HTC 7 Trophy

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.

Windows Phone 7 is set up for Zune integration, and HTC have embraced this opportunity to tackle the problem of phone speakers, coming up with some innovative solutions such as the Yamaha slide out speaker on the HTC 7 Surround, and the SRS WOW HD Surround Sound on this HTC Trophy.

xBox integration will also benefit from the improved sound quality, as it allows gamers to play without headphones and still hear good quality sound. xBox integration is a unique feature of Windows Phone 7 as it is the first mobile OS to integrate with a gaming console.

We are used to mobile devices doubling as music players, playing MP3s and Video, and using our mobiles as cameras - especially now that the quality from a phone is almost equal to that of a standalone camera. There are portable gaming devices, and have been for a while, with the PSP being the most capable in terms of integrating with a full size console. By bringing xBox integration into the mix, Windows Phone 7 have provided an irresistible option for keen xBox gamers looking for a new phone.

The ergonomic design of the HTC 7 Trophy has been created to make gaming comfortable and enjoyable. The HTC 7 Trophy also has a 16 million colour TFT LCD screen, making playing games or watching videos a real pleasure.

This HTC has similarities with its predecessors - the HD2 and the HTC Desire, but the high gloss screen and simple clean design mark it as modern. The default Windows buttons are built into the touch screen, a beautiful evolution from the traditional buttons on their older devices.

This model will not be available in the US at launch, but will be available to the UK, Germany and Spain on Vodaphone, France on SFR and Australia on Vodaphone.