T-Mobile goes official with HTC HD2 launch details: March 24th for $200
By Ross Miller 
posted March 16th 2010 8:56PM
posted March 16th 2010 8:56PM
We've heard it all before, but it's always nice to get a modicum of legitimacy from a primary source. T-Mobile has now officially announced the release details for the HTC HD2 -- you know, that phone whose cool factor has dropped a few Mega Fonzies since we confirmed once and for all it wasn't getting a Windows Phone 7 upgrade. Look for it next Wednesday, March 24th, for just a penny under $200 on a two-year contract (and $450 without). Hey, at least this one's definitely got copy and paste, right?
Its better than Windows Phone 7 Series
@OCEAN CLAK
Hell yes it's beter than WPS7! It can:
-Copy-paste
-Multitask properly
-Sideload apps
-Do OEM custimazation and skinning
-Run all WinMo apps
-support user replaceable memory cards
And to top it all off, it doesn't have the silly tile interface that's more suited for grandma.
@OCEAN CLAK
If your saying this solely on the fact that Win7 lacks copy n paste, you should remember...things are still being worked out. Just because the current build lacks it, doesnt mean the next build will too. As clearly obvious, every feature on Win7 is constantly being tweaked and changed, features are being added and dropped constantly, everyone acts like everything that has been said thus far from MWC and MIX are final and thats what the end user should expect, when this sort of thinking is clearly being oblivious to the fact that MSFT has been constantly saying they are STILL working things out and nothing is absolutely final yet.
PS. I already said this in a different post but hopefully the HD3 will be out for Win7 soon (GSM & CDMA models)
@OCEAN CLAK
I agree. It's ashame Adobe decided to be lazy and cancel Flash for it.
@OCEAN CLAK
Windows Phone 7 Series, is a lot like iPhone OS, yet you couldn't nail apple for missing all those features cause it was their first phone OS
@abedinthehouse
I'm sorry dude, but after years of creating mobile OS's that have copy & paste, and after a whole year of the ridiculous lashing out at the iPhone OS for not having copy & paste, there's NO EXCUSE. It really is a small feature, but that small feature is extremely important to the usability of the phone. It was *sorta* excusable for Apple, it was their first mobile OS, and everyone knows they are super anal about getting everything just right. But MS already had an OS with copy & paste. There's zero excuse for them. People were making fun of iPhone because WM 5 HAD COPY & PASTE!!! It seriously blows my mind. I'm sure the platform will be nice and will improve over time, but how could you leave out that feature after Apple was so badly made fun of for discluding it??
@TheSeventhSon : it can even do spell check. :)
What's so great about this? It runs winmo 6.5 for crying out loud.
@Shalabi This one can copy and paste.
@Shalabi
Only people who's never used windows mobile 6.5 say that, and definitely haven't used it with HTC's touchflow or sense interface, properly skinned windows mobile 6.5 phones (and all come skinned) have but one single flaw, and that flaw isn't Microsoft's fault, it's the phone manufacturers, and that flaw is underpowered hardware with that horrible slow old 528mhz Qualcomm processor, and that problem the HD2 doesn't have since it's the most technically advanced piece of phone hardware available.
@Shalabi
Probably the best Spec'd out phone (4.3in multitouch screen, 1Ghz Snapdragon, wireless N, etc) out there right now.
@Sonic
Try the ONLY.
dinosaur that nobody's developing apps for and they never will... what a pathetic story
@obobo
Ever look on the internet, Windows Mobile has more apps available than the iPhone and Android combined.
But I guess since you can't buy them at the Walmart of digital distribution(iTunes) you wouldn't know that.
@Evangelion
"This one can copy and paste. "
It is official, I have been playing Mass Effect for too long. I just read that in a Hanar voice.
@jon I wouldn't go as far as saying it has more apps than the iPhone and Android. That's kind of extreme.
Awesome!!! I feel like this week is going to be a long one
The best phone out that sadly most wont buy.
@angermeans
Most won't know the difference.
@angermeans
People won't buy it because its OS is obsolete. The HD2's screen is also an obsolete LCD TFT screen that requires a backlight. HTC's newer Android phones come with much brighter AMOLED screens.
@IT expert
Yep, those screens are so bright they're unusable in daylight.
Get over it, this phone is badass.
@IT expert
Just like people wouldn't buy XP because it was obsolete when Vista came out? We all see how that worked out, WP7 is going to be the Vista of Windows Mobile, hopefully WP8 will be worthwhile and that they rush that out like they did with Windows 7 when Vista bombed.
@angermeans
Then who was phone?
@IT expert AMOLED is useless at this time, no good outdoors, and the color resolution is crap, ever see how jagged color gradients are on an AMOLED screen? Its like looking at a 256 color display of old
http://www.neowin.net/news/nexus-one039s-amoled-screen-only-uses-16-bit-color
@d0ug an addition to my post...
That page compares the nexus one AMOLED to an iphone screen. If you've ever seen the iphone next to a HD2 screen, the iphone is absolute crap in comparison, crappy black levels, etc. an HD2 next to a Nexus one would blow it away.
