HTC's HD2 continues to impress, reveals multi-touch web browsing
We've seen plenty about HTC's hot HD2, gone hands-on and sized it up next to everyone's most/least favorite smartphone, but there's one thing we haven't seen yet: multi-touch in IE. The video embedded below from Techblog.gr is in a language you may not quite understand, but certainly everyone can grok the snappy UI performance and the pinch zooming demonstrated at the 2:20 mark. It does look a wee bit unresponsive at this point, but HTC still has time to make things perfect before releasing it here -- though to be honest we'd rather just have it now.
























Aww man my BlackBerry can piss off. I gotta get me one of these.
There will always be something better...This reminds me of that SNL skit "Vinny Vedecci".
It had me at herro.
did anybody else notice???
http://yfrog.com/6thd2continuestoimpressj
too funny!
I've been using the HD1 since launch, it has never put a foot wrong and I've not managed to slow it down or use up the memory despite using applications like tomtom and divx.
Now the HD2 comes out with some insane specs and I find myself wondering where can TC go next? Obviously they could try to go smaller but in terms of power I can't see a reason to want any more.
Hopefully WM7 will be less demanding and maybe add some completely new features but i'm struggling. If the build quality of this phone means it will last this could be the last phone I get for a very very long time.
reveals pinch zoom? c'mon guys i swear you could come up w/ a better header than that. i thought you guys already showed that here
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/08/htc-hd2-gets-itself-a-promo-video-and-a-website/
or here
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/06/entelligence-the-htc-hd2-and-the-future-of-windows-mobile/
or here
http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/06/htc-hd2-hands-on-and-impressions-on-video/
or ehh...i think you get the picture. either way, thanx for the link
Once Windows Mobile 7 becomes available, this thing will rape the iDon't phone.
For the time being, I have my ultra-frustrating WM6.1.
At the end of my contract I'm going to change my iPhone 3G for that 4.3'' display !
Yeah that display is sick. Rumor is it's coming on Tmo in the states. Hopefully their 3G coverage is good near me.
me 2 bro. im bored with my iphone. hope it comes out for AT&T.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!
Against the fruity rebel forces…
Gents, 2010 is shaping up to be very interesting, VERY interesting indeed!!
i want it so baddly now !!! come out with a price so i can pre order pronto HTC !!! stop teasing us consumers
It'll be very curious when this thing hits. The WM landscape is a pretty volatile place to be right now. There's 2 versions of a new WM OS coming out (I count 6.5 and 6.5.1 as seperate, YMMV) with WM7 on the horizon, Marketplace just launched. I'm not sure if just one handset, awesome as this thing looks, is enough to save a platform that, while I love it, has the general public opinion of feces. MS is really going to have to fly straight to make sure the WM platform doesn't die. Of course, after seeing Win7, they're more capable now than ever.
It's funny, I almost wish HTC and MS would form some sort of partnership. HTC has done as much as MS itself in the past year and a half for this platform, it's amazing that they turned a once clunky OS into something streamlined without being a direct copy of its competitors. Sure there are draws from other platforms, but no other shell on the planet is quite like TouchFlo, excluding HTC's own Sense. I really feel like the HD2 can take this to the next level, TF 3.0 would be amazing on it.
I agree with you on HTC and Microsoft working together. It seems that Microsoft provides an excellent basis on which to build a mobile platform, but doesn't deliver. Then HTC takes that basis and builds something that looks great and is really fluid.
If they partnered up and made all of their phones run this kind of OS I'd definitely move from my SCH-i760 to a new phone.
I sense that HTC and MS are gonna butt heads soon since basically HTC is covering up new WM with Sense UI. You can't even turn Sense UI off (officially) on the HD2. There is always talk of HTC just going with its own OS...but that'll take time to develop. I hope they keep working together 'cause it seems there hardware is really top notch. Samsun, ASUS..et al. do other things, but this is all HTC does is build hardware. That's who you want your OS on.
Sprint... NOW
Make it happen, HTC
So is there no Opera Mobile anymore? If so, then I'm out. I thought the HD 2 will come with Multi-Touch in Opera Mobile.......
IE Mobile can screw off!
...It does have multi-touch in Opera Mobile. Maybe it would've been better if I didn't tell you that.
Its WinMo just intall the latest flavor Opera Mobile, Skyfire, or whatever browser you can find.
