Comparison of Top Windows Phone 7 Handsets

Since its release in late 2010, the easy to use Windows Phone 7 operating system has seen more than its fair share of handsets. They come from varied manufacturers and different carriers, but they share the common element of WP7. It is our job to show what makes each of them different and separates them from the pack.

Let's first introduce our contestants. They will be- 

The HTC Trophy

The Dell Venue Pro

And the Samsung Focus

As you can see below, Microsoft's Metro UI looks very similar on each of the phones, unlike in Android where it seems almost every manufacturer has its own custom UI. The manufacturers of the phones are unable to do this, but they are allowed to add their own apps, such as HTC's HTC app.

We'll first start off by looking at build quality. The HTC 7 Trophy wins this by a slight margin where I'm concerned, though all of the devices are constructed of plastic. The Trophy is constructed of soft touch plastic, which makes it feel higher quality. None of the devices, however, incorporate any sort of aluminum or higher quality materials into their design, which is a slight downer if you looking for some durability out of your phone. On the other hand though, you can probably get a replacement back cover online for cheap if yours gets scratched.

Let's look at screens next. The Trophy comes with a 3.8 inch touch screen. That is just a little bit larger than the 3.5 inch screen on the iPhone 4, and just a bit smaller than most Android phones. Those coming from an Android phone may find it a bit cramped, but if you ask me it's right in the butter zone for a phone touch screen size. The Venue's screen is a bit larger at 4.1 inches, and the Focus's screen is right in there at 4 inches. But while the Trophy has a plain old LCD, both of the other phones include AMOLED displays, which are definitely a step up from normal LCDs in color reproduction and battery life.

When you look at the processor packed by each of the devices, you'll notice that each contains a Qualcomm 1ghz processor, which should run WP7 plenty well, though some Android phones are now packing dual core processors. Then again, if you are concerned about stuff like that, you wouldn't be buying a WP7 phone in the first place. The Trophy should run slightly faster, though it borders on unnoticeable since the only difference is 62 megabytes of RAM more packed into it.

Now we'll take a look at any of the special features packed by these devices that make them different from their competitors. The Trophy has a small kickstand that folds out from the top of the device, allowing you to watch Netflix on your device (or anything else) hands free. The Focus is one of the only Windows Phone 7 phones that packs an SD card, which is useful if you have a lot of pictures or video on your phone. The Venue has a slide out keyboard, but it is in portrait orientation, so people with little thumbs beware.

Overall, if you are looking for an easy to use phone, but are not willing to sacrafice features, any of these phones would be good for you. It is your particular needs that determine which you should buy since they are so similar in the spec department.