Windows Phone 7 in Canada: What We Know So Far

Today marked the big reveal of Microsoft’s reboot of it’s mobile strategy with Windows Phone 7. At 9.30 AM EST Microsoft finally pulled the covers off for the world to see the initial phones that will be available at launch (November 8th in North America), though much of the OS has already been shown in great detail prior to today. My first reaction was that the handset selection is a little slim, and there is not much innovation beyond the base ‘chassis 1’ specifications. However this is a launch of a brand new unproven OS so I am sure there is an element of caution there from the manufacturers, and besides the minimum specs for Windows Phone 7 is so high that all of the handsets are still pretty kick-ass spec wise.

The stand-out phones for me were the Dell Venue Pro, a QWERTY portrait slider with a 4.1” AMOLED screen and the HTC HD7 – a Windows Phone 7 version of the HD2, complete with the 4.3” screen. Sadly both these phones are exclusive to T-Mobile in the US and won’t be officially coming to Canada. Luckily for all you Wind, Videotron and Mobilicity users out there they are both compatible with AWS, so if you can get an unlocked one shipped up here you’ll be good to go.

As far as Canada is concerned the only carrier actually called out at the Windows Phone 7 event by Microsoft was Telus. With Telus carrying two different phones at launch for now they seem to be leading the way, but both Rogers and Bell will have a handset at launch too.

Of course the one unknown is the Canadian handset pricing. The release date for Canada is supposed to be simultaneous with the US November 8th date.

Telus
Telus will launch Windows Phone 7 with the LG Optimus 7 and the HTC 7 Surround, both touch screen only devices.

The HTC 7 Surround has a 3.8” screen, 1 GHz CPU, 5mp camera, 576 MB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, and a unique slide-out speaker with a kickstand. While this does set the phone apart I don’t really see myself using this feature much. However since it is an HTC phone is should have the cool ‘HTC Hub’ application installed and be built very well. The Surround is launching on November 8th on AT&T for $199 on a 2-year term, so I expect the Telus version to be the same price on a 3-year.

The LG Optimus 7 also has a 3.8” screen, 1 GHz CPU, a 5mp camera, we assume 576MB of RAM, and 16GB of internal storage. LG’s Windows Phone 7 customizations include DLNA support and a panoramic camera mode. There is no North American price for this phone yet, but I assume that it will be priced the same as the HTC 7 Surround. We also went hands-on with the Optimus 7 last week, and were impressed. We should have a video up soon.

Bell
While Bell has not released any official information themselves today, Microsoft’s Canadian press release did confirm what we already knew – the LG Quantum is coming to Bell at launch.  We will also have a hands on video up soon of the Quantum.

The LG Quantum is the only landscape QWERTY slider that will be available at launch, as the HTC 7 Pro hits Sprint in 2011.  The Quantum will feature the smallest screen of all, at 3.5”.  Again it has a 1 GHz CPU, 5mp camera, and 16GB of storage. The slide-out keyboard is the stand-out feature, and having been able to test it out myself I can tell you that it is a GREAT phone keyboard, up there with the gold standard set by the HTC Touch Pro 2. If you are a heavy text or email user then you would want to give this phone serious consideration. The LG Quantum is also coming out on November 8th on AT&T in the US for $199 on a 2-year, so again I assume that is will be $199 on a 3-year contract from Bell in Canada.

Rogers
Rogers is on the ball today – they were the only Canadian carrier who actually sent out any news today about Windows Phone 7. They also updated their Redboard Blog with the information about the sole handset they will be carrying, the Samsung Focus.

The Samsung Focus breaks the mould a little by sporting a 4” Super AMOLED screen, just like its Android Galaxy S cousins. As per the other Windows Phone 7’s it has a 1 GHz CPU, 5mp camera, and 8GB of internal storage. Unlike the Galaxy S series of phones, the sister phone to the Focus, the European Omnia 7, uses the Snapdragon processor like all the other Windows Phone 7’s. This is a little surprising, since Samsung has their own Hummingbird processor that is a much faster CPU. Perhaps Windows Phone 7 is not yet optimized to run on this CPU. Hopefully Samsung will see fit to make Windows Phones with the Hummingbird soon. Interestingly the Focus also seems to support external Micro-SD storage too, something I though was not part of the ‘chassis 1’ spec.

One disappointment, at least from what I can see from the pictures, is that the Focus seems to be taking cues from the Galaxy S Vibrant with an all shiny plastic construction that frankly looks cheap. Samsung do claim though that it is the slimmest Windows Phone 7 handset, at 9.9mm. The Samsung Focus is also $199 on a 2-year term in the US, so come November 8th we can assume that it will the same on a 3-year from Rogers.

Conclusion
Overall the Windows Phone 7 launch did not contain any surprises, no secret killer app or feature was unveiled today, and the handsets on display all seem to be safe designs, leveraging the knowledge gained from a couple of years of Android phone manufacturing. However this reliance on proven designs did make for a rather boring line-up, at least for Canadians, since we won’t get the Dell Venue Pro, HTC HD7 or HTC 7 Pro, at least not at launch. Out of the phones coming to Canada I think the LG’s have the edge, with the most storage, a QWERTY option if you need it, and clean understated design.

November 8th can’t come soon enough for me — as a former Windows Mobile user who defected to Android, what I have seen of Windows Phone 7 might persuade me to come back to the fold.

For a complete round-up of more info about Windows Phone 7 you can check out these handy links:

Windows Phone 7 launch event coverage at Engadget

Windows Phone 7 Official Site

Windows Phone 7 launch day app round-up

Windows Phone 7 handsets: spec comparison at Engadget

HTC Windows Phone 7 official press-release

Samsung Canada Focus official press-release

Rogers Redboard Samsung Focus blog entry

Check back soon for our EXCLUSIVE hands-on videos with LG Optimus 7 and Quantum, and I am sure there will be a deluge of additional Canadian Windows Phone 7 launch info tomorrow when Canada wakes up from its Turkey induced slumber.

You can also check out one of the official Windows Phone 7 commercials below…

This article is also featured on the Future Shop Tech Blog here.