Touchflo comes with opera and winmo 6.5 comes with IE Mobile
So you see you can use both. What a wonderful world when you have choice even if opera would win out 90% of the time.
Of course there is the 10% when you want to watch flash based p0rn - so IE Mobile is good for that.
There are also other browsers that are proxy based (fast), and even some based on webkit (for the webkit lovers).
Downraking... *yawn*, been there, done that
Next troll attempt, please!
"Downraking" ? Sounds interesting, never been there and never done that ! Care to be my mentor ;P
One thing is stealing the good stuff from Apple, but why coverflow? Does anybody actually like coverflow? I´d like to see what "list-view" is like when browsing/playing mp3 and video, and also how quickly and easily you can get back to the music controls if you are doing something else on the phone while playing music. I never tried WM so I´m clueless. Also a demonstration of the GPS would be nice. When they show me more of that stuff I might make up my mind and buy this one instead of the 3GS.
You grok me - Stranger in a Strange Land
I don't think anyone can deny HTC's astonishing rise to prominence in the phone market but I'm continually astonished at their roadmap 'policy' - if it is a policy.
Just as I'd decided that I'd sacrifice screen real estate and buy the Touch Pro2 (smaller than my universal) they release this. Of course it's not quite perfect, I'm one of those who really wants a physical keyboard, so no I'm not buying an HD2 or a TP2. Now of course there's that feeling that maybe, just maybe, there'll be a HD2 with a keyboard. There probably won't be and I'm NOT starting a rumour, I've heard nothing, have no access to info etc etc. It's just wishful thinking.
The point is that they could have had a sale if they'd waited a month or two more. Is it just to be seen to have an iPhone beater?
It;s still an amazing phone and I may just go for it ... but I've learned and I'll wait a month or two.
There probably WILL be an HD2 Pro, with a keyboard. It'll probably get a slightly smaller screen (4.0") to accommodate a keyboard. Hopefully HTC checks out the Moto Droid phone (supposedly one of the thinnest QWERTY phones to date) and doesn't make the device a brick. You can have a keyboard and not add an extra 8mm of thickness!
@ David
Umm, your comment is false. The HTC Universal has a 3.5" display while the TP2 (touch pro 2) has a 3.6" display and considerably thinner, and smaller in "all" dimensions compared to the the
Don't get me wrong, the HTC universal was a kick ass phone (I owned 4 of em' myself) but it was a clunky device, If you can live with that then the Touch Pro 2 will a breeze.
BTW have you ever even held a TP2?
@Frankie
I didn't quite understand your post. What's "False" about my statements? I've played with the TP2 a lot, trying to decide whether to buy it. One of the obvious tests I did was to compare the screen size by holding them close together.
Remember manufacturers use a measurement of the diagonal of the screen. A 4:3 screen at 3.7" on the Universal (not 3.5" as you suggest) has a lot more surface area than a 16:9 screen of 3.6". By any measurement, width, depth, surface area, the Universal has a larger screen.
I know the TP2 is much smaller than the Universal, I never suggested it wasn't, I'm just someone who's quite happy to have a large phone if I get a screen that's usable. For me the TP2's diminutive dimensions are a turn off. Hell if soemone could put a 3g system in a Psion 5 I'd be happy using that!
actually your kind of wrong, and kind of right. The HTC Universal has a screen size of 3.6" diagonal, that would make it the same size as the Touch Pro 2. Additionally Turn on your Universal and observe the padding on the border of the display, there's is a significant amount of screen real estate which are not occupied by pixels, that padding is far less narrower on newer device like the TP2, hence giving you more real estate.
OK so its either this, Droid or the N900?!!! At this point im leaning towards Droid. BUT this is F-ing HOT!
yep, you've pretty much summed it up. I was almost decided on buying the n900 back when that was announced, then there is this and the Droid. as a Java developer, I'm leaning towards Droid. the ability to develop mobile apps in eclipse, should I so choose, would be great. but I also love the integrated voip capabilities of nokia devices. I don't even have a voice plan for my e71.
having said this, I will never buy a device right after it is released. I will probably wait 6 months and stick with my e71 till then.
i have the current TOUCH HD, and i am upgrading. i was thinking between these:
1) Archos 4.3" 3.5G (HSxPA only) Android
2) Nokia N900 (no digital compass, keyboard has "perverse" space-bar placement, no tom-tom and no google maps)
3) sony Erickson "rachael" X3 (will probably be late like the Xperia 1, at best released 1st quarter 2010)
4) Motoraola DROID (sholes/tao) little ugly maybe, but keyboard, large screen, android, great CPU,etc...all good.
