Database Users

With a HEAVY HEART I feel I have to give up on the HD2 (TMOUSA)

This is TMOUSA (sorry for not being more clear)
I want to say, I love the HTC HD2 (when it worked) When I bought, at 10am EST on release day, I was in awe! The beautiful screen, all the great apps preloaded on it. I was in heaven.
But................
Here I am 2 weeks later, I'm on my 2nd HD2 (the 1st one wouldn't hold a data connection, so the tech told me to return it) and this one seems more buggy than the 1st one I had.
I want to say I know absolutely ZERO about flashing and ROMs, but I really shouldn't have to for the machine to simply work out of the box.
I again say with a heavy heart I am on my way to the Tmobile store to return it. I love the phone, just wish it would have worked properly out of the box.
Going back to my HTC TP2....maybe one day I will try the HD2 again after all the bugs are worked out.

this is not the kind of post i wanted to read about this phone. has anyone else had this kind of trouble with this handset?

ITZAWORK said:
I want to say, I love the HTC HD2 (when it worked) When I bought, at 10am EST on release day, I was in awe! The beautiful screen, all the great apps preloaded on it. I was in heaven.
But................
Here I am 2 weeks later, I'm on my 2nd HD2 (the 1st one wouldn't hold a data connection, so the tech told me to return it) and this one seems more buggy than the 1st one I had.
I want to say I know absolutely ZERO about flashing and ROMs, but I really shouldn't have to for the machine to simply work out of the box.
I again say with a heavy heart I am on my way to the Tmobile store to return it. I love the phone, just wish it would have worked properly out of the box.
Going back to my HTC TP2....maybe one day I will try the HD2 again after all the bugs are worked out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you say buggy....how? im using the stock rom/radio i got when i bought mine, works perfectly, its only my own stupidity that breaks it

quasi_mojo said:
you say buggy....how? im using the stock rom/radio i got when i bought mine, works perfectly, its only my own stupidity that breaks it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because he has TmoUS...not TmoUK. The OP returned his phone because of crappy TmoUS network.

Sorry to hear that.
Windows Mobile has never been known as an OS that works perfectly out of the box. This is accentuated further by all the resource hogging crap t-mobile loads on the phone before it ends up in your hands. Flashing the ROM certainly helps things run smoother IMO.
I don't think flashing ROMS is too difficult....no harder than updating the official firmware on my iPhone....Its really just a matter of downloading a few files, syncing up your phone, and running a piece of software. Done.
Jailbreaking an iPhone.....now that is a tough job.

lude219 said:
because he has TmoUS...not TmoUK. The OP returned his phone because of crappy TmoUS network.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahh! ok,

I Have had mine a week and the device,especialy loading web pages is sooo slow. My orbit2 is much faster and user friendly. I am even considering switching back to it. So much for snapdragon.

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having...
...I on the other hand am loving my TmoUS HD2. I got mine 9:00am on release day as well and have had zero problems that were not easily fixed.
(The 2nd or 3rd day...I wcould not access the internet....although I did have data...wierd, but that was fixed simply by changing the APN)
My phone is crazy quick (stock ROM and radio / cookies home tab / and a few other simple mods) and I have yet to have a single crash (my rooted android phones...G1, MT3G, and my N1 crash all the flippin time...yet they bash winmo for this).
anyhow...again im sorry...just wish you would give it a bit more time (though I understand that you probably want to make it within the 14 day return period

Stock Rom user with no problems
I don't understand what the original post is complaining about?
I use the stock rom on the HD2 and I still haven't encountered a single problem...
If you don't understand how the phone functions then you will have problems because of your own mistakes... learn about the phone before you buy it...
Unlike the iPhone.. this is not a toy for kids to play with .. you have to know what the heck you are running on the phone and what applications are open .. anyways I don't want to make this a tutorial post...
All I can say is that know the phone before buying it...mine works perfectly fine with stock rom because I manage opened applications properly...

