2 Weeks with the HTC HD2

I have now had the HTC HD2 a whole 2 weeks and this has enabled me to get to really appreciate the real HD2.

Naturally, I have been able to tweak it a little courtesy of the some smart people at XDA Developers. However, I strongly believe the HD2 is greater than most people realise. It is real life experience that matters so here goes my view.

The secret HD2- Beneath the surface are specifications not printed. We all know it has a massive 4.3 inch screen and a 1ghz snapdragon processor, and other to die for specs.  These specs do create a monster of a device, but in real life there are other aspects that make the HD2 even better. Firstly, the radio strength is incredible. I live in a very rural location. The HD2 is the first phone to hold a permanent signal throughout the house. Even better in nearby Tavistock, renowned for zero signal in places, I had a full 3g signal whilst waiting for my Chinese Takeaway- impressive. I have found the call quality to be very good too.

So what is the next secret? The GPS signal strength. Once again, using Copilot 8, it has been faultless without losing the signal no matter where I have been in Devon and Cornwall. Some of these places are really remote!  To put in perspective, the HTC Hero with Copilot 8 would lose GPS signal in places- the HD2 locks blistering quickly too.

The next secret is audio quality. As I am typing this I have my Sennheiser HD 415’s plugged into the HD2 enjoying Leon Lewis “Echo”. The audio quality is very good.  I have not used my iPod Touch 2g since I have had the HD2!

The last advantage I find is the keyboard. In portrait mode I can use two fingers and it is just like having a thumb keyboard. I find typing speeds just as nimble as a physical keyboard.

HTC Sense- having used a number of Windows Mobile devices, the first thing I had to start getting used to was not to use it like any previous WM phones because it is different, very different. The rule is “don’t” leave the today screen. Use HTC Sense to operate everything and once you start doing this everything just happens.  I use every tab in HTC Sense with no problems. I use MS MyPhone to sync everything now (bookmarks, texts, calendar, tasks, contacts, photos, videos etc).

Apps- I have added Coreplayer, so now I can watch any file type, Resco File Explorer, Wunderradio, Shazam, eReader, PocketClock Pro, and MyPlayer.  For everything else I use the default apps; Opera, YouTube, Peep, etc.

Games- I have used Marketplace to buy apps on my HD2 and it works well. I do wish the UK catalogue was not as restricted as the US version and that we could change the default storage location to the card. Apart from Teeter, I have added Asphalt 4, Panoramic Blackjack, Bejeweled 2, Resco Sudoku Touch, Resco Brain Games 2009, Prince of Persia, Bookworm, Resco Bubbles, Astraware Casino, Experiment 13, Astraware Solitaire, Jackpot Casino, Yacht, Sherlock Holmes, Xtrakt, Sonic Unleashed,  Pac-Man, Jewel Quest HD, The Sims 3, Meon and Uno. All these games look great on the HD2.

Tweaks- Me being me, I always like to tweak any new phone and I must admit that I have added a few courtesy of XDA Devs, but not that many. I have a dedicated Wi-Fi Toggle app, 9 opera tabs instead of 3,  Camera as the left soft key on Home Tab instead of phone and a few other minor tweaks.

Issues- the HD2 is new and there are a few niggles. On a white wall, the 5mp camera creates a pinkish blob. HTC will have a hot fix out over the next few weeks to correct this. What has been bizarre is that in tests nearly all 5mp camera phones have “pink” effects.  HTC’s Twitter app Peep doesn’t always update according to the user update frequency.  Some apps don’t auto rotate and would benefit from being viewed in landscape e.g. excel. There is a registry setting to get around this, but it would be great if there was another settings option for this.

The Experience in use is so satisfying. Cover flow on music with album art retrieval option, albums show photos effortlessly, animated weather, HTC settings get rid of the old windows stuff and speed- no slowdowns, and a happy user.

Without fail, every person who has seen this wants one, including the Apple employees in the Apple store.  Would I recommend it? You bet.  In a short while all of the niggles will be gone and the device will just go from strength to strength. I joked I would keep this device 2 years, that’s 1 year 9 months longer than my normal duration, but in all honesty, I probably will!

Review by Gavin Fabiani-Laymond.