HTC HD7

By Vlad Savov 

The screen that just keeps on going meets the OS that refuses to fit on a single display. Yes, Microsoft's Windows Phone 7, like Windows Mobile 6.5 and Android before it, is getting treated with a 4.3-inch display from HTC for its launch party. The aptly titled HD7 is, by virtue of Microsoft's stringent hardware requirements, mostly just a stretched-out version of its WP7 contemporaries: it offers the standard 800 x 480 res, 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon, 576MB of RAM, and a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with a 720p movie mode. So what sets it apart? HTC will have you believe its Hub enhances the buttery smooth WP7 software, while outside the shell there's a handy kickstand for landscape lounging and you do of course benefit from an enlarged canvas for your finger inputs. Join us after the break to discover how much that matters in day-to-day use, along with the rest of our thoughts on the HTC HD7.

Inside
The US (exclusive to T-Mobile on November 8) and UK (an O2 exclusive, available today) variants of the HD7 will pack 16GB of non-expandable storage whereas most other countries will have to settle for 8GB. You might consider that something of a limitation, and indeed if you have to have every episode of every season of House on your mobile device, maybe you'll feel the squeeze, but T-Mobile is coming to the rescue with Slacker Radio and Netflix apps preinstalled on the US HD7, while the Zune Pass all-you-can-listen music buffet service (coming to Western Europe right around now) can turn the cloud into your music collection guardian.

What we're more concerned about, however, is the Qualcomm QSD8250 chip that resides within the HD7's confines. This was a celebrated 1GHz part back when it graced HTC's own HD2 this time last year, but today... not so much. And speaking of the HD2, it's pretty outrageous that HTC has gone and matched its spec almost entirely. Sure, the externals have been tweaked, the physical buttons have been dismissed in favor of capacitive keys and you've now got a slightly different frame around your jumbo display, but as far as the internal hardware is concerned, it's nearly the same phone. We imagine this was probably out of HTC's hands since Microsoft insists on the particular trio of WP7 buttons and has also been the one to mandate the processor within, but it still leaves geeks like us feeling less than overjoyed. After all, if not for a bit of red tape, we could just as well be reviewing the HD2 right now.

Looking at the HD7 and its Windows Phone 7 OS in isolation, however, we have to commend the final product. Whether we like the route by which Microsoft has gotten here, what we're looking at with all these launch devices is one hell of a smooth user experience. So, in spite of its aged hardware, the HD7 is by no means a performance slouch. Basically, we'd have preferred something beefier inside, but that's just because we like numbers, and we like them to grow higher, but in actual use the HD7 is more than nippy enough.

Display
Ah, the display. The HD7's meat and potatoes, its reason for being, the meaning to its life, the beating heart of its entire operation. If we haven't made it abundantly clear yet, the display is this phone's defining feature and also the thing that will most likely determine its commercial success. That's aside from the key determinant, of course -- the Windows Phone 7 experience -- but given that the OS has been so tightly regimented by Microsoft, you'll be able to easily jump aboard abother WP7 ship should the HD7 not rock your boat quite how you'd like it to. The trouble with its 4.3-inch panel, however, is that it does indeed both make and break the appeal of the HD7.

Camera
The camera on the HD7 was a weird one for us to get to grips with. On the one hand, focusing is pretty snappy and Windows Phone 7 does allow you to jump straight into the camera app from a locked screen (by holding down the shutter button). But our actual results were somewhat hit and miss. Sometimes, the HD7's camera would nail the white balance in situations where even a DSLR was struggling to guess correctly, but at other times it'd struggle to focus in relatively unchallenging circumstances. Aside from that, we have to take issue with WP7's inability to remember camera (or camcorder) settings. The HD7 defaults, weirdly enough, to shooting 480p video, which you have to switch up yourself... each and every time you use the video app. Maybe we're unenlightened on how to make our settings stick, but sure enough, each time we turned on the camera and wanted to shoot at 720p, we had to manually turn it on. Which was annoying.

Specifications

Weight

  • 162 grams (5.7 ounces) with battery

Display

  • Type: Touch screen with pinch-to-zoom capability
  • Size: 4.3 inches
  • Resolution: 480 x 800 WVGA

CPU Processing Speed

  • 1 GHz

Storage

  • Internal storage: 8 GB (Europe), 16 GB (Asia)
  • ROM: 512 MB
  • RAM: 576 MB

Connectors

  • 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
  • Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)

Sensors

  • G-Sensor
  • Digital compass
  • Proximity sensor
  • Ambient light sensor

HTC Hub

  • Weather, Stocks, Converter, Photo Enhancer, Sound Enhancer, and more
  • Downloadable apps and games

Multimedia

  • See photos from your camera, Facebook® and Windows Live™ accounts in the Pictures hub
  • Music and Videos Hub powered by Zune® lets you listen to radio, download music, and more
  • Dolby Mobile and SRS surround sound
Audio supported formats:
  • .m4a, .m4b, .mp3, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)
Video supported formats:
  • Playback:.3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m4v, .mbr., .wmv (Windows Media Video 9 and VC-1)
  • Recording:.mp4

Power & Battery

  • Battery type: Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery
  • Capacity: 1230 mAh
Talk time:
  • WCDMA: Up to 320 mins
  • GSM: Up to 380 mins
Standby time:
  • WCDMA: Up to 320 hours
  • GSM: Up to 310 hours

Network

Europe:
  • HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
  • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
Asia Pacific:
  • HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
  • GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Platform

Windows® Phone OS 7

Camera

  • 5 megapixel color camera
  • Auto focus and dual LED flash
  • 720p HD video recording
  • Built-in scenes include candlelight, landscape, and portrait match the environment of your subject

Internet

3G:
  • Up to 7.2 Mbps download speed
  • Up to 2 Mbps upload speed
GPRS:
  • Up to 114 kbps downloading
EDGE:
  • Up to 560 kbps downloading
Wi-Fi®:
  • Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth®

  • Bluetooth® 2.1 with Enhanced Data Rate
  • A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
  • Other supported profiles: AVRCP, HFP, HSP, PBAP

Location

  • Internal GPS antenna
  • Bing™ Maps

Special Features

  • With kickstand
  • Customize your phone with live tiles which dynamically update all key information right on the Start screen
  • Choose from thousands of video titles and music tracks via integrated Zune® services
  • Play console-quality video games with XBox LIVE® integration
The HD7 is pretty much what you thought it would be. 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.