Sorry to hear. I've had mine since release day and loving every minute of it. I have had none of the major issues that people have complained about. Even so, I flashed my ROM to Kumar's Premium 1.5 and it runs even better on it.
The ONLY thing that I know was an issue for me was the HTC/Sense messaging app. If I happen to open that to read or write a message, my phone would start lagging and eventually, freeze up. But if I stayed out of it, the phone ran like a champ. So, I've simply disabled the HTC/Sense messaging and use the Windows text messaging app instead, and so far, so good.
I'm waiting for Kumar to come out with his Titanium ROM so I can try the device without HTC/Sense at all and maybe even try out the SPB Mobile Shell on it. This phone has a TON of potential, but alas, you do have to want to tinker with it to get it to sing the song you want it to sing.
This is one of the reasons I love the HD2 with WinMo. I'm not locked into how the manfacturer or carrier wants the phone to work or look like. There are great chefs here who have really good ideas on how to make a WinMo device run.
In any case, the phone is definitely not for everyone.

Yeah, I gotta say though even out of the box to a total winmo noob this stock rom is very solid. I haven't even bothered to flash yet, just did some registry tweaks that sped up sense a bit, really no problems crashing/freezing and that is with 9k contacts and many games added. A LOT probably comes down to tmo service if changing carriers to get the phone for some people. In my area, though, tmo is slightly better than att and cheaper.

Mine rocks!
I have had my HD2 for about a week now and everyday I LOVE IT MORE! Seriously I was coming from a Wing so I guess I had a little experience with winmo phones. I am using it straight out of the box with a few games added. A lot of music and a few movies. Only thing I have done to it was cookies home tab + editor and a reset app. Best phone I have ever seen thus far! Obviously there are things that you need to get used to...but for me its worth the effort!

np231 said:
I don't understand what the original post is complaining about?
I use the stock rom on the HD2 and I still haven't encountered a single problem...
If you don't understand how the phone functions then you will have problems because of your own mistakes... learn about the phone before you buy it...
Unlike the iPhone.. this is not a toy for kids to play with .. you have to know what the heck you are running on the phone and what applications are open .. anyways I don't want to make this a tutorial post...
All I can say is that know the phone before buying it...mine works perfectly fine with stock rom because I manage opened applications properly...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No offense bro, but dont talk to me like Im a child. This has nothing to do with me trying to "play games with a toy" (even though TMoUSA does market the thing as "entertainment on the go"). When the damn thing doesn't come out of sleep mode without pushing the button 30 times, there is a problem, when I have to slide to unlock back and forth, back and forth for long periods of time before it will unlock, there is a problem, when the HTC Sense refuses to load mins after restarting, there is a problem. I am very aware of of what is open and how to close them (on a mind numbing constant basis mind you). I don't see how you can arrogantly assume this is all in human error and not the machine's. Please explain to me how I am supposed to be "aware" of what I'm doing, when the damn thing barely turns on?
I came on here to express that I was upset that I was forced to return the phone, not to be talked to like I was an idiot...I apologize that we all cant be so high in your IQ group that we actually need something we pay a lot of money for to work properly (without having to worry about putting it in direct sunlight and feeding it after midnight)
I am ecstatic for you that you have not experienced any problems with your device, I wish I was that lucky. All I am saying, is that I wanted to love the phone...but... it simply wouldn't work (TWICE). I did not install any 3rd party apps, I did not alter anything in any way, I always killed the tasks almost immediately after finishing with them (the proper way with the task manager).
So is this my human error? Please tell me oh great one...since I obviously do not have your intellect.

I can't stand people like np231. I had to return mine also, the phone lags and going to MUSIC caused it to freeze, scrolling through the album arts is not as smooth as on the iPhone. This is supposedly the 'entaintainment' device that Tmo claims and it can't do the simple things right.

