A couple of months back Microsoft released Windows Mobile 6.5. We had a chance to on a number of devices and came away impressed but disappointed. The main reason for the disappointment was that the UI itself was really only a couple of levels deep. We also noted that HTC’s own UI, TouchFLO 3D, was the true selling point, as the company had yet again raised the bar for UI on a Windows Mobile device. Since HTC isn’t just known for doing UI enhancements I took particular interest in one of its latest devices: the HD2. I was lucky enough to be given one by HTC at a recent and have been putting it through its paces for the last couple of weeks. Hardware The hardware of the HD2 makes it one of the more impressive phones I’ve had the pleasure of using.
Hd2 activation. To activate my marketplace on htc hd2 running windows 7.5? How do i get a activation code to finish setup on my htc hd2? Their GPS coordinates and information are presented in the Table 1. The test consisted in a route through the city with the mobile client application running in a “HTC HD2” mobile passing over all the activation ranges. Table 1 Offer locations and information Offer Name Longitude Latitude Activation Range Museo. *#0283# Receiver Packet loopback *#0782# RTCTimeRead displays time (and seconds) *#147852# Allows you to access many screens including CDMA DATA Connections *#369852# Allows you to access many screens including CDMA DATA Connections *#1472365# GPS Setup *#232331# Bluetooth RF Test Mode. Want to turn GPS on or off? Follow these easy instructions. Slide two fingers down the display starting from the top edge of your mobile phone.Tap SETTINGS. Tap Location. Tap the indicator next to 'Location' to turn the function on or off. If you turn on the function:Tap Agree. HTC HD2 Windows Mobile smartphone. Announced Oct 2009. Features 4.3″ TFT display, Snapdragon S1 chipset, 5 MP primary camera, 1230 mAh battery, 448 MB RAM.
At first glance I was blown away by the screen but then when the phone fully loaded and greeted me with HTC’s home screen, I was in love with Windows Mobile all over again. The HD2 is wider, longer and heavier than the iPhone 3GS, but I don’t mind any of that.
What bothers me is that it’s not as comfortable to hold as the iPhone. The corners are rounded and smooth but the HD2 is a bit more blocky than the iPhone and after a while of sitting in your hand, it’s pretty noticeable.
On the back is the camera, which juts out a bit. This makes it a bit difficult to take in and out of my pocket, and also makes me aware of the phone’s presence while in my pocket–something that I don’t experience with the iPhone. On-screen keyboard HTC has made a number of enhancements on top of Windows Mobile 6.5’s keyboard. It’s a nice keyboard but the most impressive part about it is the haptic feedback when you type. It’s something I still miss daily on my iPhone and it was a welcome addition. I also like how you can tap and hold to get to additional letters and numbers on the keyboard.
Unfortunately, the accuracy on the keyboard could use some improving. I can’t type nearly as fast as I can on my iPhone and most times I’m just a letter off. So, with some software enhancement of the predictive nature of the keyboard, I bet the keyboard will be the one to beat, especially with its feedback.
Menu HTC decided to leave the 6.5 honeycomb-style menu structure intact this time around, but with the enhancement of oversized icons. This is a must-have with a screen this big and definitely makes it a pleasure to use. I have to fault Windows Mobile for the lack of customization of this menu structure, though, since you literally have to scroll through to see all of your programs and you can’t reorder them, either. Home screen As you can see in the picture below, HTC has a great home screen experience, known as HTC Sense, which gives you a ton of information at a glance. You can also customize it to suit your needs and in my case I put a launch icon for FaceBook, Google Maps, and Geek.com. The weather also plays a prominent role in the home screen experience with funky animations that play out based on the weather outside and the time of day. In the picture below you can see some rain drops still left over, and there’s a windshield wiper that occasionally swipes the screen clean.
Browser The HD2 comes with Opera as the default browser. As you can see from the shots below, it’s a great browsing experience and supports double-tapping to zoom in and out, panning, and more. I still prefer Safari but fora non-WebKit based browser, Opera is definitely the best.
After I went through the initial settings I synced the HD2 to my Google account (calendar, contacts) using ActiveSync over-the-air. Then I fired up Peep and began tweeting.
For the rest of my tests I launched a YouTube video, browsed some web pages, and shot some pictures. I also plugged it into my Mac and transferred some photos and videos to the device’s MicroSD card. Everything looked crisp and perfect on the first try. The playlist automatically recognized the new music and a bunch of videos played without issue. The HD2 also comes with a bunch of other programs pre-loaded including Office Mobile, and some trial software for CoPilot. With a screen this big there’s no end to what you can do on this device so as you can imagine editing Word and Excel documents was almost like editing them on a desktop. Overall the HD2 experience is the best Windows Mobile experience I’ve ever encountered.
