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 Available
now
11th October 2010
Heading for the AT&T network in the US, the HTC Surround
is a Windows Phone 7 device that shares many features with other
HTC Windows Phone 7 handsets.
One unique feature with the Surround is the slide-out speaker
and kickstand, turning this into a useful standalone music player.
Other than that, the Surround is a fairly standard Windows Phone
7 device.. and when you understand that all Windows Phone 7 handsets
are top-of-the-range smartphones, then that's certainly no bad thing.
Based around a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 3.8"
480 x 800 pixel touchscreen, the Surround also packs 448 MB of RAM,
a 1230 mAh  battery
capable of providing up to 4 hours talktime and 11 days standby
time, plus support for 3.5G networks, WiFi and GPS. On the back
is a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, capable of HD video recording.
The new Windows Phone 7 operating system is pretty capable when
it comes to web browsing, multimedia and email, although old Windows
applications won't run on it. It's a slick and interesting interface,
very different from the rival iPhone and Android operating systems,
and it might well appeal to those who want a decent iPhone alternative.
All Windows Phone 7 devices are very similar in terms of hardware
specifications and capabilities. The HTC Surround does manage to
differentiate itself slightly with the slide-out speaker, but otherwise
there is very little to choose between this and the two other phones
(the LG Quantum and Samsung Focus) that will also be available on
the AT&T network before the end of the year.
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