T Mobile HTC HD7 Review

 having already been well handled at the European launch and then subsequently reviewed. Now, the smartphone has made its US debut on T-Mobile, the carriers’ one and only Windows Phone 7 device. We loved the Euro HD7′s big screen and slim body, but had a few harsh words to say about its performance; has the T-Mobile HD7 kept its strengths in its trip across the Atlantic? Check out the SlashGear review after the cut.

Hardware

Since the European and North American versions of the HD7 only differ in very minor ways – predominantly the UMTS/WCDMA radios – we won’t entirely re-cover the smartphone now. Instead, we’d point you to our original HTC HD7 review. The HD7 is very obviously related to the HTC HD2, which remains on sale with T-Mobile at half the price of the Windows Phone 7 handset, with a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 1GHz Snapdragon processor and 5-megapixel camera with dual-LED flash.

T-Mobile’s HD7 packs 16GB of onboard storage (there’s no user-accessible memory card slot) together with dualband UMTS 1700/2100 and quadband GSM/EDGE. The display is the HD7′s flagship feature, but as with the Euro model it’s let down by HTC’s selection of LCD panel. Poor viewing angles and middling color accuracy leave the HD7′s screen feeling cheaper than you’d expect from a brand new smartphone, and though the flip-out kickstand makes communal video viewing a possibility, it generally means both people will have a less than impressive experience.

HTC’s other compromise is battery life, which seems to be an issue of avoiding bulk and weight in what’s already – at 4.8 x 2.68 x 0.44 inches – a sizeable device. The HD7 packs a 1,230 mAh battery, rated for up to 6.5 hours talktime, but the power-hungry display and MID-like suitability for heavy internet browsing means we struggled to make it through a full day. With more cautious use, you can manage a day with push-email turned on, but it undermines the HD7′s browsing and video priorities.

Finally there’s the camera, and while 720p HD video recording is decent, still images are a mixed bag. The HD7 obviously lacks the megapixels of the Mozart but even manages to punch below its weight among other 5-megapixel cameraphones. A mushy shutter release button gets things off to a bad start, with undue focus hunting making framing difficult, and the final shots suffered from mediocre colors. Ironically we’ve had better results from the HTC HD2.

Software

We’ve covered Windows Phone 7 comprehensively in our Technical Preview, and launch-day reviews of the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and HTC 7 Mozart. Suffice to say, by going back to the drawing board rather than attempting to rehash Windows Mobile, they’ve come up with a solid – if fledgling – alternative to Android and iOS that stands distinct in the smartphone line-up.

We’d recommend watching our two Windows Phone 7 walkthrough videos for a good grounding in the new Microsoft OS; while they’re demonstrated using the Samsung Focus, since Microsoft has been so prescriptive with hardware specifications for this initial round of devices, the experience on the HD7 is practically identical.