HTC HD7

“It's that same 4.3-inch blueprint that HTC has exploited to great success with the HD2 and EVO 4G, applied to the brand new Windows Phone 7 operating environment. The first question you'll truly have to answer for yourself is whether or not you want to be aboard the WP7 gravy train. We remain staunch believers that a smartphone is only as good (or as bad) as its software, so decide on your OS first and your particular handset second. If you're still with us, we'd recommend the HD7 as a solid WP7 device choice, but with a few caveats. The build quality is a step below the finest we've seen, landing the HD7 in the passable category, while the display may achieve a high level of brightness, but it goes to waste thanks to its poor contrast and viewing angles. For a device aspiring to woo us with its multimedia features, this, along with middling sound output from its stereo speakers, renders the HD7 a failure if measured purely by the boasts of its promotional materials. But we judge by our own standards here, and the reason we like the HD7 is that it seems to be just about the perfect size for us. It trades little in the way of added bulk for an awful lot in added real estate and general usability. We know we like to beat the drum about pixels on these pages, but sometimes inches matter just as much. And lets not forget that we're still living in a world where nobody has yet managed to deliver a truly impressive 4.3-inch display, never mind the fanciness of Super AMOLED, so HTC deserves commendation for at the very least trying, and we reckon we might be happy dealing with a less Super panel that just gives us more of what we want. Provided what we want is Windows Phone 7.”

“The HTC HD7 is an all in all pleasure to use. Unfortunately however, it isn't as much of a wow device as its Android 4.3 siblings, having been released far later than the EVO 4G, therefore lacking the edge and without the build quality of the HTC Desire HD or the new Sense UI's functional implementation. HTC's overlay upon Windows Phone 7 comes only in the form of HTC Hub, and is pretty underwhelming as it’s not intended to be another Sense UI. Also, while Windows Phone 7 is a promising OS, it could use a hand in the functionality department. Nevertheless, this doesn't take away from the 4.3 inch screen being great for movies, and the fact that it does real justice to the super smooth OS. Like all Windows Phone 7 handsets, the HTC HD7 will get better as the OS matures. In the meantime, it comes recommended by us, though admittedly not to the same extent as we might have hoped. Alternative considerations would be the Samsung Omnia 7 if you want to stay with the OS but want a Super AMOLED screen. If the form factor appeals, depending on where you are in the world, the EVO 4G or HTC Desire HD would provide great Android alternatives, or the iPhone 4 could offer a more established OS, though the screen is considerably smaller.”

“The HTC HD7 is currently the Windows Phone 7’s flagship device and it delivers a great performance with its large display, whether it is emailing, browsing the web, getting directions on Bing maps, reading and editing a document or watching videos, it is highly enjoyable. A few features could have been better: the display and the speaker quality, web browsing was overall slightly slower than expected.”

“The fatal flaw in all this is that adding much needed functionality at some point down the road means it will not be a part of consumer’s initial experience with the OS and the devices on which it resides. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. My sincere hope, however, is that people do give Windows Phone 7 a second chance once the functionality is flushed out a bit. Looking back on the first version of the iPhone OS, it was missing tons of features as we can all recall. Over time, however, iOS grew to become the great platform it is today. Microsoft is not a newcomer to the game as Apple was, so these omissions are even less excusable than they were for the iPhone. But there was a huge amount of pressure for Microsoft to deliver, so it did the best it could. Whether or not the OS will improve quickly is not a question. It will. I think by the second half of next year, we’ll have something special on our hands. Is the OS usable in the meantime? Absolutely — but when purchasing a great phone like the HTC HD7 for the time being, prepare to deal with the same frustrations many of us dealt with when the iPhone platform was in its infancy.”