How would you change HTC's HD2?
By Darren Murph 
posted February 6th 2010 12:53AM
posted February 6th 2010 12:53AM
posted February 6th 2010 12:53AM
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make it run android.
@domopod
You beat me to it :)
@domopod I'm gonna have to downrank you
Sense on winmo kicks android's butt
@domopod
Same here. I wouldn't mind if it had a bit more built in storage too.
@domopod
Ya but as you know Microsoft hates Google while HTC is like the kid thats friends inbetween both of them but then Microsoft starts bullying nice little Google and so HTC will now devote all their phones to Google and leave winmobile in the dust.
@domopod On all the reviews WinMo has been the only real downside. Hopefully they release an android version so the awesome hardware doesnt go to waste
@domopod
Agreed.....but then it would be a Nexus 1 ;)
@FlyingAero It's called HTC Bravo (in Europe anyway, can't remember US name) :)
@domopod If you want Android then wait for the Sprint Supersonic. Same animal but better OS.
@domopod i dont think you own it, but i do, and this is almost perfect, i can choose between android and WinMo in the boot screen when i turn it on thanks to XDA Developers :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvj4ObHmxCI
@domopod i agree with this. its like having a bugatti veyron with a 2 stroke motorcycle engine.
The only downside about this device is some sort of a Universal Truth.
WinMo is highly unstable and I've to look for patches everytime over XDA to fix minor issues.
I'd bought the HD2 considering Windows Mobile 7 and XDA's work into porting Android over to WinMo devices. Although the XDA community still hasn't been able to make Android run on this, I still have high hopes in the coming months! Hope WinMo 7 fixes everything!
@domopod
using one..winmo6.5 hang/crash once a while and REALLY buggy..can't wait for winmo7
@domopod Buy it, go to XDA-developers, and make it dual boot Android/Windows
@briped HTC passion and the supersonic
@outlaw85 Why would I want to dual-boot? I have WinMo now and I don't want it as a boot option at all, taking up precious Android app space. If I dual-boot, I want all the options to be Linux based.
@domopod agreed... Android firmware would make it rock!!!
@clexman
It could use a bigger , higher rez screen.
@domopod
WinMo on this beautiful phone is a disgrace.
@domopod I LOVE my WinMo... just wish it were 6.5.3. Seriously, WinMo does a lot of things that Android can't, and they've cleaned up all the ugly UI in 6.5.3.
@outlaw85 : You dont really own an HD2 do you? Android WinMo Dual booting does not work yet for the HD2 due to incompatibility with Snapdragon. It works only for limited HTC Devices. HD2 support will still take quite a while!
@domopod
Bigger battery is about the ONLY thing it needs. While not adding bulk I might add.
@domopod +1 for Android on it.
I seem to recall a post on one of the tech sites that someone did manage to put Android on this device. I wish HTC would finally start offering all it's devices with optional OS-s. There was talk about this happening about a year ago, but nothing happened since then.
I think it would be a logical step for all WinMo device makers to offer an Android version of their devices as well. We know the hardware can take it, the OS is free. So all they would do is make a lot more money this way, and we the consumers would have a choice...
@domopod Definitely one of the top list, Please make some android for it... and perhaps for the hardware, some keyboard would be great too... Some details: http://bit.ly/htc-hd2-experiences-details
@domopod
this says it all :)
why dont ms not just give it up? everything they have made are just a worse version of something that already is perfect.
They only won monopoly on the OS marked as they got a deal with the software makers to go for their system :S
@domopod
It's called the HTC Supersonic. THis phone + Android + AMOLED Screen + Sprint 4G= AmAzInG
@domopod - +1
@domopod
Having had a HTC Hero, I don't fancy Android much, I don't see the craze about it at all. I'm loving WinMo on the HD2, nothing wrong with it at all & tons of apps to tinker and play.
Would be nice to get the new 6.5.3 bottom menu bar. The capacitive touch screen can be a bit better, if you look close, you can see dots all over the screen and pressing on that area won't register..
@domopod
I think if you come from an Android or iPhone OS to this phone you might have a few negative things to say about windows mobile.
However, as a seasoned WM user (this is my fifth WM device) I find it hard to understand what the problem is, and wonder if perhaps a few points are being overblown? I have messed around with Android (3 minutes) and iPhone (3 minutes) and came away thinking they were badly organised and not very intuitive. Of course, I just didn't give them enough time.
I have given WM plenty of time and I know it so well that I can honestly say I can do anything you want on it faster than you can do it on another phone. Yes, the edges of the popups may not be rounded, yes the gradients in colour may not be cool and subtle, but it works very well for me. And it never locks up. Why does it lock up for everyone else? Dunno.
I like the WM back catalogue, I like that it has exchange and office support, I like that I can install a new ROM whenever I like, I like being able to install different UIs to my liking (mobile shell, titanium, sense), and I like that I can choose from a range of different browsers and media players. I like that it supports flash and multitasking and tethering (out of the box). A bit dollop of 'slick' would be okay but if it was at the expense of one of these features - no thanks. I know there is a big Android bandwagon, and I am sure that most of it is deserved, but it also has its problems.
You should note that (of you have not used this device) this is not stock WM - sense makes contact with the standard WM interface a rare occurrence - only when you are installing a new program or tinkering with the more obscure settings.
