Hasta La Gadget!

So what if Microsoft’s nicest WP7 slate phones all went to Europe and the rest of the un-American world? At least we’ll have the HTC 7 Pro, the true Windows Phone 7 workhorse, with its tilt-sliding QWERTY keyboard and compact 3.6-inch size. Well, as it turns out, that device will be available in Europe too! We’ve just confirmed with HTC that the 7 Pro is definitely headed to the UK and its Euro neighbors, with the current roadmap set for “early next year.” It’s still too soon to discuss potential carriers, but we’re sure our British buddies will be chuffed just to know the handset’s coming their way.

HTC 7 Pro arriving in UK and rest of Europe ‘early next year’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 06:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just spent some serious, and we mean serious time with Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7. Just like your Xbox, this is sort of an amalgamation of “the place you go to play games” and “the place you go to ping and taunt your friends who also play games.” Unfortunately, it seems there’s a bit of a disconnect between phone-based scores and records and Xbox achievements — they all add up to the same gamerscore, but you can’t easily there are separate charts to pull up your most recent Halo exploits to show off on your mobile, for instance. Luckily, that still puts Microsoft in a better position than any other mobile games platform (until Apple can get Game Center to stop sucking, at least). Being able to message and challenge friends all from the same “hub” where you keep your games is great, and being able to view your avatar and the avatars of friends (you can even play dress-up with your own) is nice gravy on top.

Of course, what really matters is the games, right? Luckily, Microsoft has a pretty strong launch lineup, with some of the regulars like EA’s The Sims 3 and Need for Speed, along with some exclusives like Rocket Riot and the hotly anticipated The Harvest. The good news? Games look and play great, just like you might expect from an iPhone or Android level capacitive touchscreen platform, with The Harvest as an obvious and very important standout in complexity and polish. The bad news? Everything takes forever to load (our rough estimate is about three minutes to start playing in The Harvest), and when you don’t have any multitasking, that’s a really bad thing. Check out some of the Xbox Live hub and capabilities after the break, along with some games, and make up your own mind.

Continue reading Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7: your Xbox isn’t in your phone yet, but we’re getting there

Xbox Live for Windows Phone 7: your Xbox isn’t in your phone yet, but we’re getting there originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having trouble keeping track of all the new Windows Phone 7 handsets today? We don’t blame you — even we had trouble remembering all the minor differences between the similarly specced devices. To end our frustration, we’ve compiled a big chart that lists out the carriers and specs for all 10 devices (with a couple extra MIA) to make our lives a tad easier — head on pass the break if you need the peace of mind.

Continue reading Windows Phone 7 handsets: spec comparison

Windows Phone 7 handsets: spec comparison originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung’s Omnia 7, ladies and gents. Equipped with the only Super AMOLED display in Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 stable, the Omnia 7 provides suitably vibrant and richly saturated visuals. To be perfectly fair, we didn’t note a major advantage in using its display relative to the other WP7 devices, but that’s more a mark of distinction for the other phones on show today. The hardware really is looking polished to perfection on all these devices, and the Omnia 7 isn’t really breaking with that trend, showing off a remarkably lightweight body that combines straight lines with a nicely curved back that sits well in the hand. The power/lock button is curiously positioned on the side of the device, but all points of input seemed to perform very nicely once you know where they are. The depressed Windows key is basically identical to the iPhone’s, dare we say it, iconic home button. As to performance, we’ve nothing to say that we haven’t said about the other WP7 launch devices, it’s blindingly, ridiculously, delightfully quick.

Update: Hey, who wants to see Engadget being pinch-to-zoomed on a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen? How about a quickie size comparison between the Omnia 7 and the iPhone 4? Both are in the video now available after the break.

Continue reading Samsung Omnia 7 first hands-on (update: video!)

Samsung Omnia 7 first hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alright, so by now we all know that HTC’s HD7 is mostly a HD2 in imperial new clothes, but let’s give the new phone a chance, shall we? We’ve just gotten to grips with the latest member of HTC’s 4.3-inch brigade and predictably enough it feels just as snappy as the rest of the Windows Phone 7 devices introduced today. Navigation is blazingly quick, interrupted only by Microsoft’s excessive fascination with animated screen transitions. Clearly, designing the new WP7 OS around hard-set minimum specs has paid off for Microsoft, whose end product exhibits a great deal of polish. T-Mobile, the HD7’s exclusive carrier in the US, is keen to point out that it’s the largest Windows Phone 7 launch device, so if size is atop your list of priorities, this will be the phone you’ll want to start your journey with. We’ve got some in-depth impressions of the hardware after the break and a video is coming right up as well. Enjoy!

Update: As promised, a lengthy video exhibition of the HD7 awaits your eyeballs just past the break.

Continue reading HTC HD7 preview (update: video!)

HTC HD7 preview (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Oct 2010 10:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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