@d0ug
I too did a direct side by side comparison of the iPhone v the nexus one. The iPhone has much better contrast, color, depth and readability in bright light. Now, unless the HD2 uses something drastically different, I had also compared my iPhone to me previous htc tilt2. The iPhone again was much better overall - even if the tilt2 has much higher resolution. The iPhone screen seems to have more depth. Also the glass on the iPhone screen is much more scratch resistant and has less glare than my tilt2.
Interestingly I've seen and used several devices with better specs than the iPhone, but none whose screen was better in actual use. I haven't used the HD2, but I believe it's just a larger size tilt2 screen....
@jaffreywali
The HD2's screen is not just a larger size tilt2/TP2 screen, it's a totally different screen, its capacitive not resistive and thus has the same highly scratch resistant glass screen like the iPhone, from the reviews i've read thus far the only thing the iPhone came out top on was being slightly brighter in sunlight, otherwise the reviews all said hands down the HD2's screen is better.
@jaffreywali *cough* fanboy *cough***
Still kind of bummed out with the WM7S news, but I'm sure we can survive without copy & paste. Hopefully HTC can push out the HD3 before November though.
@HotDog yeah me 2. u think the HD3 is gonna come out for at&t.....i sure hope so.
@HotDog
Hopefully HTC can push out the HD3 with Win7 Phone S.
@custmmade, nah hopefully it releases on Sprint. They need a nice WP7 device.
@Templarian
It should be released AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and hell Metro PCS too!
HTC should have a CDMA & GSM version for all future releases.
(even though that may not be the best profitable idea...but hey lots of people would love it)
@Templarian
i doubt that verizon and t-mobile will get it however, it could go to att cuz a lot of at&t smartphones use windows mobile and AT&T is due for an upgrade, but sprint could get it cuz the specs says that phone will feature on board WiMax support. only time will tell. still crossing my fingers for AT&T.
it was such a cool phone until they said it wouldn't get 7.
@haan Actually, after hearing bad news after bad news about WP7, I'd say the HD2 is THE phone to get. Too bad I'm in a contract with the Death Start :-(
@aubreyq
The only thing that pisses me off about WP7S is the lack copy and paste, but as a C# user I am excited, I am starting to learn silverlight right now.
I'll pickup a WP7S phone for developing, and use my Droid for everything else, including copy and paste. :D
@haan Well actually with the announcements trickling out confirming no C&P, no Multithreading, no UI Customization, etc. etc. pp. my take would be that the HD2 is the best phone you can have right now.
Why?
You have all the above features and a vast multitude of applications available NOW.
Basically, the HD2 has the hardware necessary to run WinMO and it's apps smoothly. The UI customization (Sense) has matured to a high level. It has all the above features. It CAN do whatever you need and that is a proven fact.
It is the latest end greatest of a long successful development (call WinMo an ugly duckling, but it's successful by number of devices and software available).
WP7 will be the first of a new breed with limited capabilities. People are getting upset about WP7 because it sheds all the good stuff one chose WinMo over other platforms for. WP7 is basically just a MS skinned alternative to the iphone as far as I can see.
Basically it's a steal of a phone, with all the stuff it CAN do NOW and all the stuff WP7 will NOT DO by the end of the year...
If it ran Android I'd get it in a heartbeat, HTC Incredible for me.
@Zachary
HTC Supersonic on Sprint in summer.
@Zachary - I think you're spot on. An HD2 running the latest Android would be THE phone to have. With or without HTC's Sense Android would be amazing on this thing.
@MRCUR
Yes, because the Nexus One doesn't have a beautiful AMOLED screen with multitouch and a Snapdragon processor.
This is a sweet phone, regardless of what version of windows it is running. And I'm sure those who pick it up in a store and play with it, who don't know all of the software news like we do, will not only buy it, but like it as well.
I just hope the first HTC 7 series phone is a 3 button carbon copy of this phone and is on Verizon.. And has a front facing camera......wait, does 7 series allow front facing cameras?
@Edobe
Yes, It's possible...listen to Engadget Mobile Podcast that came out, they actually talk about front facing cameras on Win7 Phones.
http://mobile.engadget.com/2010/03/16/engadget-mobile-podcast-039-mix-edition-03-16-2010/
I want this...
Do I smell a recession antidote? ;-)
@SolidSnake
Been there, done that. http://www.engadget.com/2009/11/27/engadgets-black-friday-giveaway-part-six-win-an-htc-hd2/
Awkward timing I guess....too soon for WM7 and yet would be great with it. Sucks they left out this phone.
Putting my shitty iphone on ebay and then buy the unlocked HD2.......sound like a good plan to me.
@custmmade
But is it unlocked for $450, or just contract-free? I can't seem to find this information anywhere. If it was an unlocked phone for $450, then I would buy one for sure. If it's just contract-free, then that is actually not a good deal at all (why not just buy it for the subsidized price if you're required to go with T-mobile?).