Plemix

Among the first launch smartphones equipped with Microsoft Windows Phone 7 OS, HTC 7 Surround is born to be a unique one as it rids itself of the typical setting of a landscape slider. What beneath the screen are not an expected QWERTY keyboard, but a speaker bar and an integrated kickstand! Let’s take a closer look at it!
Inside the box you can find: a HTC 7 Surround Phone, a battery, a charger, a handsfree, as well as an user’s guide.

With a HTC signature appearance, we can find the 3.8-inch capacitive LCD touchscreen with WVGA resolution (480 x 800 pixels) dominates the front of the device. While the screen is bright and vibrant enough to display stunning detail, it seems natural for us to expect higher resolution since video playback is available.

The grey front is match with the soft-touch matte black rear. Since the device is equipped with the slider mechanism, you may find it a little bit thicker and heavier than its counterparts.

So the tiny little stereo system promised by the aluminum speaker bar and integrated kickstand is obviously what draws our attention. Sliding the phone open you will see the speaker bar, where a pair of drivers and a lone button located. While the kickstand experience is also unique and interesting enough.

At the right side harbors the two-level camera shutter button (which is in a decent size) together with a narrow and stiff volume control.

While on the top edge, we can find a typical 3.5mm headset jack together with the slightly raised power button.

Though capacitive buttons on smartphones are often found not so welcome, yet the HTC 7 Surround has nicely placed the three buttons far enough from one another as well as the edges of the device. Annoyance brought by accidentally pressing the keys is avoided.

At the rear you can find a 5-megapixel camera with flash. It proves to be really fast and responsive together with the function of Windows Phone 7’s camera app. Both shots speed and image quality are good enough.

All in all, the HTC 7 Surround manages to stand out among the homogenous WP7 brothers. The semi-sliding speaker and kickstand helps the rich and powerful smartphone to further differentiate itself. The little stereo system surely makes a difference and, indeed, worthy of a try.