I think lots of people are like "yeah, WM sucks" even though they have not given it the time required (or have never used it). Sure, some will say that it was freezing up for them all the time, but seriously - why does that not happen for me too - I don't do anything special - it just always works as it should out of the box. Perhaps they are forgetting that (due to it being a multitasking OS) they have to explicitly close apps when they are finished with them? Dunno.
I am not hating on Android or iPhone OS btw - just saying that if you have lots of good press and positivity you get away with quite a lot and if you have lots of negative press and no hip glossy stuff (like WM) everything you do is wrong and the positive features are overlooked.
@greatpix It is hard for me to say Android is a "better" OS. I'm not putting down android - it has A LOT of innovation and is improving very very fast.
WM 6.5 build 28014 is very stable compared to previous versions of WM but still uses some very very old code and style.
BUT WM DOES sync MS Exchange calendar natively - the android OS on the NEXUS ONE does NOT. WM DOES sync multiple folders in your exchange mailbox which ANDROID does not. I'm sure Android will get those features in the near future but for the moment WM would be better for my clients as a business phone.
Android might be a better choice in the near future but right now WM would be a better choice for most business users. Perhaps WM7 will surprise us all and be better than Android - I'm not holding my breath either way.
@gentlefury If it was the Nexus one you wouldn't be able to natively sync your exchange calendar - that wouldn't bother you?
If it was the Nexus one you could only sync your inbox, no other MS exchange folder - that wouldn't bother you?
I'm not against android - it has improved vastly in the past year but I wonder how many people who chime in about how they want android have ever used it? I have a lot of clients who go the DROID and returned it and plenty who tried the Nexus One and look forward to being able to use it as a business phone and have gone back to using their WM, BB and iphones. People who had the PRE are OK as they didn't really like that phone much either.
@domopod
You hit it right on the money sista.
Make it run Android.
@domopod Ditto.
@domopod
You said it all.
@thunderbollock I thought you were making a joke about spending only 3 minutes with competing platforms and acting like you could make an informed comment about them, but it appears you were serious.
I have also spent many years with the WM platform, and agree with many of the fine points you made about it. You're very qualified to make in-depth comment on WM. I wish I knew how you luck out in getting such stable versions. Every version I've used has been pretty unstable, though some better than others, and all better after numerous REG edits.
I've spent a couple years with iPhone OS and a couple weeks with Android. I think you missed the boat on both of them. They both make WM feel like being from another era, though some of these WM UI overlays help to disguise that. iPhone is very stable and intuitive, but I don't like the rigidity of what they let you do. Android still feels a bit un-polished but has made great strides. It has tons more potential. It's the toddler of phone OSs, but it's a genius toddler that is already putting others to shame.
You should spend some real time with them.
I am lusting after the HD2 software, and many WM alumni like myself are hoping for them to catch up, and maybe even innovate once again!
@outlaw85 That was amazing.
@boe I am using Touchdown on a Nexus One, and it is far more capable that the active Sync implementations in WM 6.5.3. Faster to get mail too. Before I tried Touchdown I was dismissing Android as a less capable OS than WinMO. Now my only real complaint is that it doesn't support enough Codecs. (Been a WinMo user for many years, Every time a new Phone OS comes out I try to use it as my primary phone for at least 2 weeks straight specifically with ActiveSync, and/or BB connectivity in mind). At this point I am finding it painful to pick up my Winmo.
@thunderbollock Couldn't have said it better myself! I'm currently an Android user, but my previous phone was WM based. I really liked the functionality of the OS... and although I LOVE Android... I will be moving back to WM... actually I'm holding out for WM7 FTW!!
@boe
"If it was the Nexus one you could only sync your inbox, no other MS exchange folder - that wouldn't bother you?"
It probably wouldn't bother him because he doesn't use Exchange. You realize there are other methods of receiving/synching emails, calendars and contacts right?
When you say WM is a better choice for business users you're really saying it's a better choice for corporate users who have already been locked in to the exchange ecosystem. If you deal with younger, more tech savvy business owners you'll find many of them are enjoying an equal amount of functionality via free systems (ie. Google Apps for your domain).
@domopod yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes.
@domopod
WebOS would look nice on this, too.
@domopod ...and done.
@gentlefury nexus one is a completely diff phone
@domopod: AM-OLED
@cwalters74
Well Let's hope that the latest WM7 rumors aren't true then:
http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2010/02/06/more-windows-mobile-7-rumors-grab-some-salt/
No Multi-Tasking!
@geoken I work for some pretty young industries - one of them is the gaming - bunch of young kids who seem pretty tech aware and they prefer the advanced functionality of exchange 2010 over google. Google apps are good bang for the buck - just not as functional as MS Exchange. So yes I would say for businesses with more needs than just cheap, yes WM is currently a better PDA phone OS.
That isn't to say WM is cutting edge or that google can't or won't fix those significant drawbacks in their phone OS. I would suggest however you look at the nexus one sales before jumping on the android fanboy bandwagon and wait for it to be a bit more mature.
I would guess though that the editors of engadget like you don't use MS Exchange as they only thing they seem to care about was multitouch on the Nexus One. I think if they asked any corporate people what they didn't like the Exchange sync would have been number one - far far below the ability to use multitouch since you could just use the existing interface for the same functionality.
@RandomGuy || What is so much better about TouchDown? Is looks like the same functionality to me?
@domopod http://www.androphones.com/htc-supersonic-android-phone-148.html the supersonic looking sexy
@domopod Android 2.1 would be fantastic.
@domopod
The engadget review.