HTC HD2 – not too big, just too late
I used to think my Motorola Milestone was big. That was until my brother in law lent me his HD2. He went back to his Blackberry Bold as his wife only chats to him via BB Messenger. Hear that RIM? Guess it is exactly what RIM wants. Anyway back to the HD2. That thing is big man. Could have its own zipcode it’s so big. An SA Airlink pilot can land a plane on it it is so big. But it is surprisingly thin and light, so not too uncomfortable in your pocket.
The second thing you notice after the size, is the screen, which fills the entire front of the device. It is a 4.3 inch screen which I think makes it the biggest mobile phone screen out there. And with 800 x 480 resolution it is a thing of beauty. Brilliant for watching youtube videos. Don’t need no reading glasses for this one gramps. To top it off the screen is capacitive not resistive like Windows Mobile touchscreens have been since the iMate Jam. The capacitive screen coupled with the superfast 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (which is as fast and snappy as it sounds) makes the HD2 very responsive. Scrolling through your mailbox is a pleasure and applications can be launched in a blink of an eye. It must be the fastest mobile phone available today. Certainly the fastest I have used. It begs the obvious question, why now only. This is the type of hardware that Windows Mobile has been lacking – a fast processor and a fast screen. Actually makes Windows quite usable, especially in its HTC Sense disguise. Too late now. Microsoft is bring Windows Phone 7 out soon, so Windows Mobile is basically dead.
Unfortunately as with all its Windows predecessors the battery is not really up to the task. I had Lotus Notes Traveler running on it the first day, in full push mode which kept a GPRS connection live all the time, and by lunchtime the HD2 was ready for bedtime. Switched Traveler to manual sync mode, installed Bandswitch to auto drop the GPRS connection when idle, which helped somewhat. Still if you are going to buy an HD2 you may want to invest in a long life battery. Like this one: 
And Windows being Windows you are still going to have to manually switch off the wifi and bluetooth to stretch that battery.
The HD2 comes with a good set of software including the usual Office Mobile with mobile versions of Excel, Word and Powerpoint. Not as good as Documents to Go on Android (which even has track changes if you need it), but it is free. Also comes with the free Adobe PDF reader, which is the only slow thing on the HD2, and it comes with Opera 9.5 which is a pretty good web browser. Not as good as the latest breed of Webkit browsers on Android, iPhone and Palm, but usable, and with the HD2′s monumental screen, you are unlikely to complain about the browser. And then of course there is a huge collection of Windows Mobile software available, but not via Microsoft’s Marketplace which only has a few hundred. Don’t expect new Windows Mobile apps though. The dev community has already turned its efforts to Windows Phone 7 Series.
Did I mention that the HD2 does not have a physical keyboard? It has an onscreen keyboard like many of the new mobile devices since the iPhone. It works ok, but I still prefer a real qwerty. As an interesting alternative try Swipe, which is a new onscreen keyboard app for WinMo (so much for no new WinMo apps). Allegedly lifted from a Verizon Omnia II this keyboard app lets you drag or swipe your finger over the screen instead of poking at it. People are saying that it is the best keyboard for the HD2. Going to give it a try myself. Check it here. Looks similar to SlideIT, but is free.
Unlike most of the phones I spout forth about on this blog, the HD2 is actually available in South Africa from the mobile networks on contract. So, if you want the fastest mobile phone with the biggest screen and you don’t mind that it runs a defunct and clunky operating system, go get the HD2. You will not be disappointed. If you can’t bear Windows Mobile, then go get its newer Android sibling the HTC Incredible, aka the HTC Desire. Or even the Google Nexus One. Both has excellent, but somewhat smaller than the HD2, screens. Both run the latest Android and both have the self-same Snapdragon processor. Neither are available in sunny South Africa via contract yet, but can be picked up for a song (an expensive song at ZAR9000 or US$1200) from internet retailers. Or you can wait for the HTC Supersonic, which rumour has it will be exactly like the HD2 except it will run Android.
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