I’ve been waiting for a device like the leaked HTC Trophy for many years. It’s the only candy-bar style QWERTY device that truly interests me because it doesn’t compromise on any feature. The Windows Mobile devices currently available that sport this form factor either have low screen resolutions, are too thick, or don’t come with enough power. The Trophy is the exception. Here’s a breakdown.

Keyboard

The keyboard of the last HTC candy-bar QWERTY device, the Snap (shown above), was one of the best we’ve ever tested. It looks like they are bringing a very similar keyboard to the Trophy, which should make for a fantastic typing experience.

Screen resolution, size, and touch

Think about the QWERTY candy-bar device that are available today (the HTC Snap, Palm Treo Pro, iPAQ Glisten, Samsung Epix, etc). Most of them have screen sizes of 2.5″ and resolutions of 320×240 or 320×320. The result of these small screen sizes is often a cramped display that does a poor job at displaying many things on the screen at once.

The Trophy, on the other hand, has fantastic 640×480 resolution with a 3.0″ portrait screen. This screen size is a bit bigger than the last generation Touch Pro, and should provide ample viewing area and a super crisp picture.

Additionally, the screen on the Trophy uses capacitive touch. That means that the display will be super sensitive, and that it will be made out of glass like the HD2, lending to a very high quality feel.

Size and feel

The QWERTY candybar devices listed above are actually quite thick. The Palm Treo Pro is 14mm thick, the iPAQ Glisten is 13mm thick, and the Epix comes in at a depth of 13mm. Only the Snap keeps it trim at 12mm.

But the Trophy is even thinner, at an incredible 11mm. Imagine the feel of the device in your hand: razor thin, glass screen, metal/rubbery backing (potentially).