The new mobile operating system from Microsoft was not criticized only by the lazy. It is a pity that it really spoils quite good devices from a technical point of view. However, in any, even the most ordinary product, there are strong or interesting features and aspects, and Htc HD7 is no exception in this regard. So, welcome, one of the first devices on Windows Phone 7 in full growth, in all its glory.
Design Htc HD7 - a huge apparatus that can hardly fit into an average pocket. However, if this monster is to your wallet and to your liking, you can rest assured that there will always be a place for it. The phone is adorned with loudspeaker grids that harmoniously fit into the upper and lower parts of the front panel. Another attraction of the novelty is an unusual, but at the same time extremely convenient design feature - a folding stand for convenient installation of the phone on a table (or other flat horizontal surface). This approach, in principle, is not an innovation, but we have to admit that now such a stand would fit any flagship: users are increasingly watching video on the screen of a mobile phone, and holding the device in their hands for an hour and a half movie is, to put it mildly, tiresome. The rest of the design of the new product is very similar to the HTC HD2, of which it is a direct heir. The main difference is perhaps only that the HD2 uses mechanical control buttons, while the HD7 under the display there are three touch buttons: "back", "home" and "search". Interface To say that the user interface in WP7 came out unsuccessful is simply an understatement. Perhaps such epithets as "terrible", "inconvenient", and simply "clumsy" are the best that you can choose to characterize what Microsoft decided to slip users under the guise of a new operating system. And the point is not at all the lack of Russian-language localization, which will be ready only at the end of 2011, the problem is in the design! The WP7 user interface is made in an unusual minimalist style and is completely devoid of convenient, intuitive graphics; it cuts the eye with its rectangular elements and shapes. The basic principle of operation is to shift the page to the side to access the next page; at the same time, the headings overlap, do not end on one page and crawl out of its borders. One feels a certain incompleteness and understatement; the controls are not framed by any frames, making them difficult to select and click. WP7's touch interface can rightfully be called the worst on the mobile market: it loses outright to the lagging Symbian S60 in all respects; comparing it with Android, Blackberry or IOS is completely incorrect, it's like releasing a Kenyan runner to a racetrack in a horse race. Xabi - a proprietary element of the desktop design in WP7 - cannot be compared to widgets, although the developers intended to compete with them. And the fact that the interface is actually quite fast, animated, lively does not mean anything when it comes to ease of use. Although, do not forget about the amazing technological stuffing of the device. Functional On board Htc HD7 - 1 GHz Qulcomm Snapdragon QSD8250 processor, standard for 2010 devices, 800 x 480, 94 x 56 mm TFT capacitive touchscreen, multitouch capable. It is also worth noting a 5-megapixel camera with a dual diode flash (which, by the way, is surrounded by that notorious stand; the quality of the pictures is very average) and 16 GB of internal memory. There are some small problems with memory: firstly, there is no memory card to which it is so convenient to copy files; second, you must use the Zune software to access it from your computer. The binding is so tight that without the Zune on Htc HD7 it is virtually impossible to download anything (like on an iPhone without iTunes). So you can't use the device on WP7 as such a mobile flash drive. Performance So, Marketplace is used to download applications and, oddly enough, ringtones. This is an online application store from Microsoft, analogous to the App Store or Android Market. The principle of its operation is simple and straightforward: the name, description and screenshots of the application, as well as its cost, are indicated; the purchase of programs for our region is not supported. A full-fledged office actually opens up the possibility of editing documents, although in functional terms, to put it mildly, it does not shine: for example, there is not even a choice of a font. On the positive side, there is a built-in phone search service (a la HTCSense.com, only based on Windows Line ID), as well as a game service from Microsoft called Xbox Live. For the sake of fairness, we note that the games (free, while others in Ukraine cannot be downloaded officially) do not amaze with graphical delights, and cannot be compared with mobile games for Apple iOS, Android or, at worst, Bada OS. disadvantages Now is the time to list the weaknesses that Htc HD7 inherited from the Windows Phone 7 operating system: - there is no file manager in the operating system; - there is no way to transfer files via Bluetooth; - you cannot use programs from the Windows Mobile operating system, you cannot install third-party software, only Marketplace applications are supported; - no support for Flash and HTML5 in the browser; - download ringtones only through the Marketplace; - no multitasking (the player can run in the background, but not applications); - no support for DivX / XviD; - no support for video calls; - no equalizer; -Not implemented support for third-party interfaces (HTC Sense, TouchWIZ, etc.); - there is no copy / paste function, although the text is highlighted for some reason; - there is no possibility in the browser in landscape mode to enter the address of a new page or go to the settings - for this you need to switch to portrait mode; - no support for handwriting recognition; - there is no possibility of the phone working in the WI-FI router mode. conclusions Needless to say, a device with such a huge number of shortcomings, which costs about $ 800, is guaranteed not to be in demand among buyers. Yes, there are "fans", but there aren't that many of them. The Windows Phone 7 operating system still has a long thorny path of development and improvement. Our experts strongly advise against acting as guinea pigs and free testers of an extremely raw product for their own money. It is worth waiting for the correction of most of the above shortcomings and the appearance of an adequate, friendly interface; after which it will be possible to seriously think about buying a device on WP7.
