Sprint has received its first Windows Phone 7 smartphone in the form of HTC Arrive. With the help of the advanced Windows Phone 7 operating system, Microsoft hopes to make a dent in the touchscreen smartphone market that is currently dominated by devices running on the free Android platform. While the earlier Windows Phone 7 smartphones were launched on GSM networks, HTC Arrive will be the first Windows Phone 7 device to utilize the CDMA space.

The latest Windows powered smartphone in Sprint’s product portfolio flaunts a 3.6-inch multi touch display and a slide out QWERTY keyboard. The high-resolution (480 x 800 pixels) touch screen display, packed with accelerometer, ambient light and proximity sensors, is ideal for viewing high-definition movies.

To deliver the high-end functionality of the Windows Phone 7 software, HTC has packed Arrive with 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Unlike the Apple and Android devices with grid style screens for apps, the latest Windows mobile operating system groups contents into subject specific hubs such as people, music, games and work.

Microsoft will further enhance the productivity of the operating system with new features such as cut and paste and greater app download speed. HTC Arrive users could access key Microsoft services including Windows Live, Xbox Live, Zune and Bing from the smartphone. Apps and games could be downloaded from Windows Marketplace. You can even view and edit your Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents directly from the smartphone handset.

The built-in 5-megapixel camera with auto focus, zoom and flash could shoot HD movies. The SRS WOW HD technology integrated in HTC Arrive delivers high quality HD sound. The Zune music player would play your favorite songs downloaded from Sprint Music Store. HTC Arrive lacks FM radio. Web browsing is facilitated with the preloaded Internet Explorer 8.

The new Windows Phone 7 based Sprint smartphone features Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, high-speed USB 2.0 and PC syncing via My Phone app. Along with 16GB on board storage space, HTC Arrive supports memory expansion via microSD card. The battery of the HTC smartphone has enough juice to support six hours of talk time.

HTC Arrive would be shipped with a $200 price tag along with a two-year Sprint contract from March 20.