We knew the HTC HD7 had a nice screen and but in a recent screen test that pitted the Windows Phone 7 device against the iPhone 4 and Samsung Nexus S, the HD7 beat out the Super AMOLED screen of the Nexus S. While the Windows Phone was able to surpass the Nexus S, it wasn't strong enough to beat out the iPhone.

The screens were subjected to three different types of tests;

  • Scientific measurements using a chromameter to test the brightness, black level, and contrast ratio. 
  • Test pattern screens used to test for color tracking errors, 24-bit color and font legibility. 
  • Real world, anecdotal testing using 3D games and photos.

To sum up the test results:

On the HD7: "The HD7 displayed mostly accurate color; however, the color did show evidence of being washed out in certain tests. Also, the phone's gallery app may have a bandwidth problem, which resulted in blurry text in our tests. We'll need to do more testing though to confirm."

On the Nexus S: "The Nexus S saw an incredible contrast ratio thanks to its OLED screen. Also, it displayed fonts smoothly and legibly and passed the Coke can test with only minimal dithering. Unfortunately the Nexus S failed in most of our other tests, especially color tracking, white level saturation, and false contouring. The Nexus S was the least impressive of the three."

On the iPhone: "The iPhone 4 was the best overall performer of the three phones we tested. The iPhone 4 was capable of displaying 24-bit color and was able to display colors in games and pictures with pop and life while still being accurate. The iPhone 4 won in most of our scientific tests and also had the best performance overall in our real-world tests. Once again, the iPhone 4 has the best smartphone screen on the market."

It's great to see the HTC screen measure up so well.  However, with our experience with the Super AMOLED screen of the Samsung Focus (which we think is very good), it was a little surprising to see that the Nexus's screen was the least impressive of the three.  I'd be curious to see how well the Focus's Super AMOLED screen would have faired? 

source: CNET via: wmpoweruser