5) TOUCH HD2 (no keyboard)
now these are MY preferences and reasons.
1) i discarded the Archos, as soon as i found it was ONLY 3.5G HSDPA-HSUPA (mainly for data, business use) so no 2G or 3G networks AT ALL!
that doesn't do me any good when i travel to other countries.
2) the Nokia N900 i was lusting after. amazing camcorder (848x480@25fps) that Linux OS (Debian based) is fucking amazing and the multitasking puts EVERY smartphone to shame. it really is a computing tablet.
BUT....the keyboard is only 3 rows (my old HTC Universal had 6 !). and the lack of digital compass is a big downer. digital compass is going to to take off in apps in a BIG way quickly with A.R.
3) the Sony X3 will come too late for me, i can always upgrade next year in 6 months if they release it at all. also, no keyboard, but apart from that, it should be a great device.
4) the Motorola DROID seems like my preferred device. it has everything i want. they just have to release it, and it seems they will, on time before XMAS.
5) the TOUCH HD2 is an amazing device, but it runs WinMo, i have a dislike to it a bit (too many probs and don't like the way it (doesn't) work sometimes. this is almost completely fixed with HTC's amazing interface replacement. i've tried SPB shell and a bunch of other replacements. i don't like them. HTC have however made me stick with my device longer than i would have without their help (XDA developers FTW!)
the rest of the HD2 is pretty damn astounding. digital compass, 1Ghz processor, that HUGE screen (i refuse to use anything less than 3.5" or WVGA) all make for a powerful device that i can see easily upgrading to from my TOUCH HD.
i want the DROID, if it comes before XMAS i'll have it and be laughing deliriously to leave WinMo for Android.otherwise, i'll still be very happy to get the TOUCH HD2, it will practically be a drop-in replacement for the TOUCH HD.
OK, realistically...do you guys really use "multi-touch" for web browsing? I find I only ever double tap to get the screen to zoom into sections of text...I've never used the multi-touch.
On my iPod Touch it's beneficial when I need to zoom in even more to select a small page number, or if I need to zoom into a picture. The double tap to zoom works fine on the device but at times it's pretty quirky, dig me?
I agree Tes, while multi-touch is all cool and stuff is useless for me for browsing. Most of the time I do the browsing with one hand and its very hard to zoom in using two fingers. Instead i like the TP zoom bar cause it works for people holding the phone with one hand.
I use it a lot on my Pre, but I think that's just due to the high DPI screen. On the iTouch I just use double tap, so I presume it would be the same. Look at that gorgeous real-estate.
*yawn* c'mon guys it's contagious...
Really impressive. The only real question mark is call quality. Two other Snapdragon-based phones (Toshiba TG01/Acer neoTouch S200) have been criticized for this. I hope that HTC/Qualcomm have ironed this out.
Call quality most definitely has nothing to do with the processor but rather the earpiece quality. HTC phones GENERALLY have good earpieces (sometimes a bit low, but nothing a quick .cab won't fix).
-_-
That touch flow is still laggy, even with a 1GHz CPU.
No...it wasn't.
I don't see any lag, just animation effects that don't move as fast as the gestures that initiated them. They look like they're designed like that though given the fact that the animation starts as soon as the gesture completes.
No it isn't.
Nope would have to disagree, my gf's 3GS lags more than that. and you gotta remember the iphone doesnt actually have a 'real' UI, its just buttons, nothing special about that and not much processing power to push it. That combined with apples lag technique (interchange animation), kinda hides the lag, but opening a programs with my HD and her 3GS, they open EXACTLY the same time, except the iphone has this nice animation to make it look responsive, where as mines not as nice.
What video were you watching? There was no noticeable lag in that UI.
@FJC
God I wish ppl would notice that "lag technique" and stop telling everyone that the iphone opens INSTANTLY any app...
@loginatnine @FJC
Exactly...I pointed this out once. I have an iPod Touch and I would open an app and try to use it only to see that it would just zoom into an old picture of where I last left it, not a usable screen.
Considerable lag around the 2:30 mark.
Remember this is displaying full resolution photos not the gimped versions the iPhone/Touch forces you to have