Verizon's first Windows Phone: the HTC Trophy

Computerworld - Verizon Wireless's first Windows Phone 7 smartphone, the HTC Trophy, will go on sale online May 26 for $149.99, after rebate.

The Trophy features a 1GHz processor, a 3.8-in touchscreen, and 16GB of onboard storage.

Verizon's HTC Trophy smartphone will run on the Windows Phone 7 operating system.

Trophy's processor and screen size are well below that of some other new smartphones, including the Droid X2 from Motorola that goes on sale today online at Verizon.

Still, the Trophy has a 5 megapixel camera that can capture HD video, which complements higher-than-average onboard storage capacity of 16GB.

Like all carriers, Verizon carries many types of smartphones and other mobile phones, usually stocking 30 to 40 different models at any one time. AT&T and T-Mobile were first to adopt Windows Phone 7 devices last fall on their widely-used global GSM networks.

Verizon will put the Trophy on its 3G CDMA network, but not on its faster LTE network. However, the HTC Trophy is described as a "global ready" device with voice and data service possible in more than 200 countries.

Windows Phone 7 devices have faced stiff competition from Android and iPhone smartphones, and Gartner said today that sales only reached 1.6 million units globally in the first quarter of 2011.

The biggest question for the Windows Phone OS is when Microsoft's partnership with Nokia will flower into an actual smartphone.

Some analysts believe potential buyers for the new HTC Trophy and other Windows Phone devices might hold off until the next Windows Phone OS version, codenamed Mango, is released or when Nokia ships a Windows Phone device.

The current Windows Phone 7 devices are upgradeable to Mango, but some experts believe many buyers will prefer to purchase a phone that runs the upgraded OS from the start.

The HTC Trophy will go on sale in Verizon stores on June 2, also for $149.99 after a $50 rebate with a two-year service plan. Nationwide talk and a data plan are required, starting at $70 a month.

Matt Hamblen covers mobile and wireless, smartphones and other handhelds, and wireless networking for Computerworld. Follow Matt on Twitter at @matthamblen, or subscribe to Matt's RSS feed . His e-mail address is mhamblen@computerworld.com.

Read more about Mobile/Wireless in Computerworld's Mobile/Wireless Topic Center.