HTC HD2 - Initial thoughts

[miffed]

My HD2 arrived yesterday. Obviously its early days , and I have been busy with other things , but here are my initial experiences

Many cues have been taken from Apple and the iPhone , and the first one that strikes you is the Box , Just about big enough to fit everything in seems to be the norm now , whereas Pre-iphone it was not unusual to get a box the size of a small shoe box , all that has changed now , and you get a nice , slim box

I was pleased to note that the box was a standard HTC affair , green and white , and NOT T-mobile pink - this is a good sign !!! , Turns out there is no external branding on the phone whatsoever (Well done for resisting T-mobile !)

Inside the box I note that , again , following Apple's cue (AFAIK) you no longer get a seperate charger and data cable - rather a Micro USB lead and a mains plug with a USB socket. I actually prefer this to having to hoards of chargers and leads. the idea Micro USB being an industry standard will simplify this even further , I look forward to it !
The HD2 itself is lovely , You really do feel like you are holding a piece of quality engineering here , and pretty much all of the device is screen , and a very nice screen at that ! , all the review I saw gave the impression that the HD2's screen was dull and pale , but that couldn't be further from the truth , the colours are vibrant and the contrast is amazing , photos look (dare I say) much better than the iPhone , really , really nice screen , and the "feel" of the capacitive touchscreen is very much the same as the iPhone's

HTC have done a brilliant job of skinning Windows Mobile , A bit of a shame that this is needed in the first place , but the overall experience does feel fine , it doesn't feel like the UI is an "Add on" as seen in previous HTC devices.
That said , there are some areas where I have strayed off the HTC Sense UI , for example when setting up Googlesync I had some problems (more on that later) , I "opted out" of Sense , thinking that I'd be better "talking" to the OS directly ! , and I must say that WM seems a lot more fluid than it ever did before (my last device was an MDA Vario III )

The Camera is great , really quick and takes great shots in decent light , but I have noticed some dodgy pink areas in low light , I believe there is a fix for this on HTC's site , but I have not got around to using it yet

I realise a few will roll there eyes when I draw comparison to the iPhone (well , actually just one person , but I don't want him to feel lonely)
, But seeing as the iPhone has been my main device since 2007 it is going to happen. ..... The HD2 lacks the "plug in and play" aspect of the iPhone , part of the iPhone magic is that it simply does what it is supposed to , in an obvious fashion - Whereas the HD2 is BRILLIANT , but does need to be messed around with , and experimented with to get the best out of it - no good for most , but for me this was EXACTLY what I wanted from a device at this moment , so its all good !

As mentioned earlier , the HD2 had no external branding , but pressing the power button subjects you to the usual Magneta T-mobile experience , Fortunately it appears to be limited to the splashscreen , and then Opera is branded as "Web & Walk" on the Apps page - TBH I don't like that , so last night I set about Flashing to an unbranded ROM , entire procedure took (from looking up what to do on XDA DEV , to a flashed phone ) less than 30 minutes , and was a piece of cake ! , had it been a even a little complicated I'd have bottled out , what with it being a brand new device and that - but it was so simple I had to do it .

Example of this messing around I spoke of earlier is Googlesync - I love the fact that I can simply chuck in my log-in details and all my stuff is on my new phone in seconds , worked instantly on the iPhone , and Android , but on the HD2 , for some reason the sync failed every time - I then discover that if I choose to just sync Calender and contacts (not mail) then it works fine ... Hmmm
.... So I set up Gmail via Imap , works fine , but then I notice that I can only get mail over Wi-fi !! Grrrr ! , doesn't work over the network !

After a bit of googleing , I discover that , for some reason , T-mobiles settings include a proxy (for some reason) - this triggers my memory a little and I remember that way back on my Ameo I had this trouble ! I simply uncheck the "Use this Proxy" box , and all works fine ! Push or IMAP !!



But then as I said .... this tinkering is half the reason I bought this device in the first place !!

[miffed]

Interestingly , the HD2 Has two Web browsers - Opera Support "pinch to zoom" but not Flash .... and IE , which supports Flash , but not pinch to zoom !

....And that , my friends , illustrates what windows is all about IMO

Great eh ? :D

[Ben]

Lol @ the two browsers. I think that's a pretty good example of how out in the trees Windows Mobile really is.

Does sound excellent, though! I was impressed with the videos I saw of the handset in action. It's nice to know that the standard of the competition is improving to this extent, as 'superphones' really are an enabler.

[miffed]

Unfortunately (and surprisingly , I might add ! ) the weak link at the moment appears to be T-mobile ! , On a full HSDPA signal (well , 4-5 bars ! ) I am getting (from speedtest.net) A download speed of 0.24 Mbps , and an upload of .30 Mbps (!)
Hopefully this is a blip , T-mobile usually serve me well ! , but I'll be tempted to get the thing unlocked and onto o2 if this keeps up.

