The HTC Desire HD and HTC HD7 are cousins in the smartphone world. Both look remarkably similar, with big broad screens and sleek designs, but the HTC HD7 runs Windows Phone 7, whereas the HTC Desire HD is running Android Froyo. With two phones that are so similar, the devil is in the detail here. Click through for a run down of where the big differentiators lie between the HTC HD7 and the HTC Desire HD…
Operating system
While we have yet to have some proper one on one time with Windows Phone 7, the HTC Desire HD’s Android Froyo is pretty highly regarded, and so Windows Phone 7 has a lot to live up to. The Windows Phone 7 interface is centred on a home screen populated by live tiles, which update with information in real time. The idea is that you don’t need to click through to the hub to see what you need to see. In reality though, it’s likely that you will still have to click through to see what you want in lots of cases. Froyo, among many other features, has the nifty Chrome to Phone, to push stuff from your computer to your Android device. We can’t decide whether the HTC HD7 is better than the HTC Desire HD until we’ve really given Windows Phone 7 a run for its money though, so we’re holding back on judgement here.
Processors
While both the HTC Desire HD and the HTC HD7 have 1GHz Snapdragon processors under the hood, the Desire HD processor is a slightly newer model, and might perform better, although this will be dependent on what the processors are running, and how well the device is tuned.
Apps and gaming
There are no figures on how many Windows Phone 7 apps will be available at launch. The HTC Desire HD has 80,000 Android apps available in the app marketplace, and it will take Windows Phone 7 a long time to close that gap. However, gaming is a completely different ballgame. Xbox Live gamers will be able to play on their HTC HD7, and companies like EA games have already announced they’re on board. For games developers, the games are remarkably easy to port over onto the Windows Phone 7 format. Alex Reeve, Director of Mobile at Microsoft, said that the main thing that has to change is the way players interface with the games, and Microsoft has provided tools to make this as easy as possible. If you want apps, head for the HTC Desire HD. If gaming is your thing, then point yourself in the direction of the HTC HD7.
Camera and video capture
The HTC HD7 has a 5MP camera with autofocus and dual LED flash, and video capture is at 720p. The HTC Desire HD has an 8MP camera, with autofocus and a dual LED flash, and the same video capture as the HTC HD7. The HTC Desire HD also has built in creative features like depth of field and vignette, whereas the HTC HD7 has scene settings like candlelight and landscape. There’s very little difference between the two cameras, apart from the megapixel count. Although 5MP might not get you very far if you want to print pictures, 8MP should do better, although what really matters is often the lens and flash.
Media Playback
The HTC HD7 has an extra detail in these stakes, the kickstand, for watching movies on the go. It’s a simple detail, but adds that extra bit of usability for watching films on the go, on trains, planes and in cafes and outdoors. In terms of what formats the HTC HD7 and Desire HD support, the HD7 supports 3GP, 3G2, MP4, M4V, MBR, WMV, whereas the Desire HD supports AVI and XVID formats on top of all these. Audio-wise, the HTC Desire HD also supports more audio formats (AAC, AMR, OGG, M4A, MID, MP3, WAV, WMA) than the HTC HD7, which does not support AAC, AMR, MID, or WAV files.
Conclusion
We’re holding back on a final judgement in this case, until we’ve had some proper alone time with the HTC HD7. It might be worth considering though, that the HTC Desire will be much more widely available, as the HTC HD7 is an exclusive to O2 in the UK. If you’re deciding between these two devices, how much will the carrier matter?
Drop us a line in the comments and let us know!
