HTC HD7 review

We experienced a certain sense of déjà vu when we first clapped eyes on the HTC HD7. After a brief moment racking our brains we realised why: the HD7 is uncannily similar to the HTC Touch HD2 we reviewed this time last year.

As well as looking the same, the HD7 has a familiar specification. The screen is the same size and resolution (a massive 4.3in, 480 x 800 capacitive touchscreen), the processor is the same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon and the 5-megapixel camera is unchanged, right down to its dual-LED flash.

There’s nothing wrong with a little recycling, though, especially if what went before was good. That 4.3in screen, for instance, is as lovely as ever. It isn’t as bright and in your face as the Samsung Omnia 7’s, nor as smooth and grain-free as the iPhone 4’s, but it isn’t far behind. Browsing the web, viewing photos and navigating through Windows Phone 7’s slick hubs and menus is a joy.

The phone itself is still a little too large to comfortably squeeze into a pocket, measuring 68 x 12.5 x 122.5mm (WDH) and heavy with it (162g), but that doesn’t stop us admiring the engineering behind it. Despite its larger screen dimensions, the HTC HD7 still feels more comfortable in the hand than the slab-like Omnia 7.

We also like the small aluminium kickstand that flips out at the rear – a subtle yet thoughtful addition to the original that should come in useful when watching video.

The core specification is also a little different. While the HD7 has the same CPU and camera, HTC has added 16GB of internal storage, 720p video recording and a second speaker at the front below the screen. As for software extras, the HTC hub is all you get, with a familiar flippy clock, weather app and list of featured apps. Either way, the hardware is good enough for a BBC homepage download time of 21 seconds and a Sunspider time of 45 seconds – in line with the Samsung Omnia 7 and HTC 7 Mozart.

As with the HD2, the camera offers decent quality, capturing sharp, colourful snaps in good light, with the dual-LED flash proving surprisingly even-handed. But it isn’t a patch on the iPhone 4’s camera, and lags behind the Omnia 7’s too. Video footage at 720p was poor, suffering from over-aggressive compression, which gave muddy, smeary results. Again, the Omnia 7 is superior.

Alas, it gets worse, and just as the battery let the HD2 down, the same is the case here. At 1,230mAh it’s just too small for a phone of this power and screen size, and it performed as expected. After our 24-hour test, in which we make a 30-minute phone call, download a 50MB podcast, play music for an hour, force the screen on for another 60 minutes, then leave the phone in standby checking a Gmail account for incoming mail, it had 40% capacity remaining. That’s still enough for a day of moderate use, but once more it lags significantly behind the Samsung Omnia 7. A larger 1,500mAh battery helped that phone to a 60% result.

In conclusion, the HD7 is a bit of a mixed bag. The screen is great, the physical design rather lovely and, with Windows Phone 7 on board, it’s as much of a joy to use as the other Microsoft devices we’ve reviewed recently. But with a middling camera, poor video, below par battery life and a price that’s just too high, it falls behind its rivals.

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