The ultimate multimedia Windows phone is here! Check out our HTC HD2 review.
HTC HD2 for T-Mobile Overview
It's hard to believe that the HTC HD2 for T-Mobile is a Windows phone. First off, take a look at its prodigious touch-screen LCD, which suggests that the HD2 is geared to be a multimedia powerhouse in addition to a productivity machine. The phone comes preloaded with Megan Fox, er, Transformers 1 and 2, for Optimus Prime's sake, and a host of other preloaded applications of the multimedia persuasion, like Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble. On top of that, we've got Office Mobile 2010, MobiTV, TeleNav maps, and, oh hell, we don't want to give it all away in the introduction. Check out our hands-on video first.
HTC HD2 Design
With a 1GHz Snapdragon processor and HTC Sense, the HTC HD2 (specs) is no slouch when it comes to style on the inside. But on the outside, HTC has taken the HD2 to Swank Town with a minimalist design that relies solely on the device's giant 4.3-inch 480x800 WVGA capacitive touch screen LCD, rather than a plethora of external controls. As a result, there's nothing particularly eccentric about the HTC HD2's five-button panel that spans across the bottom of the screen, or its basic up/down volume control located on the left side of the phone.
The button panel consists of Call, Home, Start, Back, and End/Power. One confusing aspect we had to grow accustomed to was the fact that the HD2's End button did not bring us to the Home screen like most phones. Instead, it locks the phone, so we had to use the Back, Start, or Home buttons to reach our destination. Also, using the Back button will take you back to the Home screen most of the time, which is very frustrating if you're in the middle of a program, so we really had to take heed to the onscreen controls every time they were available.
In back, the HTC HD2 has a lens for the 5-megapixel camera that takes stills and standard definition video with a dual LCD flash located next to it. A small notch on the right side of the HTC HD2's gunmetal gray midpanel allows the user to pop it off, revealing the battery and MicroSD card slot. The phone itself comes with a 16GB MicroSD card, which is fairly generous by today's media standards. The SIM card is also located in the back, and the USB and 3.5mm Audio jack are located on the bottom of the phone. We have to say that the HTC HD2 is one solid phone in the looks and quality department.
HTC HD2 Sense and Windows 6.5
Our Sense experience in conjunction with Windows Mobile 6.5 was better than we expected. The HTC HD2 is a phone that strives to stray from the traditional Windows mold, and it was rewarding to see Sense compliment the platform to this extent. Sense graphics and navigational innovation were impressive. Take the photo and video browser, for example, which stylizes the flick of an individual image for a more interactive browsing experience. The usual Sense suspects were also welcome, like the live weather wallpaper and organized widgets on the homescreen. But this time we could utilize File Explorer, which was basically like a "My Computer", displaying all of the phone's files in typical Windows folder fashion. We could copy from the Storage Card to the HD2's memory, and vice versa. Email support was great, and we got a basic funneling of Windows highlights into one giant-screened smartphone.
Touch sensitivity was good, though not to the extent of the iPhone 3G or 3GS, and sometimes the phone would get caught thinking while we repeatedly pressed a button on the panel. This happened a lot when we tried to go from the Home screen to the Start Menu by pressing the panel button, and it's due to the fact that Windows phones build up and store RAM, which makes them slower the more you use them. As a result, the only option was a reboot every once in a while, but this could get old if you're heavy on high-memory applications.
HTC HD2 Multimedia/Gaming/Voice Quality
Watching Megan Fox on the HTC HD2 was remarkable, and not for the obvious reasons. The screen resolution is superb and sound quality is great. HTC includes a set of stereo headphones that allow you to take calls, and even the headphones offered a solid performance. If we wanted more movies, there was Blockbuster, which streamed movies right onto the phone. If we wanted books, we just launched the Barnes and Noble application and downloaded books to read with the Barnes and Noble e-reader. MobiTV gave us streaming TV and videos. YouTube looked great—it was one of the best YouTube experiences we had on a phone. Let's also not forget TeleNav maps, Slacker Radio, and Opera Mobile—all preloaded on the HTC HD2.
The HTC HD2 is a fierce multimedia warrior for the frequently traveling businessman or woman. It solves the "what should I do with my downtime!?" conundrum, and with the HTC HD2, you have no excuse not to be occupied. Of course, applications like Blockbuster and Barnes and Noble require accounts, but think about how much you travel and weigh the difference between traveling with the HD2 and e-booking or Netflixing at home.
Now as for gaming, the HTC HD2 is not all it can be. We found this phone's game quality to be pixilated and jerky at times—and that's on games like Asphalt 4 and Prince of Persia. Given Windows Phone 7 is just around the corner, an OS that'll gradually take advantage of AMD technology like found in the HD2 to offer a mobile Xbox experience, it's safe to say that the HD2 with its current software is not intended for hardcore gamers. For a multimedia traveling movie/book/internet machine, the HTC HD2 is fantastic. For gaming, the phone is a solid C-.
HTC HD2 Still Image Quality
We were more impressed with the quality of the HTC HD2's 5-megapixel camera than we thought we'd be. In bright light, that is—images were crisp and defined. Colors were natural, and noise was minimal. We did experience the occasional purple fringing along edges and ghosting at heavily contrasted intersections, but for the most part, the HTC HD2 really made us content for a phone. But, like nearly all phones, the HTC HD2 boosts the ISO in any dim environment, so the noise increases and the quality tanks. The flash will alleviate some of the noise, but don't expect any of the images to match a decent point-and-shoot camera.
We only get VGA video, and the quality is to be expected. There's really nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the quality, so check out the video samples to see what we mean. For the most part, the frame rate was the only hang-up for us—jumpy movement and generic cell-phone like quality. We're not there yet, folks, but in the meantime, here's what the HTC HD2 offered.
HTC HD2 Gallery
Price and availability
The HTC HD2 is available on T-Mobile now for $200 with a two-year contract and a qualifying plan.
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