Hardware
After spending some quality time with HTC's Flyer and EVO View 4G tablets, we were struck by how much this lilliputian phone resembles its 7-inch cousins. For one, HTC went and combined a band of metallic metal with white plastic, much the same way it did with the gray-and-white Flyer. That color-blocking extends onto both the front and back sides of the phone, with a metallic strip stamped across the rear, and that same flat finish stretching across the front and between the QWERTY keys.
Also like its tablet cousins, the Status has a contoured shape that looks something like the little dipper when you examine it from the side. The idea is to bring the screen closer to you, and generally add some personality to what is otherwise a middling handset (our words, not HTC's ours). Alas, though, it's a portrait QWERTY, so we're not sure why HTC didn't just stick with clean lines.
One area where HTC did keep things simple: the sides. Both the bottom and right edges of the handset are devoid of buttons or openings. That leaves just the power / lock key and 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, and a volume rocker and mini USB port on the left. On the back, of course, is where you'll find the 5 megapixel camera, along with an LED flash. In the upper right-hand corner of the bezel, you'll find an LED light for notifications, with a thin, finely grated speaker grille stretching across the top of the 2.6-inch display.