It was pretty easy to add media to a storage card and play it, the interface is super fast thanks to the Snapdragon processor, and the UI is gorgeous to look. I should also mention that the device itself looks great! I did encounter some issues, though. First off, the HD2 crashed a few different times and when it crashed most features worked except for the Windows key, which is an integral part of getting at your programs on a Windows Mobile device. After a restart, though, all was well.
Second, the HD2 will multitask but there’s no way of me getting around to my open programs. This is a feature I love in Windows Mobile and for some reason it’s gone in this interface. Says that you can restore it by installing a CAB file, so you can bet I’ll be hunting that one down next. The issues I encountered will no doubt get fixed in a firmware update, so I’m not too concerned about them. In general, the HD2 is the new device to beat. If you love Windows Mobile this is a must-have. If you yearn for the iPhone experience in both screen size and richness of UI, this is the device to have.
The HD2 is not an iPhone killer, nor is it trying to be. It’s definitely the best Windows Mobile device and arguably one of the better touch screen-based devices on the market.
I’ve been a fan of Windows Mobile for years and only switched to iPhone after I saw a lack of innovation on the Windows Mobile platform. After having had my hands on the HD2, though, I’m debating about switching back again. I’m very disappointed in HTC.
The pink camera defect is there. You can see the pink center on most of the photos above.
I personally think it must be a hardware defect. A supposed HTC guy on a forum says it’s just a software glitch and a fix will soon be here. But I’m suspicious about that. HTC has not made any official announcement about the fix. I’m doubtful it will ever come. The instability mentioned in the review is caused by the Windows Mobile operating system. I think it’s better to avoid Windows Mobile.
Get one of HTC’s Android models instead. There are a number of other Windows Mobile quirks in this phone.
I’ve noticed that some applications I installed are really impossible to use with finger touch. Many WinMo apps were designed for a stylus pen. The HTC HD2 was supposed to be the first Windows Mobile phone that would work with multi-touch. But I found the stylus pen was still needed when using applications. Also, some pages in the OS had icons so small that I need the stylus to hit them. I hear that HTC will soon release a similar phone that runs Android, called the HTC Passion.
I’m eager to see that one arrive. Good review cool phone, i myself have an iphone but im NOT a fan boy. Apple has been riding its initial tsunami from 1st gen iphones and im realy glad to see some other companys doing “iphoneish” designs. Personaly id like to see a 1ghz, seperate graphics unit, more ram and better cameras on customisable GUI.
I realy like how iphones can be jailbroken and made completely custom and i dont think im alone on that. ANYWAYS does anyone know when somthing like i described is comming out so far ive seen a few phones come close this one included but nothing that is DEFINATELY a match •. I was given the HD2 as a birthday gift from my girlfriend and have only had it no more than 2 weeks and already its giving me shit. The thing glitches worst then any other phone I have had. From freezing, to being unable to open or use softwares. Havent experienced much camera action because it doesn’t open most times and It lags severely. This is my third HTC product and am again sorely disappointed.
I have had the t-mobile dash (which was a complete piece of shit) and the g1 which was okay with minor glitching but still an iphone reject; and now with the HD2. I would advise all, from personal experience, stick with the originators–Apple and it’s Iphone, copies only leave you with headaches, and disappointment. Wow i actually like this phone.
My new hd2 is really nice. I mean it’s not perfect but it has it’s good with it’s bads. I like my new unlocked world phones.
Screen is nice and responsive. I don’t like the buttons on the bottom and it’s kind of big but i’ll keep it. Processor is faster, email is great for my business, the web browser is great for navigating and keeping up on my facebook and fantasy football. Much better than my old unlocked sprint phones. My wife loves hers for the games and camera to catch all the kids and their moments. She loves her new unlocked t-mobile phones.
My daughter takes great pictures with hers and my partner likes his for the gps and business apps. And the games are fun too. Got my last couple unlocked gsm phones at gsmauthority.com and 2 thumbs way up •. I’ve had 2 now, waiting on my 3rd replacement, and its the biggest POS I’ve ever bought $550 down the drain MSDN on chats always gets deleted no matter what, the camera sucks(blackberry 3.2mp blew it out of the water) it goes from 3g to Edge back and forth constantly, it doesn’t receive calls half the time just voice-mails, the voice command is a joke 90% of the time (“call nick mobile” then some salsa music starts playing), the apps all cost $ for something iphone is free, the Facebook app is a complete joke. Someone comments on your page, you click it to see what they said and all you can do is view profile or write wall to wall so what is the whole point if you don’t know what they said if you download ringtones you cant send them as audio on a MMS because it protects it, yet my blackberries and other windows mobile phones don’t. GPS never is anywhere close on 3g.
I have to power cycle it about every 8 hours or it locks up, the internet freezes, or the camera wont load. And I use task manager all the time. If you have money to blow go for it, but i’ll never buy and HTC again, never had luck with them.
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