I returned mine also. I bought it on day 1 and used it for almost 2 weeks. The biggest factors for me were the lack of a physical keyboard, terrible battery life and the total abandonment of 6.5 by MS and developers. I also hated the capacitance screen. I went back to my TMO TP2. While at the store I used my upgrade and bought my daughter a Cliq XT.
The HD2 has a beautiful screen but the screen was not big enough for me to type with reasonable speed and accuracy compared to the TP2 keyboard. It was also very susceptible to pocket dialing. When HTC comes out with an android with a decent keyboard I will probably try that.

wiggindude said:
I can't stand people like np231. I had to return mine also, the phone lags and going to MUSIC caused it to freeze, scrolling through the album arts is not as smooth as on the iPhone. This is supposedly the 'entaintainment' device that Tmo claims and it can't do the simple things right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
guy did come out and sounded like an ......
sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your phone. i was considering one but i would like to us at&t. t-mobile is cheaper than the telstra and tempting to buy. i have a sony xperia x1a on a at&t prepaid and it works great and i think they have the best prepaid, data plan. i rarely ever get any calls and so this is my be solution for me.

Think twice about your decision.
I had a lot of the same problems you are experiencing. Thanks to the brains in these forums I have pimped the heck out of my HD2 and my release day excitement has returned. If you want to know how to flash the rom / hack the phone, drop me a line. I can give you the straight forward dumbed down version. I may even write a noob's FAQ that's a little less intimidating than the jumbly ones in here. It's really much easier than it seems. All the posts in these forums can tend to be a bit overwhelming. I am a former iPhone 3g user. I learned how to unlock and jailbreak my phone. That was a chore!! This is much easier. Its no different than owning a Windows PC. Out of the box there is a bunch of crap the company pre-installs on your computer. You just have to learn how to tweak a bit. Don't be intimidated by the brains in here. They are really quite helpful. Now, If we can just figure out how to get Adobe Flash 10 to work on our phones. That would be sweet.
-JZ

too bad you had such issues. the Hardware on this phone does make it the best on the market. while it's true that things should work perfectly out of the box, life isn't always as it should be.
it's understandable to be frustrated when you pay this amount of $$$ for a phone, but with some research & time you can completely customize this phone like none other.

phinphan said:
I returned mine also. I bought it on day 1 and used it for almost 2 weeks. The biggest factors for me were the lack of a physical keyboard, terrible battery life and the total abandonment of 6.5 by MS and developers. I also hated the capacitance screen. I went back to my TMO TP2. While at the store I used my upgrade and bought my daughter a Cliq XT.
The HD2 has a beautiful screen but the screen was not big enough for me to type with reasonable speed and accuracy compared to the TP2 keyboard. It was also very susceptible to pocket dialing. When HTC comes out with an android with a decent keyboard I will probably try that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's exactly the only problem that I had with my bro's Tmobile HD2. The touch screen keyboard is even worst than the iPhone because of my small fingers and hands. Even worst, the battery is so small, and the OS needs to be developed more than what it is now.
All of this agreed aside from the capacitive screen.
P.S. I think the keyboard sucks not because the screen is small but because you don't have a good physical keyboard like the Touch Pro2.

I tride my friends iphone. The keyboard works just as good as his. It is different for the layout, so maybe that is why you dont like it.
And for those that blame WM for everything. It ain't because of that. If it was, I would have all the issues he has and I don't. Most of the problems I have is either something I didn't know about the new software, or something I added.
Battery life is on par with phones like this. Another friend ownes a Android One. Battery last about a day or so. My old Touch Pro lasted just as long.

thinking on getting a tmo hd2 tomorrow?

Im really looking to get one these bad boys tomorrow,Im coming from a g1 and im a little nervous about leaving android to go with windows again. The last windows phone i had was the tmo wing,i loved it at the time but it was a little frustrating having to keep on flashing new roms to stay updated and happy,plus I havent flashed anything since then so Im pretty much a noob at flashing again. I've read a couple of posts that other people posted on leaving android and its pretty much 40% in favor and the rest regretting it. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

jkiller122 said:
Im really looking to get one these bad boys tomorrow,Im coming from a g1 and im a little nervous about leaving android to go with windows again. The last windows phone i had was the tmo wing,i loved it at the time but it was a little frustrating having to keep on flashing new roms to stay updated and happy,plus I havent flashed anything since then so Im pretty much a noob at flashing again. I've read a couple of posts that other people posted on leaving android and its pretty much 40% in favor and the rest regretting it. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it all comes down to whether or not you can deal with pretty sh*tty battery life and without tons and tons of apps... If you want apps, you DONT want WM...
but the phone is extremely cool and EXTREMELY customizable... if you want this phone and apps, then you can either wait for the android port which is gonna take awhile from my understanding or you can wait for the EVO 4g that comes out this summer for sprint.. which is basically this phone with a 8MP (and 720p video recording) camera and android os..
I just got my HD2 but I might trade it in when that sumb*tch is released

Only if you don't mind constantly removing battery
Phone has horrendous stability issues.

