HTC 7 Trophy review: Achievement unlocked

HTC 7 Trophy unboxed

The tiny box of the HTC 7 Trophy has managed to accommodate everything you need to use your phone. There’s a USB charger, a standard microUSB data cable and the usual paperwork. The supplied one-piece headset is not your only option – the Trophy has a 3.5mm audio jack.

The HTC 7 Trophy unboxed

The only thing missing – that we’ve got more or less accustomed to – is a memory card. It’s irrelevant here, as the HTC 7 Trophy does not have a memory card slot.

HTC 7 Trophy 360-degree spin

The HTC 7 Trophy stands at 118.5 x 61.5 x 12 mm – that’s perhaps average for the screen size. But there’s something about the Trophy that makes it look smaller than it actually is. The first time we saw the HTC 7 Trophy in person we thought the LG Optimus 7 – which has the same size screen – was going to look like a giant next to it. In all fairness, it doesn’t. It’s just that the Trophy looks friendly and compact. Nicely done, HTC.

The Trophy is comfortable to handle and easily pocketable. The weight of 140 grams might be taken to imply some use of metal on the chassis but the phone is in fact all made of plastic. High-quality matt plastic – we hasten to add – and it gives an impression of a friendly, yet solidly built, phone.

Design and construction

The HTC 7 Trophy is all black with stylish design, which from the front does look almost seamless. The single accent up front is a super thin metallic frame around the screen – subtle and elegant. There’re barely any physical controls – a power/lock key, volume rocker, and the camera shutter.

The Trophy uses a soft rubbery plastic at the rear and this is an excellent choice. It gives a great grip and the fingerprints are far less noticeable. Of course cleaning that matte surface is still quite a challenge.

Touchscreen phones are not the best devices to get creative with design and the Trophy is no exception. HTC made the right choice by going for build quality and durability.

The HTC 7 Trophy is subtle and well built

The Trophy sports a 3.8” capacitive WVGA LCD touchscreen, which looks fine indoors. The display’s colors are deep and vivid and the contrast is good. But if you go outside you can’t help but notice the poor sunlight legibility.

The Trophy’s screen compared to iPhone 4’s Retina display and the LG Optimus 7’s LCD

As for screen sensitivity, the Trophy reacts to the gentlest tap thanks to the capacitive technology.

Above the display you will only notice the earpiece. However, there is more: a small status LED and two hidden sensors (proximity and ambient light) either side of the HTC logo. The LED will blink in red or green to indicate charging or missed events.

Earpiece on top: proximity and ambient light sensors, and a status LED are there too

Underneath the screen we find the typical Windows Phone 7 controls – Back, Start and Search. They’re all capacitive keys with excellent sensitivity and haptic feedback. Pressing and holding the middle Start key will activate Voice Commands.

The usual Windows Phone 7 controls

The HTC 7 Trophy’s left side features a long and thin volume rocker and the uncovered microUSB port. On the right, there is only the metallic camera key. It has a relatively short stroke but still distinct enough half press and full press. The camera takes less than two seconds to launch.

The volume rocker is on the left • the camera key on the right-hand side

At the top we find the unprotected 3.5mm audio jack and the Screen Lock/Power key.

The 3.5 mm audio jack and the Power/Lock key

The only thing to note at the bottom of the phone is the mouthpiece.

The bottom hosts only the mouthpiece

The HTC 7 Trophy’s rear features the 5 megapixel camera lens and the loudspeaker grill. There is also a small LED flash to boost the camera's low-light performance but don’t expect any miracles in low-light situations..

The material used on the back cover is really nice to touch – it’s plastic but the surface has a soft rubber-like feel and provides great grip.

The Trophy’s rear: camera lens, LED flash and loudspeaker grill

The phone’s inner body – including the battery – is flashy yellow, just like on the HTC Mini and Aria. Under the battery cover, you'll find only the SIM card slot.

The HTC 7 Trophy uses a 1300 mAh battery quoted at up to 3 and a half hours of talk time and up to 435 hours of stand-by time in a 3G network.

The 1300mAh yellow Li-Ion battery

The build quality is really impressive, you’ve got to hand it to HTC. Most of the Trophy is high quality matte black plastic, but there is some metal too – on the frame surrounding the display and on the camera’s small plating. The HTC Trophy is quite comfortable to use too – it has an excellent grip and a pocket-friendly size – so we have no complaints about the overall design.

The HTC 7 Trophy: plain and subtle, but powerful enough

Starting on the next page, we're in Windows Phone 7 territory. Hit the jump for the user interface and applications.