HTC HD2 - Should I get one?

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-Rob-

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I am due a mobile upgrade in a few days so at the weekend I started looking for what phone I’d want. I’m trying hard to avoid being a sheep and getting an iphone. I know they are good and I’m sure I’d be more than happy with one but there are things about it I don’t think I’d like.

Anyway, from the phones I’ve seen the HTC HD2 looks like it’s favourite at the moment. I like the large clear screen, the touch sensitivity seems good, the menu systems seems pretty well designed, the camera seems impressive and reports suggest it is fast and doesn’t crash.

The downsides I’ve heard of are that the battery life isn’t great and that it only lasts a day but I can’t see that being a problem as I always plug my phone in over night every night anyway. Apparently there are loads of apps available for it but I’ve not looked in to where or how you’d get them, that’s all a mystery to me.

So, my questions to those of you who may own a HTC HD2:

What are your thoughts on it?
What is the battery life like when the phone is just used for an ‘average’ amount of time each day?
Where is the best place to look for apps to download and which ones are worth it?
Do you use the GPS on it? How well does it perform?
What are the downsides to owning this phone?

Also, I’ve found a 24 month contract that gives a free phone, 600 mins, unlimited texts and unlimited internet for £25 a month on T Mobile. Can anyone beat that?
 
I was using my Dad's HD1 at the weekend, which has Windows 6.5 on it, and it was proper clunky compared to my HTC Hero - don't know what 7 is like, but 6 is rubbish!! :D
 
Most if not all smartphones will need charging nearly every day if you use them as a smartphone i.e viewing net emails etc, purely because your using them more then a standard phone.

My N97 will last 2-3days if i use it purely as a phone, which is very rarely so normally have to charge every night, so dont let battery life be a decider.
 
-Rob- said:
What is the battery life like when the phone is just used for an ‘average’ amount of time each day?
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I get a couple of days with average use (don't use WiFi though)
-Rob- said:
Where is the best place to look for apps to download and which ones are worth it?
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There are lots of free stuff (use google) or there is a WMmarketplace on the phone. The only thing I've ever bought is Pocket Informant

-Rob- said:
Do you use the GPS on it? How well does it perform?
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GPS works well, I use it to find my way round London

-Rob- said:
What are the downsides to owning this phone?
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A bit too large for typical trouser pockets :)

I've flashed mine with the latest WM 6.5.3 & lots of custom tweaks etc and it excellent :thumbs:
 
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Owned it and sold it.

It was a very good piece of hardware. VERY good. Size was not bad actually, it's very slim so fit in my pocket well. The screen is great, very usable and I found battery life was two full days of heavy 3G use.

I sold it because it runs on windows mobile. Quite honestly even with the HTC sense overlay it was still clunky, slowed down a lot and never felt as slick as a £450 phone should.

I now use a google nexus one, although I am contemplating the HTC desire when that comes out. Basically the same hardware (Although slightly smaller screen of the same res) but running Android OS (Which is awesome)
 
Based on the responses I've had on here and another forum I posted the same question on it's looking like it's worth waiting another month to see what the HTC Desire is like with the Android OS. Sounds like it's going to be a better option. I just hope it's not far more expensive.
 
The problem with Android (at least for me) is that it can't sync direct with Outlook, you've got to use other programs & fiddle about too much :D
 
-Rob- said:
Cheers Stuart, what’s the difference between the 2 operating systems? I’ve read somewhere that the HD2 is to be updated with the new Windows 7 mobile operating system. Any idea what that will be like?
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According to this article http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/02/windows_7_mobile_upgrade/ in The Register Windows 6.5 phones including the HTC HD2 won't/can't be upgraded to W7. Something to do with the number of buttons amongst other things apparently.

Having had a good play around with some one elses HD2 it is a lovely piece of kit hobbled by a lousy OS
 
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If you're not getting an Iphone then the only phone which looks as good is the HTC Desire. Annoying as I could probably get that as an upgrade when it comes out (about 5 weeks) but i'm sick of T-Mobile. I think i'm going to be a sheep and spend some cash I don't have on the iphone and crap contract that comes with it :)
 
scorpius said:
According to this article http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/02/windows_7_mobile_upgrade/ in The Register Windows 6.5 phones including the HTC HD2 won't/can't be upgraded to W7. Something to do with the number of buttons amongst other things apparently.

