[ad#ad-1]Nowadays, when you mention mobile phones, it usually comes down to either Android or iOS or to a lesser extent – RIM. The new Windows 7 phones tended to get left out of the conversation. Ok – this phone is one of my first forays into this mobile OS but let me tell you, this thing is a beast with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 1280 5MP camera with 1280 video capture (720 HD), 1500 mAh battery, full physical keyboard.
HTC’s Arrive, the first CDMA Windows 7 phone and thus of course, Sprint’s first edition of this OS, is a real stunner. I always wondered what people saw in physical keyboards. Take a look at this keyboard with the dedicated numeric line and you’ll see what I mean. Very cool.
First the OS. While taking awhile to get used to, with me usually using an Android EVO as my daily, it was admittedly a trip I wouldn’t mind taking again. When you first turn on the device you’re greeted with a beautiful 3.6″ multi-touch capacitive screen with square panels as shown. The web developer in me never really fully understood why they take away that narrow strip on the far-right of the screen with the right-arrow, but hey – it works. Very different.
There is a gentle “bump” as the screen slides from top to bottom with a gentle nudge of your finger. Clicking on any one of the squares starts a slick, collapsible animation. The interface on this phone cannot be accused of stealing any GUI from anyone from Cupertino <cough>Samsung</cough> and it works beautifully.
At home I am one of “the few, the proud” who have a ZuneHD. You’ll see here that Microsoft have inserted the ZuneHD player interface into the Windows 7 phone OS and it works seamlessly. Once I entered in my ZunePass ID/password I was able to drag/drop my music files into the phones without any effort at all. It is kind of ironic. That the only manufacturer that has a TRUE streaming mp3 cloud system is Microsoft for their phones, as well as one for their tablets – but unfortunately they killed their tablet beta (Courier) last year. That should change by next year however.
The HTC Arrive shows up at Sprint for $199 with contract or upgrade: http://goo.gl/PJdWG If you’re thinking about purchasing this fantastic phone, I’d first suggest checking out Amazon.com as often you’ll find that they’ll have it at a discount.