[miffed]

Software , now heres a thing

On the iPhone , or Android , If I decide I want an app - can almost always pick something up to suit my needs for free , or maybe £3 tops

.....Meanwhile Back in Windows Mobile land , you don't see lots of "free /59p / £1.19 " stuff dominating the lists , No siree bob ! , prices look to average at about £4.69 , £18.69 for a media player, £23.19 for SPB Backup , (or anything with the SPB prefix ) there's one called "Fortunatas" for £299 , (two hundred and ninety nine pounds, not two pounds ninety nine ! ) which appears to be a tongue in cheek dig at the pricing
"Fortunatus is the application for the rich , when it is started you'll see a diamond so so people can see you are rich , but applications like that already exist so now its possible to chat with your fellow wealthy colleages who also bought the program" :D

Seriously , All this pricing does is encourage piracy , and remind us what a revolution the iPhones App store is in the first place , trying to copy it while keeping up the premium prices is a bit of a joke !

[Ben]

App prices probably also reflect a) the difficulty of development and b) the size of the market. I remember paying ~£15 an app for my iPAQ back in the day, and it doesn't sound like much has changed since.

[Hands0n]

@miffed - grats to you sir on that fine acquisition of the HD2. And a fabulous write up I must say.

If devices of this standard were the norm before the iPhone I dare say that Apple wouldn't have bothered. Also, HTC have been slated for their design and quality ever since the off. Now, it may be that in the very early days they weren't quite up the mustard. But by 2010 they really are banging out some quality goods. I remain constantly impressed with their G1, HTC Magic and now Nexus One devices. These are all top dollar quality and do not reflect badly in any way at all.

I would like to get my hands on an HD2 and must say that you nearly tempted me with your earlier announcement. But sense prevailed, I'd just laid out on the Nexus One, it would be daft to do something different - particularly as my interest in Android has not yet peaked.

I think that Microsoft have a real job on their hands if they seriously want to compete with Apple and Google Android in the apps area. Those WinMo app prices are insane! A real turn-off if you ask me. Lets hope that the other OS don't catch that particular pricing habit.

So where's the pics then? Come on ... lets have a butchers :D

[getti]

You will need WnW Plus to get HSDPA on T-Mobile. Gives you 3GB a month instead of 1GB

[miffed]

Ah ,this explains a lot , cheers Dan !
Cheeky monkeys ! I remember when HSDPA first popped up it was only enabled on SIM's sold with certain handsets - I recall having to phone CS and get "384k Uplink" activated on my account , you had about a 1 in 4 chance of getting a rep that would do this (or even knew what you were talking about !!) but one activated you got glorious HSDPA !!
Not sure why they mess around like this , not sure whether to add "+" or simply get the unlock sooner !

[miffed]

So where's the pics then? Come on ... lets have a butchers :D

Hmm , well photography is really my forte , but here we go

[miffed]

Heres another -

[miffed]

And here are a few taken with the HD2

(Meet the touch screen family ! there are enough fingerprints and DNA on that lot to start my own national database !!)

[Ben]

lol @ all the touch screen phones! It's like... heaven is a place on Earth :D

[miffed]

I can't believe how the flash makes the dirt and dust on them look 1000 times worse than they are ! , I am almost ashamed of them :o

[Hands0n]

Nice pics from the HD2. I really like the form factor on the HD2 also.

[miffed]

Well , As is the way with Windows mobile, firmware is constantly being improved . at both the manufacturer level and the by the enthusiasts on the forums too.
This is one area where I feel WM actually skins the competition alive , for the large part , problems aren't actually problems (within reason , of course) - invariably it is simply a case of waiting for someone to come up with a fix , from a "hobbyists" point of view I can't think of a better platform in this respect.
No need to be putting up with Operator branding , just flash a generic ROM and it's bye-bye branding !
The HD2 was quick and responsive with the stock ROM , but now I have a custom ROM it absolutely flies , on a parr with the iPhone 3GS.

....So how does that work ? - HTC are a very rich company and I don't doubt they employ some pretty clever people , not to mention the fact that they have just built the device from scratch ! , so how come some 12 year old can knock up a better ROM , in which everything appears to work fine , in his spare time , ......than the mighty HTC can with all their resources (and incentive !! )

TBH I wouldn't have it any other way , in fact I tried it the other way with the iphone , and while it was great for a while , it all got boring pretty quick.
For me (at the moment , at least !) the HD2 represents the perfect middle ground. a nice , slick , workable UI , with a few quirks and some room for aspiration .... Hopefully my willingness to tinker will tire by the summer , and I'll be ready for a new "maintenance free" iPhone again !

[Ben]

Well, they say a change is as good as a rest. If I wasn't so locked-in to Apple world I'd probably try another handset for a while, too.

[Hands0n]

@miffed - By the Summer the iphone should be enjoying 4.0 (or possibly 4.0.1) of its new firmware. Much chat about addressing Android and WinMo's challenge of multi-tasking. Perhaps by this coming Wednesday, also, we'll learn about the next generation of the iPhone - will it, or won't it, have dual-core technology and any of the other stuff that is wildly speculated?

I understand, to a degree, what you are thinking, which is why I went into Adroid rather than WinMo which I have not had much of a liking for. But perhaps in its 6.5 and HD2 incarnation it has [finally] reached the stage where it delivers on at least some of the promise it has since version 1.0.

My own instinct is to await Windows 7 before taking a serious look again - but I must admit that the HD2 is a mouthwatering bit of technology. Were I not wedded to iPhone and Android I certainly would take a punt on the HD2 myself. But her, of inside of the doors fame, would not look upon me fondly if I did ;)