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HTC’s Touch HD2 is the follow-up to Windows Mobile’s most successful son to date, the Touch HD.
It’s also the first WinMo phone with a capacitive screen – a whopping 4.3in, 800x480 affair. Oh, and it has a mighty 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor firing it. All in all, a very tempting gadget.
Cleaning Windows
WinMo phones tend to get lukewarm reviews, mainly because WinMo is a resolutely old-fashioned smartphone operating system with a front-end like a Unix mainframe that demands the use of prodding implements.
So, how to make a Windows Mobile smartphone that can take on the might of the iPhone 3GS, HTC Hero and Palm Pre? Attach a massive screen, skin the interface as much as possible and stick in a super-fast processor so it can handle the extra processing required to make WinMo and the effluvia on top run smoothly.
Sexy slab
From the get-go the HD2 is a very easy phone to like. It’s quite a slab, but that’s a side effect of it having such a large display – and it’s a price worth paying.
It wears its dimensions well, too, with a slim bezel and purposeful, minimalist styling. It seems futuristic next to its smaller-screened chums.
Round the back the 5MP camera protrudes a bit, but it’s shrouded in machined aluminium – and that certainly softens the aesthetic blow. A metal battery cover and soft-touch rubber details finish off a very classy package.
Sense and sensibility
Switch the HD2 on and things only improve. Long-term haters may wince at seeing the Windows load screen, but you’re rapidly escorted to the glorious Sense interface skin. It’s a marvel to behold, unrivalled within the market and made all the better by the HD2’s epic screen.
The customisable homescreens (up to 12 of them) can be used for various operations – looking at pictures, playing music, tweeting with the integrated Peep Twitter client, checking stocks and launching oft-used apps among them. Sliding your finger along the bottom navigation bar is fluid and intuitive, as are navigational gestures.
Social networking isn’t as deeply integrated as it is on handsets such as Moto’s DEXT; contacts can be linked to Facebook status images and birthdays can be pulled down from the cloud. The phone’s gallery also links direct to Facebook galleries, but there’s no unified contacts book.
Musical prince, photographic pauper
The HD2 is one of the best music phones available, taking on the iPhone at its favourite game. Sound is as crisp and dynamic as the Touch HD’s but with a nice new Cover Flow-style artwork browser. Movies love the screen, too, though better format support would be a boon.
Imaging, however, is acceptable at best. The 5MP photos are decent and can be manipulated with a number of arty filters, and there’s a rudimentary LED flash for low light, but video is jerky.
Multitouch master
This is also the first WinMo phone to benefit from multitouch. It’s primarily used for zooming photos and web browsing (the pinching method popularised by the iPhone is borrowed), and makes for a very modern-feeling smartphone experience.
Web browsing benefits, especially; the Opera Mobile browsing experience on the full-website-width screen is super-quick, aided by the 1GHz Snapdragon within.
While zooming is smooth and nippy, the screen is so good it’s easy to read text without doing so. Built-in Flash support would be nice, though it is available to download.
Multitouch also helps when you’re occasionally dumped back in the Soviet-era territory of a skin-free Windows Mobile, or when you fancy using a stylus-friendly legacy app. Spread your fingers apart on screen and those icons increase to finger-friendly proportions. It’s not an elegant fix, but it works.
Review continues after the break...
Flea Marketplace
When it comes to apps in general, the HD2 is a mixed bag. The selection of bundled programs is fantastic, with HTC’s own creations doing the job of standard phone functions (including dialler, calendar and messaging) and the Microsoft Office apps making the HD2 a bona fide productivity device.
There’s also an included (and very, very good) Wi-Fi Router app that turns the HD2 into a portable Wi-Fi hotspot – so you won’t be needing a Mi-Fi, or a dongle for that matter.
However, the Windows Marketplace app store has all the quality of a Woolworth’s bargain bin – but with none of the bargains. Right now it can’t touch iTunes or Android. Better WinMo apps can be found on the web, so let’s hope Marketplace snaffles them up soon.
HD phone home
When it comes to communication – this is, after all, a phone – the HD2 does brilliantly. Grouping all forms of mobile interaction by contact, it makes it dead easy to check through old texts and calls.
Call quality is superb and it holds a signal well. Email setup is similarly top-notch (as is true of most WinMo handsets) and the capacious soft keyboard is the best we’ve used.
Any other issues that crop up are niggles. For example, the intervals between volume stops is too great, so one step can be too quiet and the next too loud.
And for every niggle there’s an equally small but significant bonus that levels things out, such as the gorgeous weather animations (the shining sun is stunning) and the HD2’s ability to collect missing album artwork off the web.