Most issues come with the stock rom. Flashing (this is my first WM phone and I would consider it easy) to a more stable ROM here that can be found in these forums, helps get rid of a lot of the instability. For most, you sort of have to go through a lot to get the phone to actually act like a phone.

Thanks for the help guys,i really dont want too deal with any more battery issues with a new phone, i had enough battery issues with the g1 so thanks for telling me that cause thats pretty much a deal breaker for me. AS for the evo 4g,i was eyeing that but its for sprint and unless i pay $800 for an unlocked one i dont i will get it as i have tmobile. Another alternative i was thinking on is the nexus one,i spoke to a tmobile rep today and he said he has the hd2 and its siiting on a windowceil somewhere in his house and he claims the nexus one is the best phone out now. what are you guys thoughts on that.

Don't let a few people stray you away from picking up a good phone.
1. You are supposed to condition the battery for peak performance. Drain it completely. Turn it off. Charge it up to 100%. Turn it on and use it until its drained completely again. Repeat process. Unless there is something wrong with your battery, this will give you good longevity.
2. A custom ROM solves 90% of the problems people have with this phone. I didn't have any problems with mine on the stock ROM, but it works much faster and better on the custom one.
3. I came from the G1 and MyTouch and have not looked back even once. Sure there are more PUBLICALLY available apps. The customization ability and apps out there for WM is HUGE. You just have to look for them and do a little digging. They aren't right there in front of you spoonfed like Android does.
4. If you can flash a Wing, you can easily flash the HD2. It's ridiculously easy in comparison to other phones I have flashed/rooted. This forum is one of the best to show you what to do and how to do it. It makes it almost impossible to mess anything up.
My phone can and does last several days on a charge now that I have it conditioned and on the custom ROM. Go to the store, use the phone, and play around with it.
You will not be disappointed if you take the time to learn the phone and don't expect it to just work and be perfect out of the box. WM is not that way. Just like you can't expect your computer to be just how you want it out of the box, the same applies here. It takes some customization, some work, and some trial and error to make it do what you want.

tj05fx4 thanks for the well thought out response, after reading yours and a couple of other posts i'm most likely gonnna get it as there looks like there wont be another good phone coming out for tmobile anytime soon I might as well get this one. Hopefully i wont miss android too much but then again there's talk about an android port in the future(I still dont know 100% how that will work) but i'll look forward to it

jkiller122 said:
tj05fx4 thanks for the well thought out response, after reading yours and a couple of other posts i'm most likely gonnna get it as there looks like there wont be another good phone coming out for tmobile anytime soon I might as well get this one. Hopefully i wont miss android too much but then again there's talk about an android port in the future(I still dont know 100% how that will work) but i'll look forward to it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ive been looking into this phone as well...just keep your old android phone (for me its a MT3G) and keep flashing roms to it thatway its alwasy updated

My HD2 battery was scary the first week also.
Now it totally beats the G1 battery to death
Now if I have it on constantly, and I mean constant, then it only lasts about 5 or 6 hours. But under normal use I can forget to charge it overnight and still mae it through the next day.
There was NO WAY my G1 could ever do that.
I bought 3 batteries for my G1 (one was a 2200mha) and needed them.
I ordered one for my HD2 and now think I should have saved my money.
Not sure what "stability issues" the guy is talking about. Only problem I ever had was the music player would stop playing for a second when my outlook was syncing.
Moving from stock rom fixed that.
The HD2 is the fastest, nicest and most customizable phone on the market. Don't let the negative people get you down.
They don't know how to use their phone because the came from another O/S (which I did too) or they have a broken phone. It works great.

