HTC has been plodding along with their Windows Phone handsets since launch last fall, most recently with the Trophy, but it looks like their first Mango handset will be kicking things up a notch. One lucky reviewer got their mitts on something called the HTC Mazaa, which packs Windows Phone 7.1 and a 12 megapixel camera that can shoot in RAW format. That might be a little overkill, considering no matter how many megapixels you brag about, a cellphone’s camera sensor will only ever be so big, but the added flexibility of RAW could help fix pictures that would go right to the recycle bin on any other smartphone. The hardware otherwise looks pretty standard, with capacitive keys below the main screen that closely follows Microsoft’s style standard.
Software-wise, we’ve already seen most of what Mango has to offer: Microsoft Office apps with SkyDrive support to access your files in the cloud, multitasking (but tricky with stuff like streaming audio since apps are in a paused state), contacts now have groups options and Facebook integration, a linked e-mail inbox with threaded conversations, a revamped Internet Explorer browser with repositioned address bar, and visual Google Goggles-style search using your phone’s camera.
Analysts are feeling good about the Windows Phone platform, and if manufacturers can throw some relatively new hardware specs like 12 megapixel cameras behind it, it seems like a fair forecast.
Anyway, here’s a 13-minute walkthrough of the device in Russian.
[via Mobile-Review]