I currently have a touch HD/Blackstone and I love it to bits, but the prospect of having a capacitive multitouch screen and much faster responses when navigating round the phone/opening/running apps etc is starting to tempt me very strongly to the HD2/Leo.
Have any of you Leo owners upgraded from the Blackstone? If so, please can you let me know your thoughts on whether it was a good move, what the pros & cons are etc, and whether the new phone really is super fast and slick like the reviews I've read say it is.
If I get one I'd probably want to be running SPB shell on it, which from looking through here I assume it works, but will most apps for the blackstone also work on the Leo?
I know there's no stylus with the Leo for instance, but for fiddly stuff does the screen accept the use of a fingernail for 'precision' (ish!) stuff like checkboxes & small menus, or does it have to be skin contact or a real capacitive stylus etc?
Regardless of whether you upgraded from a Blackstone, are you very pleased with the way the phone works in terms of performance and 'slickness'?
Last questions are - what's the video performance like on the Leo, ie does it have all the problems the HD has in terms of poor out of the box performance with video playback?
And is the bluetooth stuff still hardcoded for the HTC music player (like the blackstone), or would I be able to properly use my sony bluetooth headset to control the likes of coreplayer?
Sorry for all the questions - I really want to upgrade to the Leo, but it will cost me a lot and I don't want to make a mistake.
Many thanks for any useful replies!
Jim
After having the Touch HD for 2 month I really loved it. Everything was running as I wanted it to be ... But then HTC announced the HD2 and I decided to switch to it after watching lots of videos in youtube an other sites. I would do it again ...
I don't have any problems using the OS without a stylus. In fact I wasn't using the stylus or my fingernails on my Touch HD either. I only needed to adapt to the higher screen responsiveness, but that was it.
HD2 pros compared to the Touch HD:
+ MUCH higher build quality. The Touch HD always felt somehow cheap, except it actually wasn't ...
+ Everything is just faster. I wasn't too thrilled with TouchFLO 3D on the Touch HD, as it slowed down the device too much. No problems on the HD2, although the new version of TouchFLO 3D (Sense ...) grew in so many aspects and is now pretty well integrated into the OS.
+ The bigger screen. Didn't thing its a big deal, but the screen-difference between the two devices is astonishing. Its much more fun to use multimediacontent on the HD2.
+ Pinch to Zoom.
I had a HD for nearly a year now and loved it - yes, TF3D ran slowly but it also was more "form than function" and I stopped using it in favour of simple SPB Diary with multiple tabs.
Now having a HD2 for over a month I do love the high speed and slick operation and I even stick with TF3D (or HTC Sense, whatever it's called).
But, there are apps from HD that don't run well on the screen as they expect the precision of a stylus. One example is SPB Finance that I used to record all my expenditures on an almost daily business. This just does not work with a big fat finger !
But, but others work great - CoPilot works really nicely. I tried Route66 on the HD2 as this was a fully legal working purchase on the HD but on the new HD2 it's not good. Nice surprise is the new CoPilot works really well and super fast. Even indoors near a window I can get enough satellites for a 3D fix and moving next to the window gets 7 or 8 sats. HD never achieved that.
My build quality on the HD was fine. On the HD2 you get a real solid feel from the metal battery cover where you naturally hold the device.
HD2 is super quick but the capacitive screen is a weakness. However, this is because most applications have not yet caught up. Many exist that are great with fingers like Resco explorer but others expect a stylus and are hard to use.
As a year long HD user I doubt very much that I won't move back after having got the HD2. My old HD is sitting in a box and I have not been tempted to get it out !
Thanks for the replies guys - I like what I hear!
I think the only thing that might delay me upgrading to an HD2 is the difference in value between selling HD and buying HD2 but we'll see....
Can you clarify a couple of things I'm still not sure about though?
Dave - you said you can't use certain apps from the HD because of the capacitive screen as you don't have a stylus with it (and can't use a normal one I believe), but is it possible to use these apps with a finger nail if you really need to?
I know it might be awkward or not very practical, but I want to know whether it's actually possible at all, ie if the screen will physically work like that, or if it's literally impossible to do?
Secondly (don't get me wrong here) whilst I don't want an iphone, is the responsiveness of the HD2 screen the same kind of thing? Local shops here don't have one I can try so I have to go by what others tell me, and I'd like it to work as smooth as the iphone screen, ie no actual pressure etc.
I know it's capacitive so it should be like that but I don't know if there are differences aside from that to how the screen responds. Hope that makes sense!
Last question - I believe the screen is glass on it? Is it toughened in any way? Presume the fact that it's glass will mean that it's much harder to scratch than the HD screen and also means a clearer, brighter display by not having a resistive layer?
Thanks for the replies - I appreciate the info!
I'll try again but I don't think finger nails work ...
I upgraded from the Blackstone and for me, it was definitely worth it.
First thing you notice is the amazing speed if the device. I just saw that I had TomTom (among a couple of other programs) running in the background for several days and I didn't even notice it.
The HD2 is really insanely fast. I sometimes take my old Blackstone in order to try new WM builds, but its slowness makes me sick after some minutes of using it.
Next big thing, for me, is the camera. The light sensitivity has been greatly improved and the flash works stunningly good for an LED flash.
It takes really great pictures for a smartphone, much much better than the HD, finally I have a phone that lets me capture the important moments
(btw. the 'red tint bug' is present but not noticeable on most pictures)
Third thing is the screen. It''s capacitive, that means you can NOT use your fingernail, and no stylus. But I really like the sensitivity, it's much more comfortable to use. And it feels a lot better, it's not the 'cheap' feel of the resistive panel's plastic layers anymore.
And this brings me to the fourth and last point: Build quality. I've never ever seen such a high build quality and high quality materials on a phone. It looks and feels just amazing, even the iPhone feels like a cheap toy in comparison.
Video playback is of course a lot better and it plays high quality video without stuttering.
Well actualy you can use stylus without problems, you just have to buy a special one (whitch buy the way also works on the iPhone)
http://cgi.ebay.com/2x-DAGi-Stylus-...wItemQQptZPDA_Accessories?hash=item414b467e4a
Like they other says there are applications who can be a bit of a hassel with using with the finger...
But I suspect you would love it... I could newer go back to my HD after being used to the buitiful racer the HD2 is, and i absolutely love the screen to.
Hi,
I've spent 1 week with the HD2 after a year on the HD. Mobile Shell 3.5 on both.
The main difference is speed. HD2 is soooo much faster. Didn't notice the HD was particularly slow whilst I was using it, but going back to it now is PAINFUL.
I struggled a bit initially with the capacitive screen, found it a bit hit and miss. In particular I found the HTC keyboard a nightmare, way too sensitive. Installing the .cab that decreases screen sensitivity has improved things greatly, and installing Spb Keyboard has also helped. It's improving with practice, there are still times when I do something and it doesn't register, but overall I'm starting to like it. There's a definite knack to it: much lighter touch, smoother motions. So there's a learning curve here + a need to tweak. And I'm sure the experience will continue to improve as third party software is adapted for it.
Mobile Shell has a few minor compatability issues but nothing to worry about (screen brightness control doesn't work, voicemail indicator widget doesn't work, a few other minor things). Spb are generally good at updating for significant new hardware releases, same thing happened with the HD when it was first released and they fixed everything quickly. I tried the Sense interface for a day or two to see if I could get used to it, it IS very pretty. But went back to Mobile Shell, I find it much more functional.
The HD2 build quality is excellent vs good for HD. And the additional screen size is a significant plus too. I was initially worried it would be a step too far in terms of the overall size of the device, but no. As soon as I laid eyes on the actual device + picked it up I knew it wouldn't be a problem.
Browsing in Opera is fantastic. Fast and the big screen helps. Still not comparable to a desktop browsing experience but very usable and way better than the HD due to the speed.
Overall it's a big step forward from the HD and highly recommended. Like I said, I find going back to the HD to dig out a few files I need to be surprisingly painful...
Cret said:
Secondly (don't get me wrong here) whilst I don't want an iphone, is the responsiveness of the HD2 screen the same kind of thing? Local shops here don't have one I can try so I have to go by what others tell me, and I'd like it to work as smooth as the iphone screen, ie no actual pressure etc.