Stability issues
A glance at the forums will answer the myriad problems with "stability;" I can say that using the phone for its intended and advertised purposes causes it to lock up, or sometimes just get very slow and jittery, period.
I DO know how to use my phone. I've been on windows mobile since winmo5 and on this forum since 2007.
This phone is not fit for its intended purpose and is half baked. It is the "emperors new phone" to mix a metaphor.
However I've not returned mine as I have hope that these issues can be resolved, but, I've had to waste a ton of time already with this thing.
Maybe mine is faulty, but a quick review of the forums will show that many must be also. In any event anyone buying this phone should be well warned that it will be a vortex of lost time and considerable frustration to get it to work anywhere near as advertised.
ministersin said:
Not sure what "stability issues" the guy is talking about. one on the market. Don't let the negative people get you down.
They don't know how to use their phone because the came from another O/S (which I did too) or they have a broken phone. It works great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I've had my HD2 since release day and have only experienced the lagging/freezing issue once, and that was early on when I inadvertently used the HTC/Sense Messaging application that comes with the HD2. That application is the bane of this phone. I don't text a lot, so I rarely used it, but if you send and receive a decent amount of text messages and you use this app, you are definitely going to experience lagging/freezing.
I found a post in the forums here to disable the HTC/Sense Messaging app and use the standard WinMo messaging app and have had ZERO issues with the phone ever since. I've also flashed to a number of Kumar's cooked ROMs with ZERO issues.
IMHO, the majority of the "stability" issues people talk about are related to that damned HTC/Sense Messaging app because without using it, my phone runs perfectly. Once in a while, I'll download an app that is poorly written and cause the device to act up, but a simple uninstall fixes it right away and I stay away from that app.
That said, only you can determine if you want to do the things you need to do to get the phone singing the way you want it to. Only you can determine if you absolutely have to have the thousands of useless apps that the Droid market has or if the apps on OMarket, MS Marketplace, Handango, etc. are enough.
This phone is an absolute keeper for me.

vplaza96 said:
I've had my HD2 since release day and have only experienced the lagging/freezing issue once, and that was early on when I inadvertently used the HTC/Sense Messaging application that comes with the HD2. That application is the bane of this phone.
IMHO, the majority of the "stability" issues people talk about are related to that damned HTC/Sense Messaging app because without using it, my phone runs perfectly.
This phone is an absolute keeper for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
'nuff said!

efjay said:
'nuff said!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing that bothers me is the 3G signal from TMOUSA. I will get out of that soon, but other than that this phone is not bad at all. Nice in-call volume, wifi-n (when enabled via reg tweak), 5 mp camera, and a big a$$ screen with WVGA resolution (plus a 16 gb card)...
The only time I experienced instability was when I flashed to NRG's rom. Stock works surprisingly well though (although, if I could remove most of the preloaded demos, it would be better)...
I am still in my remorse period but might just keep it after all

[Q] New Here, have a few questions.

Hey guys, havn't been on this website for quite a while since the first T-Mobile MDA came out.
I've been a apple fan boy getting every iPhone coming out since those days.. (Done paying full retail price for them)
To make a long story short, all my iDevices got stolen, i guess it was a blessing from above because most of these HTC devices are pretty damn epic.
I've had my HD2 for about a week now, i put that "energy rom" on it with all that HSPL things, etc. But ANYTIME i come back to this website (which is like once every 3,4 hours) i see a brand new build which makes me feel like I'm not enjoying the best of my phone.
Are most of these new builds like "omg another person putting out a build when we have enough" or they really worth loosing all the data to flash over for.
Also, i've been reading the android section for this device, and decided to give it a shot by installing that darkstone's 2.2 version, its pretty good but the constant freezing is a turn-off. I know android isn't 100% working but I'd atleast like to have something that doesnt freeze after i send every text message.
Any suggestions?
Lastly, there are a few terms that have me wondering "wtf" are these people talking about.
"Cooking"
"Kitchen"
What?

