Unlocked, contract-free HTC HD2 will be available November 11 for a lot of money
By Paul Miller 
posted October 12th 2009 4:47PM
posted October 12th 2009 4:47PM
[Via SlashGear]
posted October 12th 2009 4:47PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
I think HTC is a company that should be purchased by a much larger company that is struggling in the sector or wants to enter it, Sony, Motorola, Dell, Garmin (to diversify).
HTC is doing just fine and should be left alone, specially by big companies that managed to make a mess of their own mobile phone branch with far larger budgets and resources.
As for the HD2 it will be available here in Denmark october 31, I already pre ordered aad I'm fairly confident that it will be settled in my pocket by november 1st.
No kidding, look at what's happening to Danger right now.
Sony? Motorola?! DELL?!?! O_O
You've just got to be kidding, right?
*checks sarcasm detector*
*sarcasm not found*
*down-ranked*
$740 for a WinMoan device? No wonder HTC is bleeding cash faster than a chicken without a head. That's a sweet device, but it honestly needs Android.
Sorry for acting like a douche and post this as a reply ot the first comment so it's on the top, but I have to do this because the iFails have taken over:
This is OFF-CONTRACT, your $200 iPhone ON-CONTRACT clearly is cheaper since your CARRIER is paying 60-80% of your phone. An iPhone is $800 OFF-CONTRACT, this $740 OFF-CONTRACT.
HTC sales has been on steady decline for obvious reason.
That is they bet on the wrong horse which is WinDIE Mobile.
HTC must make a BOLD move like Mot, Palm, and kill
the WinDIE Mobile product line for good moving forward.
Microsoft should buy them.
@Unsung Hero:
And I ask you, who do you think is the manufturer of the first Android phone? *coughhtcdreamcough*
And some OTHER Android phones? *coughthtcmagicandhtcherocough*
Plexus, I am so damn jealous of you. Gotta wait until next year for it, dunno if I'm gonna make it.
This thing is so incredible, I'd switch carriers for it.
Is there anyway to hook this up to a TV and output HD video? Or is that like, not something that anyone who owns a WM phone would ever do, since WM users are like, all business, and have no desire to ever watch HD video?
This phone clearly won't cost $740 when it launches in the USA. Given the price conversion and the taxes differences between gadgets in Europe and the States, I'm guessing this will ship at a roughly 500 dollars.
And I'm not blindly predicting, but that 1:1 ratio between dollar and euro seems to be the rule in gadgets, so converting the pounds to euros it yealls 501 euro, the price I'm expecting for it to hit the american shelves.
Just wondering, do these GSM phones ever have North America 3G when they get released overseas? Does anybody else use our frequencies?
DUDE!! Your display picture is NOT SAFE for work. you just me crack so hard and loud I fell off my chair
@crashcarstar
and to answer your question, RTFA.
But seriously, it says right there that until that US-specific version hits our shores next year, we'll be limited to EDGE only. So no, nobody else uses our frequencies
The thing I would be assuming, is the phone capable of handling US frequency but was somehow disabled.
Why would they disable it? Unless perhaps it's locked to a certain carrier, there's is no reason to disable a frequency
From what I understand, they need different chipsets
Otherwise, it'd be a WCDMA quadband phone.... which do exist but this isn't one
Only a few phones sold overseas have t-mobile or at&t bands. The ones i know of are the omnia 2 when it first came out overseas had GSM 850 and UTMS 1900 and the same with acer f1/neotouch
@TRLK
There are many reason why they would disable 3g frequency for the US. One of which is negotiation power. Should HTC allow 3G band here. Verizon and sprint might not even consider it because they would have to compete with a GSM version. Imaging Verizon or Sprint putting massive amounts of advertising cost behind a CDMA version of the HTC HD2 and were told there is a GSM version out there. Exclusivity would be gone. Had Palm Pre released a GSM version along with the CDMA, i am sure many would import these phone in and stick with a GSM carrier. Making Sprint thinking otherwise about paying what they paid to Palm for the exclusivity rights.
