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.

[jakem Posted Oct 22nd 2009 7:47AM]

Where? I don't see a boring grid of icons.

[phearme Posted Oct 22nd 2009 7:50AM]

I wish it had Android instead of WinMo.

[ricorich196 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 7:58AM]

-_-...There's already a device with a large screen like this with Android in the works...it was on Engadget a few days ago...so what would be the point?

[Kit Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:07AM]

You guys are so obsess with multitouch in phones, at the end... double tap in Opera works much better.

[GeekGirl Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:14AM]

MEH............

[Level 5 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:58AM]

Most insightful comment ever. Care to oh, I don't know, elaborate?

[Plexus Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:16AM]

In exactly 9 days this bad boy's gonna lie in my poket.
Anyone interested in my old trusty TouchHD ?

[mocax Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:16AM]

i've got this habit of lightly rubbing the screen while deciding which buttons/options to select.... to feel the texture of my clarivue anti-glare screen protector....

i guess it'll mess up on capacitive screens.... :(

pass... :(

[4004 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:33AM]

You'd better get sholes if you love android so much. BTW android rom is in the works, I think so.

[Rany Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:42AM]

I think if that phone was any bit faster my eyes will flip BACKWARDS !

[PSIREX Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:34AM]

Sprint - get this like yesterday already....

[Pipera Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:42AM]

N900 or this .............................. .

[Wevenhuis Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:43AM]

Looks good. Hopefully in time we can tweak the interface just like cydia on the iPhone. The flipping of the picture to write more info on the photo proves my assumption that we never really get rid of inking. I would very much have liked to write on the back of that photo in ink than using an onscreen keyboard. We wait and see, perhaps a fine tip capacative screen pen will be developed shortly. NTrig perhaps?

[ender20 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 3:33PM]

There are capacitive styluses available. A quick google search found one for $12.99
http://www.repairsuniverse.com/iphonepenb.html

[Wevenhuis Posted Oct 22nd 2009 3:59PM]

@Andrew:
True but not practical. The pen is only useful for brushing or tapping.
If someone could develop a fine tip pen for a capacative screen it would be a whole lot more practical. With a Lenovo X60 tablet in possesion I am speaking from experience.
So a tablet pen like this: http://www.wacom-components.com/english/product/pen.html would be much better.

[tvoben Posted Oct 23rd 2009 9:25AM]

Okey, this is proff of how demanding WM is. If you need a 1Ghz processor to be able to make it run smoothly then it is the OS that needs to be rebuilt, not redesigned...

[Level 5 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:25AM]

False. My Touch Pro is 528Mhz with step-down, and my device never lags, even with 10+ programs open. So it needs less than half of a snapdragon, assuming they're clock for clock; which realistically they're not.

[ewlung Posted Oct 22nd 2009 8:56AM]

But, this HD2 does not have graphics accelerated driver as discussed in the xda-developer forum:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=568613&page=14

The graphics performance is bad compared to Samsung Omnia Pro or HTC Touch Pro2:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4744947&postcount=77

That means, it sucks for games, etc.

[Crapolin Posted Oct 22nd 2009 9:15AM]

Dude STFU, What's up with idiots (or competitors) spreading FUD about HTC by posting false information all over the place? The HTC HD2 like all HTC devices since the HTC Diamond have OpenGL ES drivers (though they sucked back then).

[Level 5 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:29AM]

Crapolin - I love me my WinMo, but the OpenGL stuff is irrelevant. Very few programs use it. What, so ok TF3D, Opera Mobile 9.7b and a couple shitty games? The core OS uses DX, not even D3D, which actually would remedy alot of OS issues and would make it INSANELY faster if it were graphically accelerated. That's one really large annoyance with WM as a whole is that these devices HAVE the hardware, but they're in large not really using it.

[ewlung Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:45AM]

Crapolin,

It is there in the xda-developer forum thread.
Read it, and you will know.

The fact that the graphics performance is so poor, then it is HTC fault for not bringing the best out of the hardware.

Or probably this is Qualcomm issue?

If yes, HTC should move to TEGRA.

[ricorich196 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 11:35AM]

Have you even looked at the video/graphic benchmarks? The HD2 blows away EVERY other HTC device made. Learn to do your research before talking out your ass.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 26th 2009 7:06PM]

i wonder how the long the battery lasts on that thing

[mrnicksta Posted Oct 22nd 2009 9:40AM]

lol @ the two guys fighting over who gets to use the multitouch.

looks kick ass though, but i want an android device when i ditch my iphone

[z0phi3l Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:01AM]

Someone call me when HTC gets smart and pops Android into this form factor


Not to hate on MS, but WM just isn't cutting it anymore

[Level 5 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:34AM]

Android is open source. If you want it, build it. Many other HTC devices can run it.

[ricorich196 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 11:38AM]

Why does everyone keep saying this stupid shit, there was a post like 3 days ago about an HTC Android phone with a screen just about as large as this one and a snapdragon processor they even had pictures. Open your fkin eyes.

[rs4 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:17AM]

this is the only phone I've been excited about for a long long time. And of course I have verizon so I will be sad for a long long time. Plz make CDMA version.

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 22nd 2009 10:32AM]

The first thing i'm gonna do when i put my hands on this baby is to find a way to install Android...

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 22nd 2009 11:07AM]

Look at the song name right after lady gaga @ 1:45

[CBKBAMF Posted Oct 22nd 2009 11:43AM]

So where would be the comparable Android device? That thing is sexy as hell...

[Level 5 Posted Oct 23rd 2009 7:11AM]

The Snapdragon HTC device is called the HTC Dragon. Looks sort of like the CDMA Hero.

[PerryAJ Posted Oct 22nd 2009 12:29PM]

Am I the only person that hates pinch zoom? Irritating on the iphone, and every subsequent phone which has implemented it. I would much rather have a one-finger zoom of some form implemented. Having to use 2 hands is just irritating to me for some reason.

I loved the zoom in google maps on my blackjack that used the volume rocker.

[pkmaximum Posted Oct 22nd 2009 4:34PM]

I only see this as another wannabe iPhone =/

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 22nd 2009 5:09PM]

Too bad, they didn't list American HSPA compatibility yet. It sucks to be using ATT sometimes :(

[br4nd0nh347 Posted Oct 22nd 2009 5:34PM]

As long as I can use it on ATT (I don't like T-mobile too much, and I'm guessing it will not be available on Verizon right away )
I'm getting it. (100%)

[(Unverified) Posted Oct 23rd 2009 12:22AM]

too bad its resistive multi-touch and not true capacitive. those small white grid of dots on the screen is a dead give away. i looked for an hour through a microscope at my iphone and could not find these on my screen. this may explain why the screen is a "little unresponsive at times" multi-touch on resistive is just a matter of drivers and has been proven already here on engadget. look it up.

[Hydra Posted Oct 23rd 2009 4:03AM]

I'm impressed by the wide screen and the speed! its fast! Wonder if this would be enough for me to cross over, although I hate windows mobile. Wish it were android