I know it's capacitive so it should be like that but I don't know if there are differences aside from that to how the screen responds. Hope that makes sense!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tested the HD2 besides both, an 3G and 3GS, and really couldn't find any real difference in the screens responsiveness. You don't have to do any pressure on the HD2's screen ... I have to say, that I had a problem with the high sensitivity at first, but when playing around with an Nokia N900 last week, I noticed how fast I adapted to the capacitive screen of the HD2. The N900's screen was a pain in the ass (although its actually quite good for a resistive screen), because slight fingerswipes and tips didn't to anything ...
When browsing the forums you will notice, that most ppl here have/had a problem with the keyboard of the HD2. Besides the bugreporting here (I don't have any of these problems), I imagine that most of the problems with the keyboard just come from the unfamiliar sensitivity. By lifting the fingers a little higher when typing, I managed to type pretty accurate.
I don't have a Touch HD to compare side by side, but had the possibility to compare the HD2 to an iPhone 3G ... the 3G was very slow compared to the HD2 ... So wouldn't really go back to a last-gen phone ...
Had a Touch HD for a year until i bought my HD2 last month.
I Had Dutty's Leo rom running since he started releasing those, so I felt completely at home with my HD2 when i had it in my hand. (For those not knowing : Leo rom for Touch HD is just that. Winmo 6.5 running HTC Sense, just like the HD2)
A few things felt wonderfully different tho :
Screen is beautifull. The glas type used is almost impossible to scratch. I have my phone in my pocket unprotected. Even accedently slipped my keys in with it a few times. Not a mark on it! What is this screen made of ? Diamond ??
Speed. Wow! This phone is fast. I ran the weather demo simultaniously, side by side with the Touch HD. And the difference makes the Touch HD look like a joke. (it's not, but compared, its sloooow)
Pinch zoom. OMG now i know why Iphone has been the king of mobile browsing. HAS been! HD2 is now the new king! Opera + capacitive screen with multi touch AND a 1 ghz processor ? It is a match made in heaven. Mobile browsing is EASY and fun now. Thank god i have an internet sub on my simcard...
Camera. Remember how a big hazzel it was to take a pic with Touch HD ? I mean, the moment is GONE, before the camera is ready to take the picture!
With HD2 and a shortcut on the Sense start screen , it takes around 1 second(!!) from press on camera icon till your ready to take the picture!. The flash LED (Which can blind a man btw) makes it possible to shoot in the dark, FINALLY!
Well those things was EXACTLY why I upgraded, and I have not been dissapointed.
Some had a huge problem with the sensitive screen. Not me, I adapted quickly, and the keyboard I was used to from leo rom on the Touch HD, so i guess it's a matter of taste, or fat fingers .
Also
There are a LOT of the tweaks and programs for Dutty's leo rom that works great with the HD2, like BG4all etc.
rd2000 said:
The flash LED (Which can blind a man btw)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yep, fortgot to mention the LEDs. I love them. Not to take pictures, but for everydays things. Really missed a LED on the Touch HD.
I got my HD2 a week ago, and I'm loving it, other than the rather short battery life (may be a temporary issue, some people do not have this issue).
It's definitely faster than the HD. Going through the Windows folder in File Explorer takes 2 seconds, rather than 6-8 seconds on the HD. Going through tabs in TouchFlo 3D (Sense) is fast, and tab contents are displayed lightning fast.
TomTom works great on the HD2, haven't tried CoPilot because they do not have maps that I could purchase for my region yet (which is funny, since I can download the map while trialling the software). TomTom is rather smooth on the HD2, the position cursor does not jerk forward when moving. With valid QuickGPS data, getting a GPS fix is faster than on the HD.
The speaker is a little worse than the HD in my opinion, although it's somewhat louder than the HD.
Moving from Resistive (HD) to the Capacitive screen in the HD2 may take some time to get used to it. Drawing/scribbling notes can be hard, so is selecting the directory/folder you want to go to in File Explorer. Maybe it's me, I have large fingers.
Reception compared to the HD, Nokia N82, N95 8GB.
The 3G network I'm on is rather bad in my room.
Nokia N82 and N95 8GB - 4 of 7 bars (estimated equivalent on the HD2 would be 3 of 4 bars)
HTC Touch HD - 1 of 4 bars
HTC Touch HD2 - 3 of 4 bars, sometimes full signal.
The signal bars on the HD2 tend to fluctuate at times, while holding the phone in landscape mode and browsing the internet, the signal may drop to no bars, disconnect from the network, then come back on with 1 or 2 bars.
Camera is great. Autofocus seems to be 'continuous', focusing when the camera is moved or after a few seconds. Shutter lag is much shorter than on the HD, but taking moving subjects may still result in a blurr (cranking up the ISO setting doesn't help much). Sharper than on the HD, and the automatic white balance is definitely better than on the HD under certain lighting conditions. LED Flash works OK for objects further than 30cm most of the time, using it for close ups may sometimes result in a bright, white mess.
I'm using the 1.43 ROM, so some of these issues may be fixed in the updated ROM. There are some issues in TouchFlo/Sense, but they are easily corrected by taking a trip down the Tips & Tricks Post in the Leo Forum.
tbela
I'd used Blackstone for some monthes, and overall I was satisfied. (I'd used Xanny Grid Leo rom)
I've a Leo for a week, and now I'm not simply satisfied but I'm happy with it. The speed, the huge screen and the build quality are fantastic. It's very rear, when I have to fight with small old-fashioned windows controls, but with some patience and practice it is also manageable. Nail-touching definitely doesn't work. Althogh, you can buy capacitive-compatible stylus on ebay.
Only disadvantage for me: fring doesn't work, but I hope it will be fixed soon. Temporarily I use Nimbuzz for chatting.
Overall I can highly recommend the upgrade. If you can do, DO IT!
Thanks very much for all the replies guys. The fact that most of you have written wuite a bit tells me you're very enthusiastic about the phone!
I want one for sure now. The only thing is the cost - I can't renew my contract and there are very few Leos on Ebay and around £500, but only maybe £250 sale proceeds from my HD, so it's quite a hit to take.
If I can get a few quid together to help ease the difference then I'll definitely get one.
Thanks for the comments
Same here, had the HD for about a year and liked it in many respects, the HD2 is a much nicer experience though and if you can afford it at some point I highly recommend to get it.
Well I've made my mind up to get one for sure. The only question really is when.
I'll have to buy an unlocked one on Ebay I think and there are very few on there at the moment because the phone is so new. This is obviously therefore keeping the prices really high.
I'm dying to say 'sod it' and get the credit card out but I know I ought to wait a month or two to see if they get a bit cheaper once more are being sold.
I've read reviews on it and most things I see say that this is basically the best piece of hardware on the market in terms of phones, but that it's "let down/ruined" etc by having winmo on it. I like winmo and have used it for years, so for me, that's a plus!
Having said that, I'd kill to see/have winmo7!
Yep. Those reviews are nonsense.
Powerful hardware like this needs a powerful OS, and WinMo really is by far the most powerful OS you can get.
It doesn't ruin anything. It's the perfect OS for a phone like this.
WinMo bashing is a current trend that you can't do anything against when sites like Gizmodo or Engadget spread the FUD. It's really sad.
I wouldn't want any other OS on the HD2.
maati said:
I wouldn't want any other OS on the HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Overall I agree, But Android 2.0 would be very interesting
Well I'm sure I'll be quite happy since it's exactly what I'm used to.
Last phones I've had have been Touch HD, Omnia, XDA Orbit etc - loved them all.
Can't WAIT to get the HD2 though. Especially now I've bought one this afternoon.
Cret said:
Well I'm sure I'll be quite happy since it's exactly what I'm used to.
Last phones I've had have been Touch HD, Omnia, XDA Orbit etc - loved them all.
Can't WAIT to get the HD2 though. Especially now I've bought one this afternoon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats to get this lovely phone. I'd wager you will like it .
Related
I have had my 3G iphone for about 6-7 months now, and have in that time tried several new phones, namely Nokia E71, Diamond (horrible), X1 (lasted less than 1 day!) and I also own a Trinity.
Anyway, the HD arrived via www.devicewire.co.uk in the UK (doh) on Thursday last week, and I powered it up right away. It was £522 delivered.
I think in the UK, people are better off ordering online, since you have the 7 day DSR (Distance Sellings Regs) to fall back on in the event of dislike, dead pixels etc.
