No Hint of WP7 at HTC London Event?

The much rumoured Windows Phone 7 device from HTC failed to be mentioned at the HTC event in London yesterday. New Android devices running Android 2.2 were unveiled, the HTC Desire HD and the HTC Desire Z which features a ‘pop-hinge’ keyboard.

The HTC Desire HD seems to be trying to do all the things your HD TV does, whilst also being a phone and pocket sized. The large 4.3” screen makes for a comfortable touch screen experience, and the display (rumoured to be AMOLED) is crisp, clear and colourful.

With an 8 megapixel camera with flash, and a 720p HD video recording this device is perfect not only for viewing images and films, but making them too. The device also features Dolby Mobile surround sound – a new technology for mobile devices which is only available on a handful of handsets.

Whilst distinct from the iPhone in many ways, the solid aluminium handset “sculpted from a single piece of aluminium” is reminiscent of the MacBook Air which boasts the same elegant design concept. HTC are providing a phone that is not only packed full of technical wizardry but is a pretty thing to look at too. Appearing like a close relative to the HD2, there remains a simple elegance

The HTC Desire Z has a slightly lower spec with a 5 megapixel camera, 800MHz CPU (compared with 1GHz in the Desire HD), 512MB RAM (compared with 768MB in the Desire HD), and a slightly smaller screen at 3.7”.

The primary difference between the two new handsets is that the Desire Z has the hardware keyboard, which slides to the side and is a decent size. The appeal is not only to current users of keyboard phones such as Blackberry, but to those who have tried and struggled with the touch-screen keyboards.

The Desire Z is a comfortable size for ‘thumb typing’ and is perfect for anyone who tries to compose messages on the go (I find it next to impossible to type accurately on my HTC HD2 whilst on a train or in a car, and the return of ‘real buttons’ will I am sure be very welcome to many!).

These new additions to the HTC family are expected to be released on most major UK networks in October, with a notable exception being O2. We are not alone in speculating that there may be a connection between the lack of a Windows Phone and these new devices not becoming available on O2 – and recall the days when O2 had the exclusive rights to sell iPhone contracts. Could this be the biggest hint so far of how big Windows Phone 7 is going to be?