When I first reviewed the HTC HD, I thought that 3.8 inch is the biggest screen size that a mobile phone can go without feeling too bulky. That was until the HTC HD2 comes along with an insane 4.3 inch screen. When specs about this phone was leaked, I kept saying that it can’t be possible. Guess I have to eat my own words now. It is possible to make a phone with 4.3 inch screen without feeling too bulky. The HTC HD2 is 12.05 x 6.7 x 1.1 cm and weighs 157g. The folks at HTC are really pushing the limits here.

HTC HD2 and HTC HD placed side by side.

The screen on the HTC HD2 is a beauty. Although it doesn’t have 16M colors like some AMOLED phone, its able to make up that shortcoming with an impressive 4.3 inch, 800 x 480 capacitive WVGA touchscreen display. The huge screen is great for watching video or browsing the internet. And the virtual keyboard is very comfortable to use since there are lots of spacing. And the screen is multi-touch which means you can do that pinch to zoom gesture when you are viewing your photos. It has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus and a strong dual LED flashlight. The HTC HD2 is also perhaps the first HTC phone that comes with the MicroUSB port. All phones should be using MicroUSB these days. Comes with a 3.5mm jack too.

The HTC HD2 runs on 1GHz Snapdragon processor. And boy do I love this processor. Everything loads very fast. And judging from the specs, there shouldn’t be any problem for you to upgrade this device to Windows Mobile 7 when it is release. (Don’t ask me when. Some say late 2010, others say early 2011)

There is GPS and built in digital compass. But currently, not many Windows Mobile Apps supports digital compass since not many Windows Mobile Phone has digital compass. You will have to wait for a while before developers start making full use of the digital compass. But its worth the wait. There Windows Marketplace is still pretty new. The applications available is growing everyday and its still too early to judge.

The HTC HD2 can act as a WIFI router where you connect your laptop/PSP/iPod Touch to the phone via WIFI and the phone connects to the internet via 3G data. Something like JoikuSpot. And I love this feature a lot.

HTC put in a lot of small little features that most people will not notice. For example, let’s say you placed your phone on the table and the phone rings. When you lift up the phone, the ringing volume is slightly reduced since it knows that you are already alerted to the phone ringing. This is just one of the many small minor details that HTC put into their phones. Got to love them for doing it.

The only thing I dislike about the HTC HD2 is the Windows Mobile. I know this is subjective. But I wish that they have built this phone on an Android instead. HTC did their best to improve the Windows Mobile 6.5 experience with their TouchFLO 3D and HTC Sense. And I must say that they did a very good job with it. HTC seems to have perfected the TouchFLO 3D on Windows Mobile. On a side note, I love the animation on the main page for the weather. I know it’s just a gimmick, but the weather animation never fail to make people go “WOW” when they see it in action.

As a whole, the HTC HD2 is a great phone. It’s has the ultimate hardware specs a phone can have. I like the huge 4.3 multi-touch. I like it’s slimness. It’s big yet not bulky. This is most likely the best Windows Mobile phone in the market currently. The HTC HD2 will retail at S$1188 without contract. Standard retail package will come with a 8GB microSD card. Rather expensive to buy this without a contract. The folks at HTC told me that the local telco will offer some exciting pricing for the HTC HD2. So keep your eyes open.

Will do a more detailed review when I get my hands on the review unit.

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2. HTC Touch HD first look
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4. HTC Touch Diamond launch in Singapore
5. Review: HTC Magic