With the HD, I am surprised how much I like it..........put it this way, it came Thursday, and Friday it was a case of "yes, this is good, but nothing much better than the iPhone, so I can not justify the cost, so back it goes".....read on for what happened next
I even have the return code from devicewire (very good aftersales, even when you are returning stuff!!)
I can not say the HD screen blew me away, since the screen on the iPhone is a truly, truly lovely screen anyway, and I had been using this everyday for the aforemention 6-7 months.....but, for anyone who has not been using an iPhone, the screen is gonna make you do a double take. It is clear, big, bright and the fonts look amazing.
First thing I did was switch off the ambient sensor (yes, it does have one!), and put brightness up to full, I love contrast as my eyesight is not so good these days.
Now, this is why the iPhone has been so good for me, (although I guess most of you lot here will be younger with perfect vision), I find it has good large fonts, and great contrast.
Compare this to the default text size on the Diamond, or indeed the latest Sony X1, its tiny, and yes, I do know you can altertext size, but on a small screen, it just means you get less on a sreen and have to be scrolling all the time.
The HD is just perfect for me, nice big fonts, so smooth, and perfectly usable with either a finger, (even with a glove on, something that is not possible on iPhone), or a stylus, which as it turns the HD on, is handy to have.
So, the screen is as good as the iPhone, with better resolution, and as I just read in the Slashgear review, the actual touching of the two screens is very close indeed. Even coming from several hours use of the iPhone eveyday, I do feel that I will get on with the HD screen very nicely.
But hang on, I am not keeping this am I, I already have the return code and devicewire are expecting it back......well, I doubt it now.......I had put it all away very carefully on Friday, but it sat there looking at me, and I kept reading about it on here........it was all too much, got up this morning and thought "lets take it to work, Sunday is quiet usually, I can have a play".
Well, the breakthrough for me was to turn off Touchflo and install PocketPlus, a great piece of software I have used on many devices. Oh, that and TomTom 6 running in landscape on the trip to work
As for GPS lag, it is only about 10 miles to my workplace, but there is little or no lag present in TomTom 6.
TomTom is a big deal for me, I find nothing touches it, and it is a great disapointment that there is still no TomTom (or anything else!) for the iPhone, when you recall the stories that TomTom already had it running back at the 3G launch, it must be Apple who are blocking its release.....
I think Touchflo is just too "black" for me, not sure if it will run with a brighter skin or not, but I like the way PocketPlus makes a device look, much brighter.
Now, a lot has been written about WM 6.1 being hard to use without D-Pad? The only issue (apart from games which I confess is of zero concern to me) is for selecting little drop down (roll out) menus, and that is sorted with AEBPlus http://ae.inc.ru/aebplus.php which allows you to assign the volume up and down keys to act as Arrow Up and Arrow Down, and this sorts it and works well.
I can confirm the UK HD comes with the little soft case (its quite nice actually), but a word of warning, do NOT assume all iPhone cases will work, my one, and nice Marware slip case is too tight, and the HD is a smidgen wider that the iPhone. Anyway, I like the softcase. It was also nice to get the 8gb Micro SD card. I have not installed the screen protector yet, can never really get on with those anyway.
Keyboard use on the iPhone is pretty good, and I was very doubtful that HTC could get anywhere near it, but they have basically cracked it IMV. The buttons are the same size as iPhone and easy to use. I am making less mistakes in a few hours than I do after 6 months on iPhone.
Web browsing is not in my opinion as good as the iPhone, well, let me qualify that. If you just use fingers, the iPhone wins, but if you use fingers and the stylus, I think the HD then just shades it.
One very welcome side effect of returning to WM is the multitasking, this is one massive issue for us geeks on the iPhone, combined with the lack of cut n paste, it really shows the two devices quite far apart in usability.
Email is very good on the iPhone, and if you only have the one account (gmail for example) it takes some beating for simplicity. However, the HD also does a great job, and with a little wireless keyboard (impossible on iPhone), I think it will make a good laptop replacement)
RSS is OK on the iPhone, but much easier on the HD, with the built in RSS Hub program, which downloads all feeds, including video feeds. I like to watch Cali Lewis on Geekbrief www.geekbrief.tv everyday, and you have to jailbreak the iPhone to be able to do that (yes, I do know its coming in 2.2 software, but with a limit of 10mb over cellular, which renders it useless for video podcasts, and anyway, its a pain in the arse to upgrade iPhone and then have to jailbreak each time.
We are good at making our decisions fit the case, so the iPhone user is always going to say "oh, I don't really miss cut n paste", when in fact, you quickly forget how often it is useful.
I think for me, it comes down to this, the HTC Touch HD can do everything the iPhone can do and lots more, but the the iPhone can not do several things the HD can do. Does that make sense?
I hope this view (not a review IMHO), helps some of you, and just like the chap in the other thread, please feel free to ask any specific questions about useabilty, although please don't ask me to run x test on y video, using xx program while standing in a bucket of water, as I probably can not be bothered
A couple of program I will miss if I sell the iPhone are TV Plus, a great APP which gives a 7 day EPG and more inportantly, links to Sky Plus (UK only) and lets you setup recordings.
I will also greatly miss Remote, an Apple APP which controls iTunes on my main desktop PC, although I should be getting up off my butt to change charge anyway.
So, who wants to buy an iPhone ;-)
Kev
So font size was your only problem with the Xperia? I'm trying to decide between the Xperia (had it for about 5 days now) and the HD.
BTW, my other phone is an iPhone 2G and I do like the screen.
Whoops, forgot that bit.
No, I got the X1 in the UK at Vodafone (if anyone is interested they are £500 are are not locked to Voda.....well, my one was not anyway)
The fonts were always gonna be too small for me, but I hated the keyboard, the keys barely protrude over the case, very little feedback.
But the killer and reason for return within a few hours for refund was a horribly wobbly screen, but I accept this could have been my one.
Also, given that you would have to use on screen keypad to dial people, it was too fiddly, too small. That 3" screen is very narrow you know.
Sorry.
Kev
I bet there's a program on WinMo that let's you control not only your iTunes but your whole PC. On my current 4 years old Nokia, there's System Freak, that lets you do that...
Thanks for that post KevWright.
Like VeloAudio, I'm deciding between the Touch HD and X1. I still have some niggling concerns about the Touch HD but I am assuming the X1 has the same 'problems' or 'complications' so am leaning towards the former.
Your post bolsters the case.
Great post!
Can you delve a little bit deeper into the screen responsiveness please? Just a few more sentences on how it compares to the iPhone's would be great.
Also, this is probably unbelievably subjective, but which phone do you find sexier? For instance, you are on the bus and you take out your iPhone and you take out your HD, which feels sexier?
Thanks.
kevwright said:
A couple of program I will miss if I sell the iPhone are TV Plus, a great APP which gives a 7 day EPG and more inportantly, links to Sky Plus (UK only) and lets you setup recordings.
So, who wants to buy an iPhone ;-)
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be interested in a SlingBox, which allows you to stream and your own Sat/IPTV etc. over the web to your laptop or your WM device. It comes with software to control the IR on your video sources. I stream Bluewin IPTV and Sky to the SlingMobile software on my Trinity and intend to do the same with the HD tomorrow when it arrives. I hope it runs on the HD. I will report back later on that.
Matterhorn said:
You might be interested in a SlingBox, which allows you to stream and your own Sat/IPTV etc. over the web to your laptop or your WM device. It comes with software to control the IR on your video sources. I stream Bluewin IPTV and Sky to the SlingMobile software on my Trinity and intend to do the same with the HD tomorrow when it arrives. I hope it runs on the HD. I will report back later on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I've read elsewhere, the Touch HD doesn't have an IR port, so you won't be able to use the IR functionality of Slingbox unless you mean the "box" itself attached to a TV?
kevwright said:
Oh, that and TomTom 6 running in landscape on the trip to work
As for GPS lag, it is only about 10 miles to my workplace, but there is little or no lag present in TomTom 6.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version did you install, and will it work in full WVGA or are their black bars on the screen?
Thanks in advance
nu_D said:
Great post!
Can you delve a little bit deeper into the screen responsiveness please? Just a few more sentences on how it compares to the iPhone's would be great.
