can only stand the device in landscape view, not portrait view.
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| WP7 Keyboard |
At first glance, you may think that the new WP7 Metro UI hides the same mediocre features of the former Windows Mobile. But with closer observations with it, WP7 reminds me of a young iPhone OS with something new & fresh with plenty of potential complete with the lack of true multitasking as well. Microsoft’s new mobile OS is very responsive as it runs quite fast & smooth for a newer OS.
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| WP7 Email |
The new homepage Microsoft uses for WP7 are called “live tiles” which are customizable and color-coated. The different tiles can be edited to the apps you desire for your homepage. At times you wish there was more than one homescreen as Android & iOS has spoiled us with several. Also there’s a full application list that can also be edited. The animation involved when opening apps were done very tastefully and not over the top.
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| Xbox Live Hub |
The Internet Explorer is WebKit-based browser that lacks any Adobe Flash or HTML5 support but has tabbed browsing and can get the job done for your basic internet needs. The email & messaging native apps have a clean design and layout to them. The email supports easy setup of Windows Live, Outlook, Exchange ActiveSync, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail accounts as well as support for contact/calendar support. They are also effective for your daily needs of non-verbal communication. The built-in keyboard is just the right size for effective typing as it has the “@” symbol on the main keyboard without having to access the symbols side. Works well in both portrait or landscape views as it is equipped with auto-correction while typing that it pretty accurate. The OS integrates Facebook in many places but unfortunately no Twitter support other than just the app. It incorporates Facebook contacts within the phone for easy communication.
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| WP7 Office App |
Being an OS by Microsoft, all of their products are integrated within each WP7 device. The WP7 comes with a full mobile version of Microsoft Office w/ document viewing & creation of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and One Note products. The WP7 Office also has SharePoint support for business users for collaboration purposes. Xbox Live allows you to manage your avatar, profile, game invites, and play Xbox-like games as well from your WP7 device. Instead of your standard media player, you have Zune Music + Videos at your disposal. The Zune Player requires you to have the Zune software on your PC or Mac to sync your own music to any WP7 device. You can also purchase/download media from the Zune Marketplace directly from it.
Definitely loving the OS, more than the device itself. The AT&T’s HD7S maybe a little bit more up-to-date with the specs. We’ll see as it will launch in a few weeks. The HD7 for T-Mo was good for when it was released but now I think Microsoft need to either beef up their OS (possibly with the Mango update coming soon) or offer better handsets. Again this a device that released back in October/November and kind of already reached the end of its cycle. From a consumers aspect, I don’t think there’s a good enough WP7 device out for draw them in. Most of the devices are similar in design and in specs. Perhaps some individualism with the handsets can boost some WP7 sales. I can see the potential in the revamped mobile OS by Microsoft. If you are interested in the HD7, hold out for the newer, next wave of WP7 devices.
