The conversation filled HTC HD2 is bound for T-Mobile this spring, but we just could not wait that long. Since we got a look at the HD2 at the CTIA Fall 2009, we were dying to get our hands on this device and thanks to Expansys USA, we have an unlocked version of the smartphone to get for review. In short, do not disappoint HD2. The phone’s luxurious 4.3-inch touch screen is the absolute highlight of the device while the user experience makes sense HTC Windows Mobile quite bearable and usable and 1GHz Snapdragon processor keeps humming along smoothly Smartphone.
There is no question that the HTC HD2 is the best Windows Mobile smartphone on the market right now. What remains to be seen whether the HD2, any appeal by the time it at T-Mobile, considering that Windows Mobile 7 Series on the horizon. The size of the phone alone is enough to scare some people, but the promise of something completely new and exciting to keep potential buyers at bay? Obviously, it’s a bit hard to say without Windows Mobile 7-series to compare it, at the moment. Plus, we still have a long way to go until we sell all Windows Mobile 7 Series handsets actually see, we think the HD2 could have a chance.
Design
Whether you have a commitment to any particular brand or operating system, you must admit that the HTC HD2 the design is pretty impressive. Of 4.74 cm to 2.64 cm wide and 5.54 ounces, the smartphone requires your attention and we do not deny there is an animal. In fact, we suspect, its size will be a turnoff for some, it is not exactly the portable device and it is quite a handful to hold during a call. That is, we give credit where credit is due. For the HD2 to a massive 4.3-inch touch screen and all its functions and stay package is just 0.43 cm thick, no small thing. In addition, the hardware feels solid with a mix of stainless steel and soft-touch finish. Of course, what really makes the HD2, among the sea of touch screen phones is the display. The HD2 is 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen is the largest we’ve seen on a smartphone before. Couple the size with a sharp WVGA (480×800) resolution and you have a nice cup. It is vivid, sharp and readable in various lighting conditions.
Photos, videos, Web sites and messages are all that much easier to see, thanks to the extra real estate. The virtual keyboard is also benefiting from the larger screen as well as portrait and landscape formats are spacious and very easy to use. As a person, preferably the physical keyboards and has a hard time adjusting to virtual, the HD2 is spacious layout definitely made for an easier transition and allows me to type faster than other on-screen keyboard. As you might have guessed from the above-mentioned portrait and landscape formats, the display has a built-in accelerometer. It was pretty fast during our period, changing the orientation of the screen in a second or two, turning the phone. It also has a proximity sensor so that the display is not active when you are on a call not to prevent accidental “mispresses” because your cheek. Another feature is to note the HD2 is multi-touch support. Yes, you can take the coveted prize-to-zoom gesture in various applications, including the browser, photos and e-mail. Below the screen there are a handful of quick-access controls, including Talk and End buttons, a Home button, Start menu, and a back button. You also get a volume rocker on the left side, and you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack and a micro-USB connector on the bottom. The camera and flash would be expected on the back as you, while the microSD expansion slot is located behind the battery compartment.
Our unlocked HTC HD2 packed came with a power supply (although the pin UK standard, so you need to get an adapter to use it in the U.S. or elsewhere), a USB cable, a 2GB microSD card, a wired stereo headset, a soft protective case, and reference material. Other add-ons, see our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
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User Interface
At its core, the HTC HD2 is another Windows Mobile 6.5 device with the clamp applications such as Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, Internet Explorer Mobile and Windows Media Player and Windows Marketplace for Mobile and Microsoft My Phone Backup service. But the HD2 also employs the HTC-sense user interface that masks the traditional Windows Mobile interface, and that’s a good thing.
Similar to the versions offered on Android devices from HTC Sense a tabbed toolbar at the bottom of the screen that you go through and reboot allows different applications by releasing the finger from left to right or vice versa, and if You can reach the desired program. There are 11 available registers in total, including those for people, calendar, internet, music, and stocks, and you can add more or remove tabs from the home screen by pressing the menu button or go to the settings and check the corresponding fields in the list. If you do not see an application or task on this list, do not worry. The home screen offers extra fast connection boxes where you choose to create a shortcut for almost any application that build the phone as well as contacts and bookmarks. Also on the Home screen to all the upcoming appointments and get real-time weather information. The forecast is updated automatically, depending on your location and you can even choose which (such as snowflakes fall appears to be the screen or when it rains, a windshield wiper will clear away the rain drops) weather animated wallpaper that is a bit spurious, but also kind of cool.