Also, this is probably unbelievably subjective, but which phone do you find sexier? For instance, you are on the bus and you take out your iPhone and you take out your HD, which feels sexier?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it is hard to say that much more, I have them both here and am playing now. Not sure if you know the iPhone, but on 2.1 software (jailbroken), when you press the button for say SMS, there is about a 2 sec delay while it loads up, now on the HD, its about the same, but on the HD if you leave messaging running in the background (which I suspect you can do with these better memory equipped models?) it is instant, with the iPhone you always get the delay cos nothing (well except the music player) is allowed to stay in background.
OK, using book reading software, I would say they are almost equal.........maybe the iPhone is fractionally better, or it could be I am more used to it.
As to your second point, I can't help mate, for one, I only have a vague idea of what a "bus" is, and the day I find either the iPhone or the HD "sexy", that is the day I go back to my Nokia 6310 )
OK, I think they look so similar mate, there is nothing in it.
Kev
kevwright said:
But the killer and reason for return within a few hours for refund was a horribly wobbly screen, but I accept this could have been my one.
Kev
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you saying they are all wobbly or it is just yours. You going to replace it I guess?
luckyuser said:
What version did you install, and will it work in full WVGA or are their black bars on the screen?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I can not find a version number I am afraid.
It looks great in portrait, but bloody fantastic in widescreen, I have it on a manual rotate screen, and there are NO bars in any view.
Kev
exe said:
Are you saying they are all wobbly or it is just yours. You going to replace it I guess?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would have no idea beyond my one mate. It was that bad that I could never live with it.
I have replaced it....with the HD )
I will not be getting another X1, fonts were too small, and after this screen, there is no going back.
Kev
Matterhorn said:
You might be interested in a SlingBox, which allows you to stream and your own Sat/IPTV etc. over the web to your laptop or your WM device. It comes with software to control the IR on your video sources. I stream Bluewin IPTV and Sky to the SlingMobile software on my Trinity and intend to do the same with the HD tomorrow when it arrives. I hope it runs on the HD. I will report back later on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I do have Slingbox, and have even register Slingplayer, but I just have never had good perfomance on it to be honest. I am not realy fussed about watching TV on my HD, just this little app was great to tell my Sky box to record something, mainly cos it enabled you to do it even without turning the TV and Sky box on.
I am hoping there is something for WinMo
Kev
nokia e71 vs. htc touch diamond
hi kevwright,
after a bad experience with an htc diamond (very poor battery and many ROM updates), I've decided to go for nokia e71. Now I'm considering an htc touch hd, but I'm very curios about it's battery life. how the touch hd compare to the e71 in terms of battery life and general?
in call recording
Hi alll - I have posted a separate thread on this issue, but alas, I thought i would also ask it here from those that already have an HD.
in call recording feature - anyone tried it out? some are reporting that it doesn't work...even though HTC calls it out in their specs online.
can anyone kindly shed some real world experience w/this feature on teh HD?
Thanks in advance.
Someone tell this guy how paragraphs work...
Great post.. I allready bought Touch HD, and I have the same view as you!
Cheers!
Thanks for the insight, kev. Great post.
dragosel80 said:
hi kevwright,
after a bad experience with an htc diamond (very poor battery and many ROM updates), I've decided to go for nokia e71. Now I'm considering an htc touch hd, but I'm very curios about it's battery life. how the touch hd compare to the e71 in terms of battery life and general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life looks like it will be quite good, but not as good as an E71 (screen is tiny!).
Had it only a day really, so I will update this in a few days.
Kev
OK at the risk of starting a flame war I want to ask for some objective feedback on the HD. I tried the HD in a shop today for about 20 minutes and I was quite disappointed. (I have a HTC tytn so I used my experience over the last 18 months with that as a reference.). My brief conclusions
(a) The screen is big with a lot of detail as everyone says but its not as bright as the iPhone, G1 or blackberry Storm. Also the blacks are a bit murky so the constrast is not as good as the iPhone, G1 or the Storm.
(b) The interface felt very "laggy" with lots of freezing. (I've subsequently found a thread here on XDA-Developers where there are many compaints of freezes for several seconds - the unit I tried in the shop belonged to the Sales guy and had been up and running in less than 1 day with nothing extra installed on it - I ended up showing the sales guy how to do some things ! ) Certainly TF3D was no way as "slick" as the iPhone or the G1. When trying to browse the web the HD I perfered the G1 when if on the HD I could see more !
(c) One of my requirements is basic operations should be possible with one hand. The lack of hardware buttons and a D-pad / trackball or scroller seems to make that difficult? For example, it was difficult to take a decent close up picture of someone as you have to press the screen which moves the HD and so causes a loss of focus. On the third attempt I gave up trying to take a decent picture.
(d) For such a big screen TF3D makes inefficient use of the screen. I was particularly disappointed with the music player. I got the impression that rather than focus on functionality HTC really wanted to make things look good.
Overall I was dissappointed. I really want to get rid of my Wm5 based Tytn but it looks like I might have to look at something else
Please convince me otherwise !
Can those of you who've had real experience (I.e. for than a couple of days - where you are in the honeymoon period) provide some feedback on the HD?
not going to convince you to change. i suggest you stick with the Tytn and you'll save yourself a lot of second guessing and heart ache. based on a-d above, the HD is not for you.
I played with the iPhone for 20 minutes and hated it... But when I tried the HD for about 20 minutes I loved it.
What the hek every now and then someone comes and start his own comparison of HD to Iphone!!!!
IPHONE for many of us is Cr***ap ...
You have already started the thread by painting such as prefect picture of iPhone. If your requirements are better met by that, just go get yourself an iPhone. Everyone person's requirements are different. For me, iPhone does not meet my need and HD does. If you want to know why, go to this thread and read every post there by myself.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=443900
No point in flaming him (I have an Hermes as well and have a lot of questions about HD vs Touch Pro for instance)
It is really interesting to read people's opinion, may it be positive or negative to help many potential users chose with all cards in hand
Stick with your TyTn .... and wait for the next year 2009 devices.
For sure HD broughr fresh blood to the WinMo device, but thats not enough.
I am pretty sure, 2009 will be very interesting for mobile device (WinMo 6.5, Tegra?)
I have N95 for 15 Months and i thought i would never change phone again till iPhone 3G came out so i decided to upgrade.
At the same time my brother just bought Touch Diamond and I have to admit that I really hate the Diamond since the first few mins of playing with it. Laggy.. Sloppy.. Jerky.. Slowly.. Whatever u called it, Diamond has it all.
But now my brother decide to get a Touch HD, hoping that it will lift up our feeling some way some how, and he is right.
He got a phone last week and i have to say.. "It is in a different league with the iPhone"
Now i have to order another one for myself. Hope it will arrive soon ^^
Sorry but you are not right
By the way - the iPhone is indeed better because of the better OS
But also the HF Screen has not such a good contrast and has moires from different view angles ...
when you work for some days with the HD the iPhone screen shows pixels.
The HD screnn with th perfect resolution is much smoother
The HTC Touchflow SW is after a long time on devices quite fast ans very good ( not as good as iPhone OS ) - the only lag is that many functions are missing and HTC does not offer updates regularly to older devices.
annoying & ridiculous...
sorry ... BUT it really IS annoying to read so many threads where people are just complaining that the HD 'doesnt meet this and that and...' - whats the use in it ?! Everyone needs different things in a device, you wouldn't want my kind of shoes or trousers or car or whatever!!
So I don't give a s*** what anybody else has to say about the HD - I tested it for MYSELF, I found it to be excellent for me, I bought it two weeks ago, I do lots of flatrate-HSDPA'ing, business use 12 hours/day, permanent exchange sncy'ing, blablabla...my HD truely rocks. Simply said: theres nothing *I* miss - if you do, buy something you like.
First of all. Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm sorry that some of you seem to be overly defensive. What I am trying to get to the bottom of is that my short experience of the HD is at odds with the many many reviews of the HD on the web.
There are endless comparsions with the iPhone but I don't recall any mentioning the screen being not as bright or that the HD has a very "laggy" interface. The point is that the reviews hold up the iphone as the benchmark and generally give the impression that the HD is close in terms of touch sensitivity and better in terms of screen. I was therefore surprised when i got my hands on a unit to not get that impression in those areas. I am aware of the fact that the Iphone can't multi-task, has no FM radio, has locked down applications, video recording problems, poor support for MS office attachments etc etc. So I'm not that interested in it - its too restricted for me!