Cooking is the process of making the custom rom, and of course it's "cooked" in a kitchen (software you need for making them in).
You should try bangsters android build. It's really very good. If you decide to get it just remember it takes about 10 minutes to create the data store. Here's a link to his build.
If you ask me this guys ahead of game when it comes to android builds.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=768048

Cool, thanks for the advice, idk but something about this build makes me want to go with it. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=773790

Try it. Report back on how it holds up. All the sense ones I've tried have really had a problem with temporary SOD and fast battery drains. The version I linked for you doesn't really have that problem. Ill admit it freezes a few times but kicks in a couple seconds later on occasions.
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App

OMG, wow that rom is so amazing, its the best I've encountered..
It may not sound like much but its more stable than the windows OS that came with my phone!

ceo4eva said:
OMG, wow that rom is so amazing, its the best I've encountered..
It may not sound like much but its more stable than the windows OS that came with my phone!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which one did you go with after all?

Samsung Captivate user trying to help my friend's Nexus S

Hi guys,
So i'm running with the samsung captivate and as we know the development for that phone is completely outstanding and i'd say is probably the best for the Galaxy S lines in terms of quality of roms, and the variety you can choose from.
My buddy got a nexus S and he likes android but he's not happy with his nexus S as it stands now. His problems are mostly around slow browser, he says he has reception issues with vodaphone UK whereas before he had none, and the phone often hangs and can get slow, battery life is bad.
Now i wanted to ask you guys in the development forum if its worth it for me to root/unlock his nexus S (i've read up on unlocking the bootloader etc so I think I can pull it off) and load one of these custom roms. However, I dont think any of these roms are very well developed.
Do most of you experience good performance on the Nexus S with stock google updates? Do you think my friend has a dud phone, or should I go ahead and put Bionix on his phone? I dont want to be his tech support going forward, so I fear the rom is still very beta and I dont want to be stuck always helping him, but if one flash will set him for at least a few months i dont mind helping him.
Any thoughts? thanks.
edit: my face is red.. can a mod move this to general please ?

Um wow, well i got my nexus s couple of weeks ago, and i did run it with the stock for for almost a week, and i cant say the same things as your friend. The phone is really fast, battery is ok ( it dies as all the smartphones within a day if you play a lot with it ) and no hangings what so ever.
Maybe tell him to make a hard reset, or if he installed a lot of things, then try to install less things after the hard reset.
You can make it blazingly fast if you use a custom kernel, i was using modaco r10 as rom and 1.3ghz bionix kernel, and trust me it was fast fast fast. Only minor thing was the restarts here and there.
Other than that the phone is really fast and stable, with no problems whatsoever.

Wrong section, please avoid!

nickbarbs said:
My buddy got a nexus S and he likes android but he's not happy with his nexus S as it stands now. His problems are mostly around slow browser, he says he has reception issues with vodaphone UK whereas before he had none, and the phone often hangs and can get slow, battery life is bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
make sure your friend is using 3G and not stuck on EDGE
not sure which frecuency Vodaphone UK runs on, but last i recal they are on the same bands as Orange UK
Nexus S 3G runs on 900/1700/2100

[Q] Getting an HD2, is it worth it?

Hi!
I know this question was probably asked here lots of times,
and I apologize in advance, because I still haven't found the answer to my question
I have an option to buy a practically mint condition HD2 from a friend (he got a Desire HD, lucky him, I don't the money), he can sell it to me cheaper.
He says he installed Android on it, but as an app, (I still have no idea what ROMs, Flashing and all that means) not as a self loading OS, and the phone is still running WM.
So the question being, is it really worth my while getting the phone, fiddling around with it, installing Android and/or WP7 (I heard that's possible) and losing on battery time?
Is the battery time the only problem affecting daily usage?
How difficult/risky is it to install android/wp7 on the HD2?
Or should I just get a simple android phone (desire, legend, wildfire etc...)?

The HD2 is a beast of a device, and as long as you read, flashing isn't really all that hard at all. May I suggest my guide in my signature?
The HD2 can indeed run Android and WP7 directly from NAND, and most Android builds on the HD2 are actually faster than "real" decicated Android devices.

Thanks,
The guide is very interesting,
but turns out I'm a bigger noob then I thought,
Where can I find a guide on the basics (what is NAND, ROMs, Flashing etc...)?

