The construction is generally good and the hardware keyboard is phenomenal, but the device tends to be a little heavy due to the addition of the keyboard. Also, since purchasing the phone, I've been increasingly using the superb software keyboard that Windows Phone offers, so the keyboard has become less relevant.
The AMOLED display is gorgeous, with deep blacks, bright colors, and crisp images, even on the lowest of brightness settings.
The device only has a rear-facing camera and is only 5MP, which was standard when the phone was released, but a little dated now. Pictures, however, are crisp and colors are great. The Mango update enabled tapping the screen to take the picture which was a great help as using the hardware button would always cause the picture to blur as it is impossible to use it to take a picture without causing the phone to move. The camera button, along with the appropriate settings in Mango, allow the user to go straight to the camera app with a click-n-hold, even if the phone is locked or the screen is off.
Call quality is great, but reception is limited by T-Mobile's below average coverage as compared to the other three.
Performance is great, especailly after the Mango update. Everything loads smoothly and quickly.
Windows Phone 7, and the later update Windows Phone 7.5 "Mango", is a great operating system which has been reviewed in greater depth on other parts of the site, which do a better job than I can. I am a fan, with the caveat of the ecosystem, below.
Batterly lasts all day on a full charge in daily use. This includes making calls, listening to audio podcasts, watching video podcasts, playing games, using apps, & browsing the web. After heavy use I have gotten to the point where Mango's battery saver feature had turned itself on, though. But it extends the life of the phone by hours. Prior to the Mango update, heavy use would always cause the phone to die before I got home from work.
The ecosystem is strong and growing, but still lacking in many popular apps found on competitors app stores. The ecosystem could be better and is slowly improving, but a majority of the apps that one would need are available. This, too, is covered elsewhere on the site in better detail.
The Breakdown
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Design
7
-
Display
10
-
Camera(s)
6
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Reception / call quality
7
-
Performance
8
-
Software
10
-
Battery life
8
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Ecosystem
7
