Windows Phone 7 On HTC HD7: Review

As implemented in HTC’s HD7 smartphone, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 emerges as a solid mobile operating system with no major issues worth complaining about.

Despite its overall polish and functionality, the platform feels a bit like a first draft – one far more polished than the Android 1.6 that ran on the original Motorola Droid, for example, but nonetheless lacking some key features such as cut-and-paste capability.

Based on my tests of Windows Phone 7 running on the HD7, the unit’s best shot at eclipsing the Apple iPhone or a similar Google Android device in the eyes of prospective smartphone buyers is the device’s penchant for integrating with Microsoft services such as Sharepoint or Xbox Live.

Hub-oriented interface

Windows Phone 7 also caught my attention with its “Hub-oriented” interface. Microsoft has eschewed the familiar grid layouts of Android and iOS-based devices in favour of subject-specific “Hubs,” which are meant to consolidate both applications and web content into an intuitive and easy-to-access format.

For example, the “People” Hub draws contact data from a number of online sources: with a few taps, I could see an individual’s phone number, a link to their personal website and an option to write on their Facebook wall. In similar fashion, the “Music + Videos” Hub offers access not only to Zune media, but also online radio such as Slacker.

Windows Phone 7’s most seamless feature, at least in this reviewer’s opinion, is the “Office” Hub, which allows workers on the go to perform light edits on Word documents, Excel worksheets and PowerPoint presentations.

Those items ported from my 15-inch laptop to the smartphone, via email, with nary a glitch or a flub in spacing or formatting. All elements seemed right-sized on a 4.3-inch screen, and simple functions such as italicising came off without those frustrating bugs that often grip first-generation software.

The WP7 keyboard is also well-executed, even for big fingers like mine. Saving and porting those documents to e-mail was also a snap.

The HD7 is available from O2, starting at £50.04 with an 18-month contract