Having had a good play around with some one elses HD2 it is a lovely piece of kit hobbled by a lousy OS
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There's a bit of confusion as such here as the HD2 will almost certainly get WM7 on it, however it may not be from official sources. If it isn't released officially XDA will no doubt port it over.

As for the HD2 it's an excellent phone from what I have read and I was going to get one when my contract for my HD(1) runs out in a couple of months, however there are a few other phones coming out shortly that really look very interesting, all looking to be a lot better than the iPhone.

You have the HTC Desire with 720p recording and the HTC Legend which is essentially the HD2 with android, it even looks almost identical (all three phones have almost identical internals).

You also have the Sony Ericsson X10 which looks very impressive, running android and like the HTC phones with a lot of custom software mixed in. It's also IMO far nicer looking than the Desire and quite possibly my next phone.

So all in all if this thread had appeared a couple of months ago I would have said HD2 definately, but now...

If you do decide on an iPhone i'd wait and see if Apple release a new one in June as, quite frankly, they are going to have to or get left way behind in the mobile wars. :p
 
Apple will never get left behind, it's all in the marketing..

Also none of the other phones have as nice an interface as the iphone or a music player as good as the ipod (kinda matters to me as my ipod just broke!).

I'm definitely tempted by the desire though as ipod contracts are rubbish and that sense system actually finally looks like a good competitor to apple with virtually no lag. It would mean sticking with t-mobile though ergh.

Amp what was that about 720p recording on the desire?!
 
Well yeah, they always have their marketing, but as for the actual phone itself, it's starting to show it's age, like th 3g was when the HD came out. :)

When you mention the music player do you mean on the phone or the whole system? The music player on the phone is no better than that in the touchflo system of the HD or core player but the system as a whole (iPod and iTunes) may be better for some (personally I hate the whole syncing thing, I like to just drag and drop my albums but I know a lot of people like it).

The Desire is supposed to have a 720p high definition video mode, at least it was supposed to when the information first surfaced, I assume it will still do now. :)

EDIT: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/3/5/htc-desire-come-720p-encoding-capability/

Although i'm a little confused as I didn't think the HD2 came with 720p recording and the x10 isn't out yet...
 
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I just meant I quite like the ipod interface, not had any experience of playing music on the HTC phones but i've normally found the older touchscreens horrible. I'll have a play with this and hopefully be proved wrong.

The legend is STUNNING, i'm guessing that's the only thing it has going for it over the desire though?
 
The legend is essentially the Hero with a new coat I think, although I may be wrong.

(I actually made a mistake earlier, I was thinking the legend was the supersonic, which is the phone that is essentially the HD2 with Android, however i'm not sure it is coming out in the UK).

EDIT: Oh, and if you have a few months to wait then you may be interested in the apparent HD3 ;)

1.5Ghz processor
4.5" 1280 x 800 pixel screen
720p recording
8mp with flash...

http://www.dancewithshadows.com/tech/htc-hd3-specifications-outed/

Likelyhood of it actually being real... well that's something you need to make your own mind up about... :p
 
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My contracts up in about 4 weeks :) I don't really want to stay with T-Mobile but what they'll offer me as an upgrade will probably lead to another 18months of me grumbling about them. An Iphone on O2 would be nice coverage haha.

I'll be waiting to try a Desire hands on before making any decisions. Do the 3Gs's support flash on websites? Being able to view a flash website on a phone would be pretty nifty. Also a 4inch screen is just too big, 3.7inches is pushing it.
 
adam* said:
I just meant I quite like the ipod interface, not had any experience of playing music on the HTC phones but i've normally found the older touchscreens horrible. I'll have a play with this and hopefully be proved wrong.

The legend is STUNNING, i'm guessing that's the only thing it has going for it over the desire though?
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Picking up on this bit as the new HTC capacitive screens are frankly awesome. Their older resistive ones were a bit crap but they have totally upped their game in the past 12 months.
 
RichardtheSane said:
Picking up on this bit as the new HTC capacitive screens are frankly awesome. Their older resistive ones were a bit crap but they have totally upped their game in the past 12 months.
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The capacitive screen on the HD2 is nicely balanced & the pinch-to-zoom is fluid :thumbs:
 
I've got a HTC HD2 and love it to bits. Get a bit frustrated when the windows software decides it wants to 'have a little think' all by itself but when it is working and I'm not being hamfisted with the buttons and touchscreen nice bit of kit.

The screen is amazing and I use it as a mini portable portfolio for my photo's!
 