So what I'm trying to understand is why my, albeit, short experience is different.
So the questions remains guys.
Can you load a theme or change a setting to change the way the screen looks ?
(EagleSteve - I'm just reading that 49 page thread you refered to and I note the äuthor of the thread states - "I think Touchflo is just too "black" for me, not sure if it will run with a brighter skin or not, but I like the way PocketPlus makes a device look, much brighter" - So that suggests a possible fix to my concern of the screen being not as bright as I expected)
Is the lack of hardware buttons actually a problem or does the large touch screen make it a non issue in practice?
Do you have laggy behaviour ? Is there some App or setting which everyone loads to get rid of the "laggy" behaviour? For the me the real show-stopper is probably the laggy behaviour - I need to know how much of a problem it is in practice.
Thanks for the feedback
I don't know... my unit isn't laggy at all, tflo is flying, the only issue I have is about video playback. But this is going to be solved with the next CorePlayer release, I hope.
owen.cullum said:
[...]
Do you have laggy behaviour ? Is there some App or setting which everyone loads to get rid of the "laggy" behaviour? For the me the real show-stopper is probably the laggy behaviour - I need to know how much of a problem it is in practice.
Thanks for the feedback
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The laggy behaviour obviously depends on what ROM you have.
I for myself do not experience lags on my device.
EDIT: As for the themes. Giznetic has already made some. Check out this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=451731
I dont get it.
Is the lack of hardware buttons actually a problem or does the large touch screen make it a non issue in practice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U seems to like the iPhone so much but y u worry about this issue? It seems like u trying to point out that Touch HD lack of D-Pad and button so its useless.
What about iPhone? 1 lonely button is that enuff for u?
sigh..
Hi Owen,
Well I'm not a HD user, I actually have a raphael. but my experience with this device was similar to yours when I first got it. In my experience my device was very laggy to start with. I ended up downloading a ROM and the speed is beautiful, I'm sure the HD will have the same and when this device is around as long as the raphael you will have some amazing ROMs if you already don't. Although it does frustrate me that our performance issues have to be solve by personal developers (who by the way do a marvellous job). So if you are happy flashing a ROM you will certainly get to a point you are happy with in regards to performance. it may however take you some time to do so
In regards to the button aspect, which was going to be my primary focus, the raphael has a few more buttons and a scroll wheel device. Having the extra buttons is frustrating, I have only had minimal (if any) use for them and only feel like they take up room on the device. If you are happy to not have a keyboard I wouldn't be too concerned on the lack of buttons.
Cheers
TT
kids phone
there is nothing called iphone sorry buy its the kids phone, who said better os? if so why great apple went for exchnage ???gps but no application wow, 3g but u cant create 2 way video call so there is no compaison if u want to make u kids happy go for kids phone
owen.cullum said:
Please convince me otherwise !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No thanks
I bought the HD because I was sure it was the right device to answer my needs. One month after I'm still convinced it was a good choice.
But I'm even more convinced that there's just no interest in trying to convince other users that my phone is the one they need.
A consequence is the following: I'm not interested in being convinced that the HD was not good enough for me
The Touch HD has a very bright screen. Did you alter the settings, to turn off automatic backlight?
I don't find my HD laggy at all especially with the tweak that optimises the cache. Even out of the box I didn't find the HD laggy. Afterall it's only a phone and not your desktop PC...
Screen looks nice enough in my opinion. I can't convince you that it isn't over rated as after having one for a few weeks I feel it is nothing special.
For the people that say there is no point complaining, this is true if you don't own one I suppose. Although if a person did buy one because of the hype and it doesn't live up to it then I think they have every right to say why they feel they don't like it. I spent 500 quid on mine and I should be able to criticise things about it I don't like at that point.
If a person is happy with his device that's great but others that don't share that feeling are entitled to their views too.
Like I said, each has his own need and preference, so I can only summarise for you who iphone is not worthy of comparison to hd from my viewpoint only.
1. I like the hd screen and not iphone screen: because HD screen has the right level of sensitivity and supports stylus. Stylus is a critical requirements not only it is more user friendly to me, but also because it supports hand writing. Screen brightness of HD is completely adequate under bright sunlight.
2. I need availability of tomtom or similar software. Iphone does not have an acceptable navigation software.
3 I need desktop class word, spreadsheet, and presentation editing software, which iphone doesn't have.
4.I need better software keyboard than that iphone offer and winmo platform offers that.
5.I cannot live with iphone's battery design because I'd been stuck without battery. I do not want the bulk of a mobile charger.
6. the breath and depth of software in iphone is still not there yet.
7. I prefer HD's bigger screen.
8. I like having more buttons in HD rather than just one in iphone.
9. I like being able to customise. You don't like black? No problem. Use something like spb mobile shell, or change the skin and background of tf3d.
10.I like to have lots of choices when come to firmware or ROM. You don't have that with iphone. The ability to improve is very limited.
11.I like FM radio, I like cut and paste, I like all the little things which HD can do and iphone can't.
I like the build quality of iphone. I like it's browser. I like it's smoothness in displaying web pages more than Opera mobile. I like its multimedia capability.
I almost got an iphone.
For me, iphone is a very sexy women, and the temptation to marry her is great. But if I want someone who can manage the household, bring up the kids well, wise with finance, and kind to people, HD is the plain Jane whom can deliver.
Ok guys just trying to get opinions out there. Currently using the Touch HD. Came from a Nokia device so I love the speed of symbian compared to Windows. It seems like the time has come for me to figure out if I want to keep the Touch HD or not.
Pro:
I love the big screen.
It looks sleek.
Easy to flashfirmware and tweaking performance is fun.
Con:
Incoming calls is a little laggy. Sometimes calls come in as unknown.
Phone feels a slower than ones I've used before.
No TV-Out.
*Having a keyboard would be a plus. But without it is not a Con*
I'm actually debating getting rid of the Touch HD for either the Xperia X1i/X1a so I would gain a keyboard and overall use would stay the same.
Or I thought about getting the Nokia 5800 tube, so that I gain the TV-Out feature to display gps on my indash and have the feel of symbian again.
Or ultimate would be to get the new n97 which has a large screen and keyboard.
What do you guys think? I think the biggest thing bothering me is the phone feelings a bit laggy compared to my previous nokia phones.
try keyboard in landscape mode man it works very well.
incomoingcall work well to me too.
after using it i dont wanna come back with symbyan anymore
Sorry but you knew it had no keyboard when you got it so if it is a "con" and not a "pro", why did you get it in the first place?
well then I guess I should list it as a neutral thing. I would like a full keyboard, but I'm satisfied with the compact querty at the moment. So good call tboy.
I dunno, going to the X1 isn't going to do much for you other than the physical keyboard. It sounds like love Symbian so maybe just wait for the N97.
I have both Nokia n95 an htc HD, HD is much better! 1 thing above all: HD is fully customizable, and you can improve it with new official roms or with a lot of cooked roms.......
Hello
I have the HD and the Nokia Tube.
The Nokia Tube is crap.
Slow as hell, and the worst GUI i have ever seen.
Flash a few cooked roms first... see if that makes your HD the device you always wanted...
do you recomend any?
I also own a n95 and the hd, and the nokia is no match for the hd in any aspect. Once you get used to the hd big screen and lots of features, you wonder how you could waste your money in the nokia set.
The hd is fairly fast for me, the gps works much better than the n95's. It fully customizable, the battery lasts longer, the rds radio of the hd is much better that the visual radio of the n95 (in Spain the rds system is spread all around the country while the visual radio is scarcely used), there's a lot of sotware available for the hd... in summary, i would't change it.
But each user asks for different features so...that's just my opinion.
Cheeze[iT] said:
well then I guess I should list it as a neutral thing. I would like a full keyboard, but I'm satisfied with the compact querty at the moment. So good call tboy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try SPB Full Keyboard
Symbian UI sux the biggest time ever!!!!
There is no Symbian or Nokia I have ever tried that is nice or fast, the N96 is a piece of s..t! I stompted on the damn thing into pieces, seriously, kept freezing and the menu's are a nightmare, menu's within menus within more menus.... The "cons" you mentioned are nothing compared to any Symbian.