Tech Specs
- Bluetooth
- Yes
- Dedicated MP3 player software
- Yes
- Dimensions
- 120x67x11mm
- FM radio
- Yes
- Main camera resolution
- 5MP
- Memory card slots
- Yes
- Memory card type
- microSD
- Operating system
- Windows Mobile 6.5
- Quad band
- Yes
- Screen resolution
- 800x480
- Screen size
- 4.3in
- Standby time
- 490hrs
- Storage
- 512MB internal
- Supported music formats
- WMA, MP3, AAC, WAV
- Talktime
- 6hrs
- Video resolution
- VGA, 30fps
- Weight
- 157g
- Wi-Fi
- Yes
- Xenon flash
- No
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13 weeks ago
Wow, this phone sounds amazing. I would also be interested in how long the battery life is though. I am just now in the market for a smart phone and I appreciate this information. download movies
richardbranson
15 weeks ago
The HTC HD2 boasts a gorgeous 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen, and T-Mobile preloads the smartphone with a ton of entertainment extras to take advantage of its display and 1GHz processor. Tennisshop
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misspenelope11
1 year ago
great phone despite freezing issues
billycrf100
1 year ago
I have just bought a HD2 second hand for £250, which is basically brand new. This was £350 less than my Iphone 4. This phone a great pleasure to use. It will do nearly anything you throw at it. Yes the OS is buggy but you can install android which I find it runs flawlessly, better than on my desire, especially on that huge 4.3inch screen. You can also run Linux Ubuntu and then win XP using Qemu. Also, development is already occuring for the WP7 OS to be ported to the HD2 which is said to be THE Iphone killer. Personally I think the HD2 has already destroyed the Iphone without WP7
nitramsniktun
1 year ago
Brilliant Design, User friendliness, construction & build. However, easily the worst sound quality of any mobile phone I have ever used or owned. I have the SRS WOW app installed and all it allows me to do is make it sound terrible in different ways. Distorts at high frequencys, weak mid-range, poor bass. Lots of noise on calls, unsuably distorted speakerphone, shrill & tinny call quality + unpleasant to use. Very disappointed with the whole HTC ethos. Certainly wouldn't buy another or recomend. This is my third handset and all have had the same sound issues.
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1 year ago
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craignet
2 years ago
I love this phone, had it for a month now and love how customisable it is, XDA developers site has tones of apps and customizations for the phone, Cookies Home Tab is a must and turns it from a great phone into a FANTASTIC phone. I find battery life to be good for what it does, screen is great and sound is good with the SRSWOW app. Would recommend to anyone wanting something different than and iphone, and I believe this is so much better. Top apps/customisations are: Cookies Home Tab(with editor), Core Player, BsB Tweaks, FpseCE (play PSOne games on the phone), Swype, SRSWOW, Crayon Physics, TomTom Navigator 7, myplayer... there are thousands more so get the phone load them up, trust me you wont be disappointed.
flettino
2 years ago
The hd2, Took me a while to get used to as its complecated features, But as i got used to it, It is the best phone i ever had, I think this tops the iphone 3gs by a mile, Even tho it does not have all the great apps, It has great internet, Great features, And also is a nice party show off. I highly recomend this phone!
hypehypeyeh
2 years ago
To bigredgecko i love the phone except the battery life, i use it quite frequently with applications like msn and facebook and i guess they are quite large programs, but a whole day at school running these apps and its dead:(
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2 years ago
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hazzahextall
2 years ago
I got this for a christmas present and it has never left my side. although the screen is huge it is rgeat for watching movies and youtube on and the 3G internet is awesome. The camera also is unbelievable and although the windows marketplace is minute in comparrison to the app store it is not the only place to get apps unlike the app store. the weight is no different to other phones. it is fully customisable and i recomend getting one over the iPhone.
jaykay1976
2 years ago
Just want to point out that symbian does not have a 3 application limit on multi tasking. There is no limit. Not saying it is a better OS as it is very dated but just wanted to clear that up ;O)
bodsy0
2 years ago
I received mine last friday after having Nokia's for 10years, i have to say this is a real 'Smartphone' Because i have been use to the Symbian platform i cannot comment on the negative former WinMo sytems used on mobiles, all i can say is this 6.5 works well, the home screen is superb and after one day i can navigate round easily which says a lot after ten years using something else. The HD2 has a screen that quite frankly blows the iPhone away this coupled to the fact that you can have multiple Apps open at the same time gives it the edge (even Symbian only has a maximum of three apps open at any one time. The speed is good, sound quality is there as well, my only worry is the size, how will i go on with it in my jeans pocket, its not bulky so you sort of forget its there, so the worry is will i sit down and break it, only time will tell. I don't believe in flash useless gadgets such as apple thats why i chose this device, don't hang about get on the HD2 bandwagon now!
sidbob
2 years ago
I have had the phone for about a week now. I have used the Iphone but see the HTC HD2 as a bit more of a geeks smart phone. Some complain about winmo 6.5 and yes it could be better but in my humble opinion it is pretty kool. Rumour is that the HTC HD2 will be compatible with winmo 7 which is looking like a quantum leap forward. It would be great to give users that ability to load android. The build quality is sweet and feels very robust. The screen resolution is good and speed is great. I have experienced some winmo lag but nothing to get in a twist about. On the whole a great phone with fantastic capabilities and a rosey future.
pmw395
2 years ago
well i have used my htc for2 days and it aint bad at all i have used android and apple's iphone. it would be nice to see an android version which would be probably the best large screen phone out there however it has been skinned very well for such a poor OS!!!! unless microsoft brings out a new mobile OS that actually works!!!!!! then it will always behind apple and android! but it still works well with the great screen and 1GHz processor!
PDAJah
2 years ago
Battery life is very good for a large screen device with a 1Ghz CPU. End of a normal day (20/30 minutes of calls, 30/40 minutes web, 20/30 minutes of other functions, some video watching etc, on 3G/HSDPA/GSM) I have around 40% battery left.
minimach
2 years ago
Just got a hands on at a trade show. Its big screen is stunning and responsive. Thanks to it capacitive touchscreen. Although its still a disappointing Winmo interface when you delve deeper into the OS. Still as ugly and backdated as a 5 yrs old WinMo smartphone... How about a HD2 with an Android interface?
bigredgecko
2 years ago
Whats the battery life like?