I had a go on the HTC 7 Pro recently and I wasn’t that impressed. It looks good – although it’s a bit boring – but the features are nowhere near the quality of the HTC Desire in my opinion. It’s not a bad phone, I just don’t understand why anyone would choose it over the other options available. The only people I would recommend the phone to are those who want to send a lot of emails when travelling but don’t want a BlackBerry – and there can’t be many people like that.

I think the main problem I have with the phone is that it uses Windows 7 Mobile. I’ve heard good things about this OS from a lot of people I trust, but I still don’t see how it can compete with Android if you want full control over the way your phone looks and works. The customization features of Windows Mobile are inferior to Android in almost every way, and I think it’s a step back for HTC to start releasing phones on this platform (I know that not all phones are going to be released on Windows , but I think they should stick with Android completely).

There is one great feature of the HTC 7 Pro though, and that’s the slide out keyboard. It’s very useful to have a keyboard that slides out and automatically tilts the phone up at the same time. This feature would be perfect for typing while on the train or any other situation where you could put the phone on a flat surface. This is the main reason why I’d recommend the phone to people who send emails a lot.

It’s definitely not a phone I’d consider getting though. Even the sleek appearance of Windows 7 mobile couldn’t sway me.