HTC 7 Trophy Review
The HTC 7 Trophy is overall a pretty swish looking device. Its sleek angels and noticeably thin edges are a pleasing, as are its shiny capacitive buttons and 3.8 inch display. But with so many Windows Phone 7 (WP7) devices on the market, each with similar specs and looks, how do you really choose between them all? Well it generally comes down to the hardware, the visual appeal and what carrier you want to go with.
The HTC 7 Trophy is a powerful, smooth-running device. Its 1GHz processor makes short work of most tasks, making your interface experience an effortless and generally pain-free task.
The WP7 operating system (OS) is, of course, a great bonus. Social media integration, web browsing, camera integration and just the general look of its great user interface (UI) all add to the appeal of the phone. But what about the hardware?
Like with every WP7 device we’ve reviewed the HTC 7 Trophy has no expandable memory. Yes, there is an 8GB Micro SD card in there but unfortunately it cannot be replaced by another card, so you’re stuck with 8GB. While that’s not really a problem for normal phone use it does limit the 7 Trophy’s appeal as a multimedia device.
As with all WP7 devices the HTC 7 Trophy has some pretty impressive junk under the hood. Its 5MP camera with LED flash is appreciated, but hardly revolutionary at this stage in the game (5MP is actually the minimum requirement for WP7 devices). The 3.8 inch screen, while crisp and beautiful, is hardly large enough to bring notice over its Windows Phone 7 brethren. So why should you get this phone?
In a perfect world you wouldn’t, but this isn’t a perfect world. If you were after a large display and had your choice then the HTC HD7 would be our pick with its 4.3 inch screen, especially seeing as the HD7 comes with 16GB of memory. If you like the size of the Trophy’s display in particular then it’d be well worth considering the HTC Mozart, which has a 3.7 inch screen and sports a superior 8MP camera with xenon flash.
Unfortunately for us Mozart and HD7 fanbois, the HTC Mozart is only available with Telstra in Australia, as will be the HTC HD7 after its Australian release in January 2011. It looks like if you want to go with another provider then you’ll have to stick with a different WP7 phone. So for the time being, in the real world at least, the HTC 7 Trophy is definitely worthy of consideration if you’re after a great WP7 device that isn’t locked to Telstra. However, we’d recommend you take a look at the Samsung Omnia 7 before you make up your mind and remember to check out which carriers offer what phones before you make up your mind on a device.