PC World - The Trophy ($150 with new 2-year contract) is the first Windows Phone 7 device on Verizon, and it does a pretty good job at showing off what the platform is all about. The Trophy is great for handling multimedia, but the phone feels dated next to other current generation smartphones.
Solid Design
The Trophy is a very well-built phone. Its ergonomic shape allows it to rest comfortably in your hand, and its slim profile makes it easy to slide into your pocket or bag. At 4.67-inches by 2.42-inches by 0.47-inches, the Trophy is relatively smaller than many of the "super phones" we have been seeing lately. Regardless, the phone never felt cramped to navigate and the 3.8-inch capacitive WVGA display was a joy to behold.
Much like HTC's other phones, the Trophy has a very minimalist design. The front of the Trophy has the standard Back, Menu, and Search buttons found on all WP7 phones while the back sports a 5-megapixel camera with flash (more on that later). The volume rocker and charging port can be found on the left spine of the device, while the camera key sits on the right. Up on top of the Trophy is where you have the power button and 3.5mm headphone jack.
Software
Microsoft doesn't allow for OEMs or carriers to mess with their mobile OS too much. As such, the Trophy is free from the bloatware that plagues Verizon's Android offerings.
The Trophy is running the latest version of Windows Phone 7, and the OS works well with many of Microsoft's other services. Office documents can be viewed and edited in the Office Mobile hub, and gamers can rack up gamerscore on the go by signing in with their Xbox Live accounts. While I would not want to prepare a budget report on my phone on Excel, having that option available is a nice bonus. The upcoming Mango update looks to add even more functionality. You can see our full hands-on with Mango here.
Performance
The HTC Trophy is extremely responsive. Scrolling through menus and navigating the device was a breeze. The 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor keeps the phone speedy and ready to handle whatever you can throw at it. I was able to hammer out a long text message with ease, and the few games I played on the device all ran smoothly.
Reception on the Trophy was excellent, even in places where other Verizon phones were struggling to get a signal. Calls made on the Trophy sounded clear with no hiss, and the microphone did an admirable job at blocking out any extra noises. Data speeds, on the other hand, were all over the place. A website could take three minutes to load with full 3G coverage, and only take one minute in an area with poor reception.
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