"TV Out" its a gimic function of Samsung and Nokia, the quality of TV Out function is way way below VHS quality making it a whole waste of time IMHO, anyway just my 2 cents in a useless topic.
Perhaps Symbian seems more suited to your needs
I went shopping for a new HTC device yesterday.
I looked at the Diamond, Touch Pro, Xperia X1, G1 and the Touch HD.
I found the Diamond's screen size to adequate, but the lack of storage card baffles me.
The Touch Pro was just to heavy but the keyboard was very useable + storage card.
The Xperia's keyboard felt better, but the weight killed it for me. The screen is also far too small to handle WVGA.
The G1's 16million colurs makes the same difference with the screen as an iPod. HTC really should move to 16M colours asap. The interface was great, but you can tell it is in its infancy. I will be watching Android keenly over the next year.
Then we have the HD :
The screen size makes a huge difference - 3.8" WVGA is the perfect size for this res (2.8" is borderline too small).
The device is the exact same size as the iPhone (I think the box matches Apple's packaging as well...) This fits nicely in the hand and feels very light.
The screen size also helps with finger inputs, even on the standard keyboard!
The device is fast. I found no lag running through the programs, even while leaving 10 open. The 512Mb RAM certainly helps there.
A hardware keyboard for me is a con. When I moved to one (XDA Mini S), I found it strange to get used, but percivered, when I moved back to an onscreen keyboard, I certainly did not miss the physical kb.
After playing with all 5 devices, I have payed up for the HD.
It'll be delivered on Tuesday.
MrAce87 said:
do you recomend any?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
davideuck, believe me!
Thanks for input guys,
I do like the ability to flash new roms as I am trying to keep up with Laurentius26 and the L26 roms. It seems the V7 seems to be pretty responsive. As far as the tube VS touch HD Speed comparison, thanks for the info.
On the TV-Out feature, I would only use it to display GPS on my indash so I can easily get around by getting a decent car mount I guess. I've been keeping up with that thead and haven't found one I liked yet.
Bringing up the point that symbian isn't as customizable friendly I guess it would advantage me to stay with the touch so that I can always flash different roms and see which I like better. And between the Xperia and the Touch HD, thats going to be a hard button keyboard VS big screen.
Now to go read up on some more interesting apps/games to install. Thanks again guys! Keep the input coming if you like! I appreciate it.
My first post here at xda, so forgive me while i get used to it ;-)
the touch hd is quite impressive as allrounder. i'm more than a little jealous of the screen compared to my own omnia.
but omnia is till my personal choise of today; huge internal memore (i currently use 16 gig + 16 gig sdhc) although it's 3.5mm jack is indirect, if does come as adapter in the sales box. it is a bit fatter than the hd though but not too much- 12.5mm. and it has the tv out u mentioned. anyway it is to my taste right now.
if u have the patience for future model i found some interresting ones here:
http://www.gsmarena.com/the_8_megapixel_samsung_i8910_records_hd_video_ready_to_roll-news-776.php
it seems the next generation of omnia. though rumor has it that it'll be running symbian instaid of wm... and by now i have gotten stuck on wm and its flexibillity. i'm not sure that i can go back. still if u look at its specks they doo make my mouth water- heh he.
http://www.gsmarena.com/toshiba_unleashes_the_tg01__the_ubersmartphone_to_rule_them_all-news-768.php
this one is a pure wm platform wich seems to leave even hd trailiang in the dust. but remember that with a screen as big as 4.1 inches u may need to resow your pockets in all shirts and pants. still size matters when using gui's and you hd is already a good example there.
none of them packs a built-in thumpboard though. for that u may need to to go n97, touch pro, xperia, HTC dream or G1. i've no experience with android yet. but as for wm's i hear experia is annoyingly slow, and if u already have trouble with the speed of the HD u may need to stay far away from this one. all of them packs better screenresolutions than omnia, but the benefits of higher resolution without bigger screen on these devices is argueable. on 3.2 inches i don't miss the extra pixels on windows mobile.
a good thing might be if others told about their experiences with various models. my dad for one would never trade in his HD for my omnia. but if i had to buy a new one today i'd still choose it over the others out there.
needs and tastes differ.
a little off toppic- sorry.
does anyone know if if it possible to mod s60-5th the same way as SPB and PointUI does it for wm? my only experience with it is n93 wich i kept as my primary for one and a half years. never thought of costumizing it though. and i've fallen in love with it on wm.
Cheeze,
I have the same problem.
X1 will have the same problem in terms of the lag.
keyboards are good, but you dont need them as much, you need to get use to the touch screen... give it more time...
If you want something just as good as the HD with no Lag, go iphone, but then you drop alot of good things with the HD.
i did at first contemplate selling off the HD and going in for the iphone, but i have used the iphone, and liked it for the whole 2 months i had it before i went to a smaller phone... and then to the HD...
the iphone was basic to what i needed it for, the hd works perfectly...
let me tell you, after 3 months, you will be fine with the hd, but the lag will increase... especially in calls... and if you are like me.. with an ever increaseing phone book addess list.. it doesnt help... due to work, my phone book is now at 500+, and that was after cutting it down due to the financial crises...
in all likelyhood i will go back to the iphone depending on what the next update is in July.. then in august will truely decide....
I to went from the HD to the iphone. I do miss the big screen and badass resolution but after a few weeks and jail breaking i dont even think about the hd or windows mobile for that matter.
Im currently looking to move from my Nokia E90 to The HD. I have never used a HD before so i cannot comment on it, but the Symbian email system is awful which is one of the reasons that im looking to move away from Symbian.
I have looked at the 5800 but it will be a "downgrade" from my E90. Also the N97 does look good but it only has 3 rows with the numbers intergrated into the top "qwerty" row.
That totally puts me off it
OK - so aside from bias/ability to afford/shipping/tax/price or other logistical factor - can we have a show of hands as to who has already bought a HD2 and has something to say - particularly what about the device makes you happy, what makes you sad?
Let's try keep it away from supplier/delivery issues or local network/band/signal issues - just pure usability/hardware/software.
Personally after trying one out in a store last week I finally received the experience I feel you want when moving to a PDA from a smart phone. What does our community think after using it for a while?
noofny said:
OK - so aside from bias/ability to afford/shipping/tax/price or other logistical factor - can we have a show of hands as to who has already bought a HD2 and has something to say - particularly what about the device makes you happy, what makes you sad?
Let's try keep it away from supplier/delivery issues or local network/band/signal issues - just pure usability/hardware/software.
Personally after trying one out in a store last week I finally received the experience I feel you want when moving to a PDA from a smart phone. What does our community think after using it for a while?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
too subjective a question....for every person on here that says get it, there will be one that says don't get it.
the final decision must be yours....nobody here can make your decision for you. Make a list of the important things for you in a phone, then find the phone that matches those needs the best.
for example, I think the iphone has a much nicer interface, more apps, better screen (touch interface, not size or clarity), but for me it just doesn't handle business functions very well and that made me choose the HD2 since this was my primary need.
if you do the same process you might find the ideal phone for you
I got mine on Sunday just gone, was an upgrade from a Diamond. I loved my diamond, but as soon as I had setup my HD2 with contacts and apps etc I was loving this even more. Each time I use it I find something new, like facebook linking, then seeing in a contact card all communications with that person.
I'm yet to use the footprints, but look forward to trying it out.
The main thing for me was the screen size, I always had problems with the tiny diamond screen, but this is so crisp, easier to use and much easier to keyboard with.
Also the damn speed of the device is amazing, so fast, the OS loads so quick. I soft resetted it and put it down to expect a few minutes wait like on the diamond, but was rebooted so quick!
The one thing I would love to see is a facebook tab, like the twitter tab, shame they didn't implement that!
The specs that come with this phone are truely awesome, and that was the overall selling point for me, as I knew how good HTC phones were I just had to have something with the specs that this phone comes with.
