The best of Windows Phone 7, so far

Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 has met with praise from tech reviewers around the world, noting that the strengths of this first-generation platform far outweigh its many shortcomings. In Australia the new system was launched with five partner devices: two LGs, two HTCs and a Samsung.

We've now had a chance to review all five and we've collected them together to help you make comparisons if you're planing on upgrading to a WP7 handset. Even so, these comparisons are hard to make. Microsoft has placed rigid limitation on the manufacturers for this first round of releases and the result is a collection of phones distinguishable only by a few key hardware differences and by applications developed in-house by LG, HTC and Samsung.

The good news is that these strict guidelines for required hardware means you can be confident that you should get a great experience from any of these phones, regardless of whether you splash out on the keyboard-packing LG Optimus 7Q or save a few bucks choosing the more affordable HTC Mozart.

If you want some more information about the system itself, check out our full review and our Guide to Windows Phone 7.