I'm a little reluctant to reply but I'll give it a go.
It's not difficult to flash a ROM but before you do anything you MUST READ THOROUGHLY about whatever it is that you are doing.
Firstly, it is possible to put Android onto an SD card and run it without making any changes to your phone. You have to boot into Win Mo then switch Android. When you re-boot the phone it will boot back to Win Mo. This is what this whole section of this forum is about. http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=735
If you want to change your phone permanently then you have to flash a ROM and it is the slightly risky element. READ all the ROM flashing guides here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=713977
You can also Flash Android to your phone so that it replaces Win Mo. This is what this whole section of this forum is about. http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=928
To put Win Phone 7 or Win Mobile 6.5 on your phone you have to flash it like an Android NAND ROM.

If you can buy it cheap, then yes go for it.
It's highly addictive and most of all very impressive device.
I wouldn't say that the battery is still an issue now since it lasts at least a full day and USB to charge is everywhere nowadays.
Like Bouncypete wrote you will have to read alot on the go.
The safest bet is to use the standard WinMo and start Android from the SD-card.
If you like that you can always go to a Nand version which replaces the actually WinMo version inside the HD2.
You can always go back to WinMO incase you don't like Android (or WP7) or warranty purposes.
Most Nand and probably other SD versions have a good tutorial in the thread itself on how to get it on the device, or there are the stickies.
We are also not un-human so if you need something do a search, read, read again and then ask. No person will shoot you if you have searched and don't know what to do.
Now if you don't like the HD2 you can probably resell it for the same price you bought it for.

TDB!
The HD2 is still the best pda on the market. For anybody who wants anything just a bit more than a phone/media player, windows mobile still has the the largest and most flexible range of apps with the most options. I'm booting winmo 6.5 with Android 2.2 running from sd and there's nothing I see on the market at the moment which could begin to tempt me away from it. All the preceding of course subject to the all embracing "IMHO"!

patcooke said:
The HD2 is still the best pda on the market. For anybody who wants anything just a bit more than a phone/media player, windows mobile still has the the largest and most flexible range of apps with the most options. I'm booting winmo 6.5 with Android 2.2 running from sd and there's nothing I see on the market at the moment which could begin to tempt me away from it. All the preceding of course subject to the all embracing "IMHO"!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, the range of free and custom apps is what keeps me on WM. I have several preferred applications that I use. And I like the fact that there is (was) such a large developer community for the device. It encouraged innovation. I think there is less such activity when one is forced to deal with an "App" store that is monitored by the OS manufacturer.

OP,
Just make sure that you are indeed getting it for "cheap".
While the HD2 is a great device, it does not change the hard reality that it is an antique by today's tech standards.
You need to know how long your friend has owned the device, how much calls has been made on it.
I ask this because the longer he has owned the device, the greater your risk of having the physical buttons eventually fail on you. As much as I love my HD2, I am aware that the buttons will eventually fail. Please consider this.
Cheers.

just my 2c as the guyz above have given you tremendous input.
I have an option to buy a practically mint condition HD2 from a friend (he got a Desire HD, lucky him, I don't the money), he can sell it to me cheaper.
-> just check how "mint" the condition is. screen scratches, button usage (are they still springy or dull), etc.
He says he installed Android on it, but as an app, (I still have no idea what ROMs, Flashing and all that means) not as a self loading OS, and the phone is still running WM.
-> android is installed in the microsd of the phone. the hd2 is essentially still running windows 6.5 but you can launch android and use this as your os. the advantage being is if android crashes...and that's IF given the stability of the roms developed by the rom-Gods here....your phone is still fine as it was originally in windows. if you want to get android up and running again, you simply have to reformat your microsd and reinstall a new android build
So the question being, is it really worth my while getting the phone, fiddling around with it, installing Android and/or WP7 (I heard that's possible) and losing on battery time?
Is the battery time the only problem affecting daily usage?
-> battery life will probably be your first problem as you get into android. but as you go along, i would recommend that you "sample" the other roms and find out which one gives you the optimal results. the way you set up your phone is also vital. as i mentioned in another thread regarding battery usage, i'm quite pleased with my current set up. i normally unplug my unit from charging at around 10pm. in the morning when i get up, the battery shows 97% remaining. not bad considering that was an 8-hour standby and i'm also using live video wallpaper. again, it'll depend on the set up
How difficult/risky is it to install android/wp7 on the HD2?
-> installing android is EASY as everything is in the microsd. if you want to boot up via android then as the chaps recommended, you have to do further reading.
to answer your question, i would say yes it's worth getting the phone. the hd2 is an awesome device. it's a great way to get started if you want to have android or wm7 or other operating systems
some things to consider if you do decide to get the phone:
-upgrading the rom itself (the windows rom)
-upgrading the radio
although not essential to run android, upgrading these will definitely give you better stability when running the os. again, the guides are all there and the chaps are happy to help out.

