Windows Phone 7 Reviews

The HTC 7 Mozart is, as is indicated by the name, a device very suited to playing music. It has virtual surround sound, which gives a cinematic, 3D effect, making this phone perfect for playing tunes or watching video.

The HTC 7 Mozart also boasts the most impressive camera of the Windows Phone 7 devices released, at a huge 8 megapixels, making it one of the best camera phones available. Couple that with Xenon flash and this really is as much camera as it is phone.

HTC have really made the most of Windows Phone 7 being the first smartphone to implement a pocket to picture to post technology. The operating system insists on a specific camera button which works even when the screen is locked, making using your phone as a camera even easier.

Available on Orange from £15 a month, or £25 a month with a the handset free. Also avilable from £15 per month here, also on Orange.

The HTC Trophy has been rumoured for a while, and was officially announced on October 11th. HTC are promoting the Trophy as a gaming phone, although the specs aren't all that different to their other offerings.

The 3.8 inch screen is large, although smaller than the HD7's whopping 4.3 inches. The Trophy comes with the standard 1GHz processor, 576MB RAM, 512MB ROM and 8GB storage.

HTC seem to have embraced the latest features of Windows Phone 7, with a good 5 megapixel camera to take advantage of the single camera button allowing you to take pictures instantly, even if the screen is locked.

The HTC Trophy is available from £25 a month or £30 a month with 500MB mobile internet.

The Dell Lightning from our 'rumoured devices' list seems to have become the Dell Venue Pro, still sporting the slide down qwerty keyboard.

The 4.1 inch AMOLED screen does justice to the vibrant Metro colour schemes, and makes reading emails or playing games a pleasure. The screen has great viewing angles and performs well in a range of lighting conditions, including direct sunlight.

The screen is made with Gorilla Glass - a specially toughened glass which is scratch and shatter resistant.

With 1GB Flash ROM amd 512MB SDRAM the Dell Venue Pro looks set to be one of the speediest smartphones around. As the only Windows Phone 7 handset to have 1GB ROM (compared with the standard 512MB), this device is a must for anyone wanting a superior gaming experience or super-fast email management.

The Dell Venue Pro is available to buy, sim-free here. or on a contract from £20 a month, or with the handset free from £30 a month.

The Samsung Omnia 7 looks and feels like one of the best Windows Phone 7 devices. The black, glossy 4 inch AMOLED screen looks stunning on this very angular phone. It's design perfectly complements the Tiles of Metro UI and as a whole this device is modern and classy.

With 512MB RAM, 512 MB ROM and 8GB of storage the Omnia 7 should allow you to zip through those emails as easily as it lets you play the latest game through xBox live. With 8GB you can store masses of music, or you could opt to use the Zune pass and listen to as much new music as you like.

The Samsung Omnia 7 is available on T-Mobile from £25 a month. Click for more details.

The LG Optimus 7 combines all the features of Windows Phone 7 with some nifty DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) features too - allowing it to work with other devices, like showing video on your TV or listening to music through your favourite speakers. The DLNA provides standards for designing devices which work with a range of other devices and protect copyrighted materials between devices.

The Optimus 7 has a large, 3.8 inch screen, 512MB RAM and 512MB ROM making it very similar to the HTC 7 Trophy and HTC 7 Surround in terms of specifications. Like the Surround, the LG Optimus 7 also has 16GB storage.

The LG Optimus 7 features an exclusive Voice-to-Text feature, allowing you to compose emails, text messages, and update Facebook while on the go.

The LG Optimus 7 is coming soon and will be available on Vodaphone. Click here to find out more.

The HTC 7 Pro is the only HTC Windows Phone 7 device with a hardware keyboard. The Pro, like the LG Quantum, has opted for a horizontal keyboard, allowing for a greater typing accuracy for those needing to email on the go.

The screen slides and tilts to reveal the keyboard, at an angle which then also allows the device to stand - creating a perfect angle for viewing slideshows or watching videos.

HTC are promoting the Pro as their business phone - although as has been said about the other phones in the HTC range, they are all equally capable of being business phones, games phones and music players.

The HTC 7 Surround was first rumoured as the T8788, which stood out as the only phone with a slide out speaker. This started to make us reconsider the way we use our phones - with most of us using them to play music through headphones. While there have been a few phones capable of playing music aloud, it has always sounded tinny, especially as in the majority of cases you couldn't even see a speaker.

The HTC 7 Surround made us think back to the days where you could play a battery radio on the beach, or in the park with friends on a summers day. With the HTC 7 Surround, music was shareable and social again, not just a solitary enjoyment.

The Yamaha speaker really is powerful and the quality is far removed from the usual tinny sounds of a phone attempting to play music. You get a nice clear sound and the bass is impressive for such a small device. This phone makes listening to music a real pleasure, and with a Zune pass you have a whole world of music at your fingertips.

We have seen that HTC have really embraced the latest and greatest in terms of mobile sound solutions, with the Mozart and Trophy models also sporting surround sound.

The Samsung Focus is the thinnest and lightest of the Windows Phone 7 devices announced on October 11. It has a larger 4inch AMOLED screen, which has had some fantastic reviews. The AMOLED display has a great viewing angle and is clear, crisp and easy to see - even in direct sunlight.

The Samsung Focus has the standard 1GHz processor, 256MB RAM, 512MB ROM and 8GB storage. It is perfectly set up to allow you to play games through xBox live, listen to music, find new music through Zune, stay connected to your social networks and stay in touch with friends.

The LG Quantum has a horizontal qwerty keyboard that has had great reviews. If you are going to be doing a lot of texting and emailing then this may well be the Windows Phone 7 for you.

Despite it having one of the smallest screens at 3.5 inches, the LG Quantum is perfectly designed to handle office tasks, managing emails, editing documents and uploading/downloading from SharePoint.

The LG Quantum is also ideal for those who like to text, allowing you to type more quickly and accurately.

Yesterday, Microsoft unveiiled the list of phones that would be available at launch, so we have compiled this table comparing the Windows Phone 7 handsets that will be available.