AT&T is no stranger to Windows Phone 7 smartphones. Among US carriers, they offer the broadest selection with 3 models, the Samsung Focus, HTC Surround and LG Quantum. Make that 4 models on June 5 when the HTC HD7S joined the team. This is a tweaked an improved version of the HD7 that launched with T-Mobile and overseas carriers. While the HD7 had an old-fashioned basic LCD that looks washed out by today’s standards, the HD7S boasts a thoroughly modern Super LCD. It has better color saturation, wider viewing angles and looks as good as its Android cousin, the HTC EVO 4G.
The camera is improved too, with quicker focus and snaps, our other complaint about the original model. Everything else we loved is still here: a super-sized 4.3”, 800 x 480 capacitive display, an elegant and extremely slim design, excellent materials with metal and soft touch finishes and a metal kickstand that turns the HD7S into a tabletop video player. I know many of you on AT&T really wanted the HD7; it’s one of the best sellers worldwide among Windows phones and it’s heartening to see it finally make its way to AT&T with a few tweaks and updates in tow.
The HD7S is a 3G HSDPA phone that runs Windows Phone 7 with the NoDo update that has copy and paste and an improved Marketplace search among other things. Like all Windows 7 phones, it will be eligible for the Mango OS update that brings 500 new features including multi-tasking this fall. The phone has WiFi 802.11n, Bluetooth and a GPS that works with Bing Maps and AT&T Navigator.
Windows Phone 7 may not be selling like hotcakes yet, but we still love the elegant and simple Metro UI. The phone is as friendly and easy to use as the iPhone, and in fact mimics some iOS features such as USB syncing of music using the Zune desktop app (or Windows Phone Connector that hooks you up with your iTunes library on a Mac), and a heavily vetted Marketplace. It also supports DRM and that means not just Zune videos but the ever-popular Netflix.
The hardware features we loved on the HD7 are here in the HD7S: an elegant and classy looking design with a metal kickstand, a simply capacious 4.3”, 800 x 480 capacitive touch screen and designer slimness. HTC has improved the buttons so they don’t wobble as on the HD7, and we like them, though they’re a bit hard to press because they stick out so little beyond the casing and require a firm touch. The large volume rocker is easier to operate than the dedicated camera button and power button and the backlit capacitive buttons work well. The HD7 and HD7S are our favorite Windows 7 Phones from a design and quality perspective. We also confess to love the large display for watching videos and reading web pages comfortably without much zooming; and the HD7/HD7S are the largest display Windows Phones on the market. That said, the Samsung Focus’ 4” Super AMOLED display has richer colors and deeper blacks—nothing beats Super AMOLED if you love extremely vibrant colors.
