HTC Mozart

The Orange HTC Mozart, which uses the new Windows Phone 7 operating system, is slick and easy to use with none of the sluggishness that can ruin a smartphone.

Previous phones that used Microsoft's operating system have often been flawed but Microsoft has taken a leaf out of Apple's book and been stricter on the hardware requirements for Windows Phone 7, and it shows.

The HTC Mozart has a great screen, an eight-megapixel camera, GPS and a speedy processor that made it fast and responsive.

Our review model was supplied by the mobile network Orange and comes with an Orange-themed interface. The home screen is made up of tiles that not only provide links to different apps but can show details of unread messages or appointments, for example.

New Windows phones cannot connect to hidden wireless networks (Microsoft says hiding networks isn't useful for security). Our test wireless network is hidden, which meant we couldn't set up a wireless connection, but connecting to a standard (non-hidden) wireless network was fine.

Internet access over the Orange network was fast and the browser looked good on the Mozart's sharp screen. It was often necessary to zoom in to tap on links but people with smaller fingers may not have that problem.

As with all new Windows Phone models, three touch-sensitive panels below the screen are used to go back, go to the home screen and to search. Usefully, the back button moves through everything you have done, not just a single app.

The only other physical button is for the camera, which can be used without having to unlock the phone. The camera was on the slow side, though, and other phones (such as the iPhone 4) gave better results. It also records high-definition video at the 720p resolution, but it dropped to a juddery 15 frames per second when shooting indoors.

As the name suggests, this phone is designed with sound in mind, and quality was impressive through the headphone socket and the small internal speaker.

Aside from the headphone socket a micro USB socket (for charging and connecting to a computer) is the only connection. The Microsoft Zune software, a free 120MB download, is required to copy photos, music and video to or from the phone.

On the down-side, there is only 8GB of storage. This is smaller than rivals and it can't be expanded with a memory card.

The Orange HTC Mozart is let down by its flawed camera and small storage, but it's a good phone nonetheless.