Top 5 Windows Phone 7 based smartphones

Microsoft launched its new mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7 (WP7), after the not so successful Windows Mobile platform, in late 2010. The mobile platform was met with mixed reactions initially, but the fever of WP7 is slowly catching on. More companies are now announcing handsets based on the WP7.

Recently, mobile making giant Nokia chose the WP7 platform over Google's Android as its primary smartphone operating system. This partnership has further strengthened WP7's growing popularity. The deal will also allow WP7 to enter new markets where Nokia already rules the roost.

Although the markets are not exactly buzzing with WP7 phones at the moment, but the crystal ball surely does not deny such a scenario in the future. The present league of WP7 phones have created quite a stir already, and the prospects look to be handsome for this mobile platform. Android, iOS better watch out, for this baby is taking huge steps toward the No.1 spot and could well manage to reach it.

Keeping in mind the soaring recognition that WP7 is gaining, we bring to you the Top 5 Windows Phone 7 based smartphones (of this only three are available in India today, we hope the rest two will be announced soon).

1. HTC HD7

HTC was one of the first companies to announce a slew of phones running on WP7, after the platform was released by Microsoft, and was the first company to bring a WP7 phone in India. The HTC HD7 was the first WP7 smartphone launched in India. It has the largest screen of all the HTC smartphones running on WP7. HTC HD7 has a 4.3 inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen display and a 5MP camera coupled with auto focus and dual LED flash. The device supports high definition video recording and playback. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor, the phone comes with an internal memory of 16GB and 576MB RAM. Connectivity options include 3G (HSDPA, HSUPA), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB and GPS.
India Price: 28,499 

2. Dell Venue Pro

Dell launched its first WP7 based smartphone in India, the Venue Pro, in the beginning of this month. The device sports a 4.1 inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with WVGA resolution. The screen is also made fall-resistant by the addition of the Gorilla display, which can also be found in Dell Streak tablet. The Venue Pro has a vertical slider QWERTY form factor. The phone is one of the few WP7 handsets that come with QWERTY keypad along with LG Optimus 7Q and HTC 7 Pro. It comes with a 5MP camera with autofocus and LED flash. The handset is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon processor with Adreno 200 GPU, 1GB flash ROM and 512MB DDR RAM. It comes with 16GB of internal storage with no memory card slot for memory expansion. Features of connectivity on this phone are Wi-Fi, 3G (HSDPA + HSUPA), GPS and microUSB support.

India Price: 34,990

3. HTC 7 Mozart

HTC released two WP7 phones in India in quick succession. First the HD7 followed by the HTC 7 Mozart. The Mozart features a 3.7-inch S-LCD capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 pixel resolution. Sporting an 8MP camera with autofocus and Xenon flash capabilities, the Mozart can record videos at 720p. The connectivity options of the phone include Wi-Fi, 3G and GPS support and it is powered by a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It ships with 8GB of internal support (with no support for memory cards) and 576MB RAM.
India Price: 26,490
4. LG Optimus 7

The Optimus 7 is the first WP7 smartphone from the LG stable. It has a 3.8 inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen with 800X480 pixel resolution. The Optimus 7 sports a 5MP camera with LED flash and can record HD video at 720p. Powered by a 1 GHz QSD8650 Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the phone ships with 16GB internal memory. Other features of the phone include a digital compass, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor and an accelerometer.

India Price: Not available yet

5. Samsung Omnia 7

The first Samsung phone running on WP7, the Omnia 7 sports a 4-inch super AMOLED display screen with WVGA resolution. It has a 5MP camera with LED flash, capable of recording videos at 720p. It has a dedicated camera key. Powered by 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, the phone ships with 8GB of internal memory. Connectivity features in the phone comprise of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS.
India Price: Not available yet