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
noofny said:
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I admit to loving the phone...with one exception...the sensitivity of the screen is a complete disaster for me. it's very difficult to type on, someones it responds to the slightest touch, other times it doesn't. accuracy is also an issue (that was to be expected on a screen with high resolution I suppose)
and yes, I've tried all the tweaks going before anyone suggests it (currently running v3.3 of the tweak with sensitivity on)
I think if I had come straight from my HD then I would have been impressed, but I come from an iphone where the screen was a delight to use.
however, the rest of the phone makes up for that small failing.
noofny said:
twisted-pixel - good point about the subjectiveness. I suppose what I'm fishing for here are peoples post-usage horror/love stories - moreso with regard to hardware and usability. It's a nice big screen but it's also a nice big slab of tech - how do you find the size, whats the battery life like, do you notice anything bad about the capacitive screen, how often (if ever) do you feel the need for a stylus and say 'doh', does the headphone port become dodgy after use - or the micro usb port? I suppose because of this community we all have flexibility and solutions around software, so I meant to make this more hardware related I guess.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, you will find more people venting than praising any device on this forum, as people only seek help when they have problems.
I must admit, I personally think it is the best device I have ever used.
For a quick overview from me (in comparison to the X1, but most comments are applicable):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5667230&postcount=6
I stumbled on this video on youtube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-3Bi-Eg2gQ
...and love his brutal (albeit bias and sometimes naive) honesty, it helps you make a decision because it's not a rant. So far you guys are proving some intelligent feedback also - so thank you and let's keep it coming!
I got the HD2 the day it was available in my country (one of the first in europe) and despite all the fixes and xda-dev recommendations i couldn't have it for more then 1 weekend. I sold it on monday morning.
I hated typing (i did try the keyboard cab which should lower the sensitivity), loading sms with some exchanged texts already (loading was awful for such powerful device), visibility outside was horrible, battery,..
Maybe my rant will be understanded better if i mention i'm a blackberry user that likes to try out new "hot phones" (no matter which brand or type of usage).
I've also tried the Nexus One and would say i liked it a tiny bit better then HD2, but still couldn't have it for more then a week.
So, why am i writing this.. After MWC last week, i've kind of wanted to give HD2 another shot. For the following reasons..
I've came across some nice taskbar buttons (which make it look so much better..), I saw there is a fix for sms loading time, i guess i could always install a different keyboard,.. and most imortantly i got a very nice (cheap) offer for a brand new HD2. Yesterday i even ordered a nice case (didn't like the one that comes in the box) and a screenprotector (which might reduce the fingerprints, which i hated so much and a visibility outside,.. hope i'm not too optimistic).
If i somehow manage to be happy with HD2, i might even go for the exnteded battery. And i'm kind of feeling the hype for WinMo7 rom for this device.. Don't know if it will be any better or worse, i just know there is some excitement about it
Hope my rant / "long mess" didn't bore you too much
+1 to buy with eyes closed.
OK, this will be quick because I'm supposed to be doing something else right now but anyway...
I've just sent my HD2 back because of a problem with the microphone so if anyone should be telling you to think of other alternatives - it should be me.
But I can't because I love the phone. It's fast, responsive, it's got most of the features that you could ever want (minus USB host), the screen is gorgeous and the interface is pretty damn usable.
It's not perfect however... Customising it is more trouble than it should be. There is a slight pink hue in the middle of the camera when the contrast and saturation are turned up high enough to make the colours look half lifelike and when the screen is completely white, at certain angles you can see the grid dots that make the screen's matrix.
So to resume, if you don't mind spending some time on it and you're not completely obsessive about things being absolutely perfect (I am and I can still get to sleep at night) then you should be very happy with an HD2.
NeoGreendawg said:
There is a slight pink hue in the middle of the camera when the contrast and saturation are turned up high enough to make the colours look half lifelike and when the screen is completely white, at certain angles you can see the grid dots that make the screen's matrix.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The pink hue is solved with an update from HTC (here)
The dots are also visible on an iPhone, its down to the technology, not the device alone.
rp-x1 said:
The pink hue is solved with an update from HTC (here)
The dots are also visible on an iPhone, its down to the technology, not the device alone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I'm sorry but the HTC hotfix did slightly improve the issue but it certainly didn't resolve it in my case. I love the phone believe me but I somehow doubt that anyone who isn't employed by HTC or affected by Daltonism could honestly claim that it has completely solved the issue.
Edit : Not trying to be rude or make out that it's a deal-breaker but I know that as a potential buyer I'd want to know about it.
I've had the HD2 for three weeks and use it every day. I also end up resetting it every day. I've come from a Nokia N96 and before that the N73, so I'm comparing it to the N96. I am very pleased with the speed of the phone and how operations take way less than a second to perform, instead of several seconds a la N96.
The phone itself is a bit too big. Perhaps a 4 inch screen would have been enough. Even though I have big hands, it's just too big to walk around and hold the phone with one hand. I'm scared of dropping it. The headphone port's on the bottom of the phone - it causes the cable to tangle up around the phone when in a pocket.
I have found plenty of bugs in the stock O2 1.43 firmware and know how to deal with the main ones.
I didn't realise the phone had an FM tuner until I found it after a few days on the Start menu - I used the N96 FM tuner almost every day. Unfortunately the tuner on the HD2 is really poor. It is unable to obtain a good quality signal. Sound dips out. There's an awful lot of interference in places where the N96 would have relayed a good quality signal. In places where the N96 got a poor signal, the HD2 has static. BBC Radio 1 has the most powerful signal in my area, yet the HD2 fails to get consistent reception. There's just too much interference and I often just shut the radio off. A huge let down; I wonder if it's hardware or software at fault.
The N96 music player was very well featured, but incredibly (pathetically) slow. In contrast, the HTC Music app has no such delays, is very fast but somewhat basic in comparison. A lot of cool N96 features are missing; there's no way to call up the keyboard to locate tracks, track details can't be edited, tracks can't be deleted, backing out of an album takes you to the top of the album list and not to where you were. There's no hardware buttons to change tracks when the phone's in a pocket (a swipe up/down on the lock screen to change tracks would be nice). Volume control has too few stages so is either too loud or too quiet; volume within the Music tab has more stages but doesn't always work (error in Services.exe). General audio quality is rather poor - even the iPod classic 5G sounds better! Occasional unexplained sound dips and audio which lacks in bass and treble. The oddest thing is the shuffle feature tends to replay swathes of tracks that have already been played.
Video playback is very impressive because of the screen size. Can't fathom why the Windows Mobile OS cannot play WMV. Get quite a few dropped frames and put that down to the poor quality 1.43 ROM and perhaps not-fully-developed decoders. Video viewing in general is very nice, although an afterthought within HTC Sense, as the video playback has essentially just been tacked on to HTC's photo viewing app.
I do like the phone, it is good enough to stop me wanting to go back to my last phone. I'd get one, but the HD2's not quite the tech lover's wet dream that some of the big review sites make it out to be. Having bought it from the O2 network, I'll seriously doubt I'll ever be able to officially upgrade the firmware (HTC isn't even listed on their software upgrade pages), so I'll have to learn alternative methods one of these days to see if I can iron out some of the bugs!
Wish they would just whack a snapdragon and capacitive screen in a HD and re-release it....think that would satisfy a lotta folks. Cheers all for your input, it's really helping me to set realistic expectations.
I was contemplating on whether I should buy a Nexus One instead of the HD2, but I decided to go for the HD2 instead because it was cheaper, had a nice screen resolution, specifications don't differ much between both devices, and i'm looking forward to the Windows 7 release on the HD2
i am currently contemplating to switch from HD to HD2....is it worth it?
Buy it!
I come from the HD. The HD2 is what the HD should have been from the first instance.
Fantastic:
- speed (and I am using a stock French Orange ROM based on 1.43!)
- screen
- usability
As far as precision is concerned: I need a phone to check and type (even long) emails, and read documents. XT9 works just great, but even in ABC mode in landscape the accuracy is pretty good (and I type fast!).
If you need to play around with programs using stylus-based input, yes, then it gets really annoying (try to edit your registry in Total Commander and you'll get crazy).
