Near perfect WinMob smartphone
By Adrian Weckler
Let’s get to the point: HTC’s HD2 is easily the best Windows Mobile smartphone ever made.
And now, a qualification.
Windows Mobile phones usually suck. So just because the HD2 blows other WinMob devices away, it does not necessarily make it a ‘must-buy’ device.
For some years, the words Windows Mobile have come to evoke a PDA-style tablet with frustratingly endless directories and lists.
This makes HTC’s achievement in tarting up this phone all the more remarkable. The handset manufacturer has almost pulled off an astonishing transformation of the operating system.
The key word, though, is ‘almost’. For all of HTC’s David Copperfield feat, a few problems still lurk in this phone for someone who wants to be at the vanguard of mobile connectivity.
Operating system
The operating system is Windows Mobile, the interface that has almost disappeared from the world’s smartphones. There is a reason for its near-extinction:
its unattractiveness. But HTC has layered Windows with its own user interface, called Sense. This takes the features of Windows Mobile but presents them in an entirely different way. The result is an interface that is more reminiscent of Android, a platform that HTC has lots of experience with. There is a swipeable roll of main applications (browser, e-mail, SMS, Twitter, photos and others) at the bottom of the screen.
The Start menu is relegated to a small button on the top left corner of the screen. Hit this and a new screen opens displaying about 25 programs and applications.
Design and screen
If you’re looking for the perfect manifestation of what a touchscreen smartphone should look like, it’s HTC’s HD2.The device is as close to the ideal design for a handheld touchscreen phone as has ever been launched on the market.
It is beautifully slim. And the casing feels almost metallic in a reassuringly solid way. Its 4.3 capacitative screen is clear, bright and superbly responsive (as al l HTC touchscreen phones now are). Colour, YouTube, photos and web pages render brilliantly.
Speed/power
Together with Google’s Nexus One, this is the fastest smartphone on the market. It has a beefy 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and a hefty 450MB of Ram. And it shows in the speed that applications open and close. My device did freeze more than once, but that could be down to the imperfections of an early production model.
The speed and power of the phone makes it possible to keep several applications open at the same time without unduly slowing the device down.
Using the phone
At first, the phone has a clear ‘wow’ factor. Over time, this dissipates a little, mainly due to the limitations still present in Windows Mobile. Even though shortcuts are easy to create, customising the phone in other ways is a lot harder to do than rival smartphones. If you’re a fan of downloading apps – and this is a must for modern smartphones – you’ll be sorely disappointed in the HD2. Microsoft has its own online store, called Marketplace.
It’s fairly woeful. And the few apps available to download look shabby compared to the shiny ones the HD2 comes loaded with.
Camera and music
The HD2’s five megapixel camera (and video camera) is good, if not spectacular. Pictures can be sent via multimedia me s sage, e -mail or uploaded to a social network.
Unfortunately, they cannot be Bluetoothed, despite the phone possessing the wireless technology.
Transferring music onto the phone is a fairly simple process, although the interface leaves a little to be desired. The handset has a 3.5mm jack for ordinary earphones.
Productivity
Productivity is clearly one of the phone’s strongest points.
As a Windows Mobile device, it comes loaded with Office Mobile (Word, Powerpoint, Excel and OneNote).When you marry the size of the screen with the phone’s fast processor, it outperforms every other smartphone for Microsoft documents. I also managed to pair the phone with a Bluetooth wireless keyboard, which injected a huge speed boost into creating word documents.
Without an external keyboard, the phone uses a touchscreen Qwerty panel that is as good as any other rival keypad.
Battery life and other features
The phone’s battery life is reliable for at least one day’s heavy business. But do not rely on it to run for more than that. This is a decent result considering the size of the screen and the power of the processor. In terms of additional software, the phone comes with a free trial of CoPilot, which is a fairly decent (voice-enabled) GPS mapping and navigation program, but costs between €30 and €50 for a full licence.
In terms of storage, the phone comes with a 2GB MicroSD memory card. It recharges with the new industry-standard Micro USB system.
Conclusion
The HD2 is as perfect a piece of hardware as we’ve ever seen from a mobile phone manufacturer.
It has a stunning screen, great components and is technically capable of just about anything. HTC has done its best to create a very attractive user-interface to mask the Windows Mobile system underneath.
For those who can live with Windows Mobile, this is an amazing device. For those who cannot, this might still tempt you.
Price: from €50 per month on O2 contract
To see this article’s accompanying video review, log on to www.yourtech.ie
