HTC introduces 2 Windows Phone 7 smartphones

MANILA, Philippines - Smartphone manufacturer HTC Corp. recently unveiled two new Windows Phone 7 smartphones in the Philippines — the HTC 7 Mozart and the HTC HD7.

A long-time Microsoft partner, HTC is banking on loyal Windows users to try these new mobile devices as well as those who would like to try the new user experience that this innovative platform provides.

“If you take a look at the demographic base of our customers, most of the devices we sold before were Windows Phone or Windows-powered devices,” said Mark Dewey Sergio, country manager of HTC Philippines.

The new products, Sergio said, were anchored on users’ familiarity with Windows because of its very strong brand image but the new platform actually has something very different to offer.

Sergio shared that even Microsoft employees when they tried out Mozart had the impression that it doesn’t feel like Microsoft. It is both a productivity tool and a “sexy” phone as it is big on multimedia, music and social networking.

Wayne Tang, product marketing manager of HTC Southeast Asia, added that Microsoft is really venturing out of its familiar ground or comfort zone in providing this new user experience in a smartphone.

“Microsoft realized that user interface (UI) is very important so they came up with this design, anchored on allowing users to do more with less tasks. If you want to have a hassle-free device, this is it because everything can be configured to your style — your latest e-mails, social updates, SMS can be pushed to you,” Tang said.

Sergio added that the devices are heavily integrated with Facebook and social networking as it is the new form of conversation and communication for most people.

However, the HTC Mozart is really big on music, as its name implies. In fact, the marketing pitch for the smartphone is that with this gadget, you can “fit the symphony in your pocket.”

Mozart, in its slim form at only 119 x 60.2 x 11.9 mm and weighing 130 grams, offers a rich viewing and audio experience through the high-fidelity virtual surround powered by SRS WOW HD.

The Zune integration feature also allows wireless synching of all music, videos and podcasts into a portable media library. It has a Qualcomm QSD 8250 1GHz processor and promises up to 7.2 Mbps download speed and up to 2 Mbps upload speed. It has GPS, an 8.0-megapixel color camera and 720p HD video recording capability.

Moreover, as a Windows Phone 7 device, it integrates well with many popular Microsoft consumer services such as Xbox LIVE, Windows Live, Bing, Office and even Sharepoint.

The HTC HD7, on the other hand, allows users to enjoy their videos and movies in cinematic-style because of the large 4.3-inch high-resolution screen and brings game play to life that really takes console gaming beyond the home.

The only limitations probably of Mozart are its built-in non-expandable memory of only 8GB and its exclusivity for the Internet Explorer browser. Tang, however, gave assurance that the Internet Explorer 9 will be available for update very soon and it is expected to be the fastest browser. More updates will also be released during the second half of the year and a full consumer experience for the Windows Phone 7 platform will be showcased.

Sergio said results from HTC’s most recent user trial program are very positive for Mozart and Windows Phone 7, with 95 percent of the participants (most of whom were already using Android phones) saying they like the phone that half of them actually ended up buying the phone.

“There are many hardcore Windows phone platform lovers out there and we seek to provide them with the best experience they can get from the platform,” he said.

Tang disclosed that the market share for Windows Phone 7 is growing in Southeast Asia as well as in other parts of the world like Australia and New Zealand. “At this stage, it is really not full blown yet but it still has a lot of potential,” he said.