In summary: if you want to tweak it like crazy all the time or intensively use older programs with small menus, then consider buying an alternative with a resistive screen and a stylus. But if you actually want to USE your phone with the standard applications, just buy it and you'll get the best of the market today imo!
to buy or not
i have it for a month after the trinity.
sorry but it hasnot voice call
no handwriting recognition
battery ends quickley
no video call
no .chm file reader
all of these were on the trinity.
so i am sorry buing it
Mastoid said:
I was contemplating on whether I should buy a Nexus One instead of the HD2, but I decided to go for the HD2 instead because it was cheaper, had a nice screen resolution, specifications don't differ much between both devices, and i'm looking forward to the Windows 7 release on the HD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you do realize that there may eventually never be a WP7 release for the HD2?
rottttman said:
i have it for a month after the trinity.
sorry but it hasnot voice call
no handwriting recognition
battery ends quickley
no video call
no .chm file reader
all of these were on the trinity.
so i am sorry buing it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U'd better search for infos about the phone after buying it
First off I love my TP2. Best phone I have ever owned. But the HD2 looks really really great and I see the term "Best Windows Mobile Phone ever" touted a lot in several reviews. So perhaps you former TP2 owners now that you've had the phone a while can help me decide if it's worth it to upgrade over the TP2. I know people complain about the HD2's battery but I make it through a normal day with 40-50% left on my TP2, so I'm hoping battery isn't an issue. How is the bulk of the phones compare? I use a ultrathin SENA slipcase and keep my phone in my pocket, but the TP2 is so much thicker then the HD2. So you former TP2 owners do you regret going to the HD2 or is it a well worthwhile upgrade?
I own both these phones. I love both phones. Actually, I love TP2 better for work -- the battery life, the ease of data entry. As for HD2, I love the big screen especially. In fact, it is a VERY difficult choice for the two. That is also why I kept both.
The much better GPS is worth it alone. The autofocus on the camera is a lot quicker too. Most programs start up super fast due to the processor. Best move i ever made.
I've had both, and whilst I was happy with the TP2 when I had it, I could never go back. The HD2 is just SO much smoother and fun to use, so much so that I don't mind the lack of a hardware keyboard (my 5 previous phones all had proper keyboards).
The HD2 is a glorious machine, and I am chuffed I got £270 for my TP2, lol!
wait untill a new wp7 series phone is released and keep your tp2 for business ,never upgrade to hd2 now , it is over with it
Ok, let me tell you
In just a couple of hours after purchasing the HD2...i just couldn't stand the TP2. Its so much better than the TP2. If you don't text that much, the HD2 is your best choice. Its incredibly thin, the screen is WOW, its pocketable, its so much faster than the tp2 and you don't have to worry about ram memory. I used to use clean ram and schedule it every 3 hours or so. With the hd2 i always have enough ram.
Trust me, its a no brainer. Go and get it (unless the keyboard is really important to you).
lorin.bute said:
Ok, let me tell you
(unless the keyboard is really important to you).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've found with the big TP2 screen I hardly ever used the hardware keyboard any more. Only other thing I worry about is the accuracy of the capacitive screen when trying to use older programs designed for a stylus. But I don't use a lot of those and not very often (mostly to reg edit, etc).
I don't have a TP2, but I can comment on WHY I didn't get one when it would have been the logical upgrade path for me seen my long history of phones with hardware keyboard, yet got the HD2 as soon as I saw it in real life.
Firstly when I had the TP2 in my hands it really felt like a brick. Large, thick, heavy. Felt like there was a lot of "lost space" (between the keyboard keys, around the screen, that "zoom bar" I'd never find a use for)...
Secondly the speed, it didn't change me from my usual winmo experience that had always been a bit disappointing. As usual, it can do a lot of stuff, but not smoothly. It did show some improvement over my current device (Kaiser), but nothing exceptional.
The HD2 is a whole other story. As soon as you have it in the hand it feels good, perfectly designed, comfortable... the thin form factor and thin borders around the screen make it feel not like a brick of a device that has a screen to interact with, but more like an "intelligent screen" with just what's needed to hold it together, you forget the actual shell. Hard to describe by words. Then the speed, this is now a world of difference, everything is smooth and responsive, nothing in common with any other winmo device before. Then the capacitive screen, which is also a major difference and big step towards that "intelligent screen" feeling, moving things around barely touching the screen etc...
Fell in love right away and sold a bunch of unused things I had laying around in less than a week to buy it.
Yes the lack of hardware keyboard is noticeable, close keys, no tactile feedback so you don't notice when you "slip" to the neighbour key, eats half of the screen when the onscreen keyboard is out... but I must say it's not all that bad. I definitely wouldn't type a book on the HD2, but anyway I don't think I would have on a TP2 either
Just remember that it like any winmo device it needs tweaking to get the best out of it, a small but extremely noticeable one being opera, browsing the web with the default settings is laggy and ugly, while with the 50fps tweak it's perfectly smooth and changes the experience completely. And more of course.
Conclusion, just try one in a store near you, I doubt you'll resist very long
DeoreDX said:
First off I love my TP2. Best phone I have ever owned. But the HD2 looks really really great and I see the term "Best Windows Mobile Phone ever" touted a lot in several reviews. So perhaps you former TP2 owners now that you've had the phone a while can help me decide if it's worth it to upgrade over the TP2. I know people complain about the HD2's battery but I make it through a normal day with 40-50% left on my TP2, so I'm hoping battery isn't an issue. How is the bulk of the phones compare? I use a ultrathin SENA slipcase and keep my phone in my pocket, but the TP2 is so much thicker then the HD2. So you former TP2 owners do you regret going to the HD2 or is it a well worthwhile upgrade?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I loved my TP2 for the sharp display, and excellent in-call sound quality. The HD2 is WAY better with GPS locks, and overall snappiness and operability. One of my favourite features of the HD2 is the dual LED flash. The fact that I couldn't use the TP2 camera in low light was annoying - The HD2 makes photography/video and uploading to social networks a breeze.
The speakers on the HD2 are a bit ****e tbh, but that's a sacrifice I'm happy to live with. Don't care about losing the hw kb, it's actually fun to learn with the on-screen kb and after 2 weeks I think I'm quicker on it.
Also worth mentioning that the stock ROM is pretty damn good too.
My company would pay for a TP2, but instead I spent my own money on an HD2. I've had a TP and friends with TP2. It all comes down to how addicted you are to a hardware keyboard.
If you turn on T9 (essentially spellcheck) and get the hack to turn email sideways, typing on the HD2 is pretty easy and fast. As others would say, I only rap out txt and email on it. If I need to type anything lengthy, I use a laptop.
The HD2 is just fluid. It's press and go. Scrolling is slippery quick. Copilot GPS locks in a snap and scrolls smoother than my TomTom. When screens don't slide quite as smooth as usual, I'll open up TaskMgr to find a screen full of apps I've left open.
Form factor is like holding a picture frame to your head. It's a little awkward at first but the thinness I got used to immediately.
Dual flash camera is great. Presence sensor is SO welcomed. Call clarity is great. Bluetooth reconnects much faster for some reason. And standardized 3.5mm headphone jack and micro USB port.... 'bout time.
willgill said:
My company would pay for a TP2, but instead I spent my own money on an HD2. I've had a TP and friends with TP2. It all comes down to how addicted you are to a hardware keyboard.
If you turn on T9 (essentially spellcheck) and get the hack to turn email sideways, typing on the HD2 is pretty easy and fast. As others would say, I only rap out txt and email on it. If I need to type anything lengthy, I use a laptop.
The HD2 is just fluid. It's press and go. Scrolling is slippery quick. Copilot GPS locks in a snap and scrolls smoother than my TomTom. When screens don't slide quite as smooth as usual, I'll open up TaskMgr to find a screen full of apps I've left open.
Form factor is like holding a picture frame to your head. It's a little awkward at first but the thinness I got used to immediately.
Dual flash camera is great. Presence sensor is SO welcomed. Call clarity is great. Bluetooth reconnects much faster for some reason. And standardized 3.5mm headphone jack and micro USB port.... 'bout time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
let your company pay for tp2 and you get both
Any former TP2 owners want to comment on the relative battery life between the two? I don't think it is an issue with me since I am a fairly light user but with the upcoming US release I'm sure there will be plenty of people looking for this info as well and hopefully this thread will answer most of their questions about the TP2 v. HD2 (My searching on these forums lead to some comparisons but the information was pretty spread out in the forums and took a lot of digging to look up)
I love my TP2 and HD2
I have tweaked my TP2 (WM6.5) using all the tweaks of my HD2. Now I have a HD2 Mini with WVGA. I love the TP2 for the keyboard. Typing on a HD2 is less comfortable. Now I have all the 'goodies' of the TP2 combined with the superb user interface of the HD2.
The tweaked TP2 is as responsive as the HD2, despite its lower speed. The touch screen is very good and precise by use of a stylus or my finger...... Radio of the TP2 is a little more sensitive.