I secured the HTC HD7 phone from Maxis, being one of the first in Malaysia to actually use and try out the phone under the Maxis10 programme which is solely created to review new smartphones.
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| The HTC HD7 looks solid |
Excited as I was, the HTC HD7 does give you bowls of excitement. It's shinny, different and spanking new to the smart phone world, making it good for the daring to check out, and probably try out. First impression wise will make you happy because you're getting something more than expected, especially when you know it's running on Windows Phone OS, which you may easily have guessed is from Microsoft.
Moving a little into the phone reveals that it is strangely made stronger that other smart phones. You don't feel it's cheap, nor do you feel it's fragile. You get a complete 'in control' feel when you have the phone in your grasp.
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| User Interface of the WP7 is different |
The user interface was amazing. Smooth tapping and swapping is evident the more you use the phone. It made a very lasting experience. Coupled with responsive buttons, and the ability to use voice recognition indeed makes this phone something Microsoft can be proud about.
And the beauty of this 4.3-inch phone doesn't stop there. Large, vibrant screen displays, a 5.0 mega-pixel camera with auto-focus, seamless integration with Facebook via the People Hub, Xbox360 integration in its Games Hub, Microsoft Office integration with the Office Hub and many more spells just how wonderful this phone can be. In fact, one of my favorite feature is it's battery life. Over 24-hours with wireless well connected!
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| Recording in HD |
The phone also does over average HD recording, and images captured with the 5.0 mega-pixel was better than expected. The typing experience is indeed a joy as everything feels fluid enough to beat anysmart phone out there, while the sound system has been integrated with SRS for better experience. The use of Zune to transfer data is easy to understand, making file transfers and app search peanuts for even beginners.
Unfortunately though, the phone does come with some short comings. For starters, it's apps store (which is under the HTC Hub) is awful displaying only a few worthy apps. The Games Hub which could defeat any smart phone gaming feature does come at a price, hence making it a total turn-off, while most apps, including those built specially for the Windows Phone 7 by pro developers do come with bugs, making all these apps seem unstable.
As far as the recommended software 'Zune' is concern, it is merely for file transferring and not for backing up date. This is a hug dismay as you are over dependent on Microsoft for data back-up.
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| Exciting gaming with Xbox360 |
The long lasting battery life does come at a price as it takes forever to recharge the battery, while a lot of functions which should already be 'standard' in many smart phones are not featured in the WP7 OS. The 5.0 mega-pixel camera turns white images to pink under low light conditions too. This includes the 'cut and paste' feature, the ability to organize calls, file multi-tasking and customize ringtones.
Regardless of that, the HTC HD7 is a solid looking phone which will rock the world, provided that it gets the new upgrades it needs, most particularly in the apps segment.