With the reason why I think they would disable 3g frequency explained. I think it would be better that they should release this product with one production model. Having one large order of one chip that can do all three frequency(cant see t-mobile getting their band included) would be better than to order two difference chips, might have a better cost factor to it. I also think having one version of the HD2 would be more efficient. With apple's negotiating power, I would assume the 3G chip that supports both US and Europe would be cheap so I would think HTC and probably get something along those similar price ranges.
@Galen
I did RTFA. Maybe next time you should Read The F'n Question because it was only slightly related to the article.
Seriously hot piece of hardware, shame about the OS though. Make this an Android phone and I'll be laying out cash preorder style.
1. There is android one coming up... remember there was an article about it...
2. Windows Phones are good.... and I have HTC Diamond 2 at the moment and I like flexibility of changing stuff... when my brother has an iPhone and he has same style since he bought it (he didn't jailbroke it).
3. You can install a custom rom, and now in XDA-developers people are trying to get android and it almost works..
ooo where's that article? I'd hold out for an HD2 that ran Android :D
\_(T.T)_/ ----- "Come on people. Give Sense UI a chance. God!"
| |
Yeah, let's downrank the guy who happens to have the opinion that WinMo is the worst OS!! WHAT A PREPOSTEROUS OPINION!!!!
I tell you what - When you can buy a great-performing, capacitive touchscreen, 16+GB storage included, Zune Pass-compatible, WinMo phone FOR UNDER $200 (shit, even at $299, I'd bite), THEN I'll buy one. 100% serious. I don't understand why having these features/specs in Q4 2009 still qualifies it to be a $800+ phone (assuming that it even existed!!! Still waiting on that Zune Pass for WM, MS!)
Does anyone else find it ironic that the WinMo phones are, without exception, the most expensive of them all?
Does anyone else find it ironic that the maker of the most mainstream desktop OS also makes the most niche, least user-friendly, glitchy OS of them all, on hardware that costs wayy more than the latest BB/iPhone/Android device?
**prepares for downrank!!!!**
@ crawdad689
Well, I guess Snapdragon can't be cheap, neither can the 4.3" WVGA display with capacitative touch screen
@crawdad689:
You've been down-ranked alright, for reasons that have been explained, let's see, about a couple of hundred times in previous articles whenever trolls like you show up. Good luck out there buddy.
I don't find it the least bit ironic that a Microsoft product has a much higher price:value ratio than competing products.
@crawdad689
I hope you realize that this is an unsubsidized price. As such, this is comparable to any smart phone out there right now. The iPhone costs about $800 unsubsidized, I believe. Truth us, when this comes out it will probably be available for $300-$350 on contract.
Also, it's been confirmed that the Zund HD interface will be coming to Windows Mobile. Maybe it will be available when or before the HD2 hits stateside.
The android "version" of this is rumored as the HTC Dragon
You guys treat me like I'm some hopeless Apple fainboi.
I'll tell you right now that I will absolutely buy this, if I can get it for $349 or less on subsidy, it's confirmed that it will support WM7, and it has 16GB+ of storage included. Game, set, match. I'm absolutely willing to admit that, as far as MY (and hopefully most of the readers on this site's) phone buying preferences are concerned, there's a point where hard specs win out.
There's NO phone out there that bests these specs right now. 4.3" capacitive + Snapdragon, do want.
I just think it's unfair to downrank people simply for saying "I wish it had a different OS". How is that not a valid opinion for them to hold?
Also, @melloncollie, WHERE IS IT CONFIRMED THAT THE ZUNE HD INTERFACE IS COMING TO WINDOWS MOBILE? I ned a link now. If you can provide me with a worthy link, there's absolutely no doubt that my next phone will be HTC/ Windows Phone. How's that for me being some anti-MS fanboi?
@Mega-Japan
wow your a hardass aren't you?