HTC Sense is not just pretty things or the user interface more accessible from the home screen. Sense also extends to other areas of the phone. You will see HTC Touch in all of the people/ contacts page to check the calendar to the media player. Oh, that’s for sure Windows Media Player still there, but why do you want to use outdated application if HTC’s own media player that has a much more attractive Cover Flow-like interface and an intuitive menu system offers? There are also small, thoughtful things like the fact that the HD2 automatically the volume of the ringtone, how to pick up the phone, so you do not annoy your neighbors by blasting them away with your samba music.
HTC Sense is not the panacea for Windows Mobile. Once you dig into some of these core applications such as Outlook, you will see some of the infamous Windows Mobile usability issues rear their ugly heads. That is, Sense makes a big difference with this Windows smartphone easier to use and more personal and functional.
Features
We dive deeper into the HTC HD2 features when the T-Mobile version is released, but here is an overview of the basics. Beyond HTC Sense is the HD2′s feature set pretty much what you expect from a high-end smartphone. It has Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, but the quad-band world phone offers no U.S. 3G support. Obviously, this is where the deal T-Mobile HTC HD2 that issue.
Phone features include a speakerphone, speed dial, smart dialing, voice commands, conference calling, and text and multimedia messages. The HD2 is a nice job of integrating communications features. On a contact page you can see all your interactions with that person, whether it be a call or SMS, and any updates they have posted on social networking sites. From an e-mail, you can, call the sender or receiver of the message with a single tap of the phone icon, there is a number with that of the contact is, and if several people in an e-mail thread may Quickly make a conference call to all with a similar method.
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We touched on the media player briefly in the section above and in addition to that, the HD2 is equipped with a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, dual LED flash, video recording capabilities and default processing options. The image quality was very good. We have the image in a relatively dimly lit room. We were pleased with how the colors of the objects was found, and were certainly happy happy with the sharpness of photos. The flash can sometimes do more harm than good, blowing out an entire shot. There is also the least shutter lag. Recorded video clips looked decent. Some scenes could have been a bit blurred, but overall for a camera phone, the HD2 has a commendable job with video. Now T-Mobile version will offer more entertainment options. At the Mobile World Congress 2010, the carrier that the HD2 with both “Transformers” films, Barnes & Noble e-book readers, On Demand blockbuster video download application, and more ship. The unlocked HD2 comes with some extras of its own, not HTC Twitter app, Peep, the Opera Mobile Web browser and CoPilot Live 8 for voice-guided navigation.
Performance
We tested the quad-band (GSM 850 /900/ 1800 /1900) HTC HD2 in New York was good with AT&T service and quality. On our end of the interview, voices sounded loud and clear with very little background interference. Every once in a while, would break up a call, but we think that is more an AT&T issue than a phone issue, as we have seen the same on other phones with AT&T service in New York. Meanwhile, our friends had commented high praise for the quality of the connection, the luscious sound and the absence of background noise.
Unfortunately, the speakerphone did not quite produce the same results. On both sides of the call, we had a hard time listening to each other and had to keep asking the other person to repeat themselves as the end of the sentences often cut off. Also sounded quite tinny voices. Despite the occasional breakdown already mentioned, we did not find that dropped calls during our test phase and we had no problem pairing the phone with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset or the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.
Without 3G support, browsing the Web via AT & T’s 3G network was, not surprisingly, a bit pokey. With the Opera browser, OUR full website in 1 minute and 26 seconds to load. Fortunately, you have to resort Wi-Fi when in range of a network. While we are partial to Opera, Internet Explorer Mobile 6 has the advantage of Flash Lite support for you to Flash sites and Flash movies directly from the browser view.
With a Wi-Fi, YouTube clips in just a few seconds of buffered and played back smoothly. We also have a few MP4 movie trailers on the device and had a great viewing experience of continuous playback. Obviously, the HD2 has extra large screen is much value to the experience. Sound quality for movies and music over the phone speakers sounded pretty weak, but after plugging in our Bose on-ear headphones, we were, how the phone could pump out the marvel rich sounding audio. The HD2 has 512 MB of RAM and a ROM 448MB microSD expansion slot.
Equipped with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, led the HD2, without a problem during our reporting period. Although we were not blown away by each flash your phone and much more vicious than other Windows Mobile devices. There was little delay in starting or working in multiple applications and even multimedia applications run smoothly. We do not even feel like the HD2 could not keep up with our demands, nor did we experience any kind of crash that would require a restart. The HTC HD2 comes with a 1230 mAh lithium-ion battery with a rated talk time of 6 hours and up to 20 days standby time. We are still conducting our battery drain tests but will update this section as soon as we have final results.