Two words:
HTC Desire :)
 
I had the same dilemna at the end of last year, I really didn't want an iphone as I really wanted to not like it.

I was going to wait for the Nokia N90, but to cut a long story short, I gave in and got the iphone 3GS and have to say it's so good, I'm even thinking about selling my PC and buying a mac.
 
I just thought I'd add that the my HD2 'having a think' has turned into a major software glitch which O2 have unofficially stated is a common occurence affecting a lot of these handsets. There is a ROM update available from www.htc.com but O2 havnt approved it yet so waiting with patience for said approval.

Currently having to reset twice a day just to make the thing work until O2 approve the ROM update.
 
Marcus Geezer said:
I just thought I'd add that the my HD2 'having a think' has turned into a major software glitch which O2 have unofficially stated is a common occurence affecting a lot of these handsets. There is a ROM update available from www.htc.com but O2 havnt approved it yet so waiting with patience for said approval.

Currently having to reset twice a day just to make the thing work until O2 approve the ROM update.
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Have a look here. Fast stable software for the HD2 at least 6 months before O2 etc bother to pass out.


However IT MAY INVALIDATE YOUR WARRANTY

double However...

I've used the XDA forums stuff on my last 4 phones, never a problem :clap:
 
mrgubby said:
Have a look here. Fast stable software for the HD2 at least 6 months before O2 etc bother to pass out.


However IT MAY INVALIDATE YOUR WARRANTY

double However...

I've used the XDA forums stuff on my last 4 phones, never a problem :clap:
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Cheers and I'll have a look. O2 have reluctantly agreed that the HTC ROM update should fix any issues but O2 are yet to approve this for download. When I enter my serial number into the HTC website it blocks the download becuase not yet approved.
 
I'm getting an HD2 on Monday it think, from my insurance company to replace my HD, i'm on o2 what are the issues with it?
I may have to return it if its no good, Im not too keen to flash a rom on a new phone, usually give it 3-4 months first - my HD had about 7 different roms on it, even had the hd2 os running on it :-)
 
The thing about the Desire, and Legend etc is that I don't think they look nearly as amazing as the HD2. I desperately want an HD2 purely because of how it looks. Silly I know, but I think the Desire looks a bit too, I don't know, curvy? And i'm not too keen on the 'chin' on the legend, though I think it's been scaled down a bit from the Hero.

Whilst the Xperia X10 looks good, I don't think they are as slick as HTC's and feel a little plastic.

Dilemma!
 
NikonSimon said:
If I have a gmail account, and am going to get a proper PC with Outlook and stuff, will I be able to have both synced to the HD2?
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Not got a clue with google mail :thinking:, I use Outlook to sync my contacts / diary etc to my HD2
 
I've been using WinMo phones for about 5 years, and I'd be going for an HD2 if I was sticking with T-Mobile, but they suck in Lancaster (and they'll suck even worse now they're merging with Orange), so switching to o2 and getting an iPhone instead.

I'll still have my Omnia as my second phone, running WinMo 6, does the job just fine for me.
 
NikonSimon said:
If I have a gmail account, and am going to get a proper PC with Outlook and stuff, will I be able to have both synced to the HD2?
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Yeah, because Gmail supports pop3.
 
Well I got my HD2, and after playing with it for a bit I really like it. been over at xda developers for some tweaks and some custom themes etc and got it running lovely. On th plus side its arrived unlocked and unbranded so when my contract expires in 4 months it will be easier to sell on ;-)
 
Not wishing to hijack :) but what about the Sony X10?
 
just downloaded a canny little app, WinMoDofInstallerV1.3 from omarket, loads of free apps for minmo stuff, hyperfocal distance and depth of field calculator :-) first photo app i found
 
madmackem said:
Well I got my HD2, and after playing with it for a bit I really like it. been over at xda developers for some tweaks and some custom themes etc and got it running lovely. On th plus side its arrived unlocked and unbranded so when my contract expires in 4 months it will be easier to sell on ;-)
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Mate, what's the xda devs forum like for ease of use? I've had a brief look (I don't have an HD2 yet, but am looking at it), and it all looks pretty confusing. How do you find what you're looking for? Do you need to be very technically minded?

What are the apps like that are available, either officially through WinMo marketplace, or elsewhere? Is there one similar to on the iPhone where you can get train times? I believe there was/is a National Rail app for the iPhone
 
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