^ One to talk
HTC Leo benchmarked, leaves blisters {Engadget}
Sep 27th 2009 11:41PM
Too bad its a failure before its even released because it runs Windows Mobile!
Such sexy specs wasted on a garbage OS...
If I was rich dude(na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na nah)
See, I'd have all the phones in the world, if I was a wealthy dude
No carrier could test me, impress me, my cash flow would never ever end
Cause I'd have all the money in the world, if I was a wealthy dude
+1 for Fiddler on the Roof reference
Locooo.... Dude now really... Your posts are just the best!
+1 for creativity.
Galen, i am sure you were kidding, but i guess Fidler did sing something of the sort.
that is excluding VAT....
I hear Obama is considering VAT for USA.
I'm current HTC Pure (ATT's version of the Touch Diamond 2).
I got to say I'm enjoying the TouchFlo 3D over Win6.5 a lot. Extremely fast. Onscreen keyboard is very responsive and accurate.
I've seen comparisons of the Pure to the HD2. I don't know if I want something that much larger in my pocket.
If the HD2's specs can be crammed into the Pure sized phone, I'll have my choice.
I think the AT&T Pure (Touch Diamond2) is better compared to the original Touch HD.
They use the same processor. They've got the same amount of memory. The Touch HD's display is only 80 pixels wider (in portrait position). The biggest functional differences between the two are that the Pure has access to AT&T's 3G network, and the Touch HD has a standard headphone plug instead of an ExtUSB adapter.
The Touch HD2 is a nice machine. But it may be more phone than I need, which is why the Pure may be my next cell phone.
Well I'm enjoying the hell out of it. I got it last Thursday.
I previously had the ATT Tilt with WinMo 6.1 on it. My biggest fear was loosing the keyboard. I tried out the virtual keyboard in the store and it was very responsive (no difference than the iphone to me) with it being resistive versus capacity screen.
The Pure is essentially the TouchPro 2 minus the keyboard and extra speaker plus a better camera on the pure.
The lack of keyboard after a weekend of use it not bad at all. On top of all that, the Touch Pro2 will cost $300 on contract versus the $150 for the pure.
That sounds really nice, the Touch Diamond2 is one heck of a phone, tried it myself (the original Diamond2 anyways). The only thing I don't like is AT&T, they don't even fall into my consideration list. Hopefully though, other carriers get the Diamond2 as well, as for me, I do want the HD2 the most, can't pass that 4.2" capacitive screen up.
There's no way the Pure is better than the HD. They are identical except for the HD having a significantly larger screen, at 3.8 vs 3.2 (pure). The HD is also a thinner device, and is certainly still pocketable despite the size.
I personally use an imported HD from Telstra/Australia which means I have 3G on the 850MHz band, which works perfectly fine where I live.
I know since you own a Pure yourself you're going to be advocating it, and that's fine, but don't be saying it's better than the HD without any basis.
My guess:
HD2, if it comes to the US, will be somewhere around April- May and will cost $349 on contract.
There is no way they will price it more than $349. That is the magic number for AT&T (now you have the mail-in rebate and instant discounts and blah blah blah).
Again, if it comes to the US it will come with a subsidy from a carrier. Sure, you can also buy it unlocked from any US based dealer.
I wasn't saying it was better. Read my post next time.
I was saying I like the smaller form factor of the Pure better than the dimension of the HD2. I was hoping that in a years time the components of the HD2 could fit in a Pure size device.
With all that begin said, the current Pure is quite nice and very adequate for my uses.
I hope this phone is brought to the T-Mobile network alongside the rumors of the $50 unlimited plan ending up true. I would be an extremely happy camper.
That's actually not too ridiculous an amount, as previous phones listed on Engadget have held.
Nah, sorry, T-Mobile is destined to have the honor to received your majesty King N900 the First of Finland ** trumpets **
+1. Automatic rank up for having a Luffy avatar.
That and I hope it gets to Sprint myself, with WiMax.
Bonza! I thought the retail price was going to be more at £550 as the N900 is at £500? If this is true not complaining tho!