With reading, the HD2 can be a very fun device. But if you have the mentality of unwilling to search, read, try out, then I'd say you should stay away from this phone. The HD2's isn't marketed to people who want something that just works, it's marketed to people who like to tweak, tinker, play around with or hack their phones.
So if you're unwilling to go read, understand, etc and just want something that works "perfect" out of the box, then I suggest you get a WP7 phone or iPhone.

Kailkti
You touched a nerve there, I'm currently using (or better say, being abused by) a Nokia 5800 with the latest firmware, and just 10 minutes ago, during a call it just froze up, wouldn't let me close the call, so I restarted it, and it took 3 minutes to connect to the network, what the hey?!
on one hand I love twinkering, but as long as stuff works, and gets better,
not twinkering for basic usability, which is kinda what's in store for me if take the HD2
regarding the condition of said phone, it was bought about a year ago, for my friend's father (being the largest screen available) and he never got around to use it much, just some skype calls from abroad, and a little of regular calls here and there
didn't leave the house much, so it's about as mint as they come.
price wise, how much does an HD2 cost nowadays?

Eugene_N said:
Kailkti
You touched a nerve there, I'm currently using (or better say, being abused by) a Nokia 5800 with the latest firmware, and just 10 minutes ago, during a call it just froze up, wouldn't let me close the call, so I restarted it, and it took 3 minutes to connect to the network, what the hey?!
on one hand I love twinkering, but as long as stuff works, and gets better,
not twinkering for basic usability, which is kinda what's in store for me if take the HD2
regarding the condition of said phone, it was bought about a year ago, for my friend's father (being the largest screen available) and he never got around to use it much, just some skype calls from abroad, and a little of regular calls here and there
didn't leave the house much, so it's about as mint as they come.
price wise, how much does an HD2 cost nowadays?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New ones are between 450 and 500 on ebay. Used ones generally go around $300 - 350.
But be careful of those cheaper "New" ones on ebay: many of them are in fact replacement phones sent by the carrier as warranty fixes - and my be refurbished, not actually new.

Eugene_N said:
...price wise, how much does an HD2 cost nowadays?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Asking price on CL here in the Bay Area is generally $200-$300.
I picked a pretty clean used one up Saturday for $150.
Got it running the unofficial CM7 nightlys now.
Bit of a learning curve but not bad.
I hadn't really touched anything but Nokia devices for several years.

Eugene_N said:
Kailkti
on one hand I love twinkering, but as long as stuff works, and gets better,
not twinkering for basic usability, which is kinda what's in store for me if take the HD2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HD2 running WinMo has been VERY stable and useful for me regardless of all the crap people say about WinMO. To me it sounds like the HD2 would be a good choice for you as you can tweak WinMo as much as you like and have Andriod on SD and play with that as well.

If you like to explore and tinker, then feel free to get this fun device. It can entertain you in many ways.

So, I got it for a trial run,
It's awesome!!!
So I'm using an SD Android, with some sense features, dunno what it's called. But it's a bit sluggish and the screen freezes up from time to time, used a more stockish SD Android before, worked better though
But the battery times are lousy, after 4-5 hours with WiFi on, without 3g (no dim inside) I have to recharge it,
Is it normal? Or is the battery dead?
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I've owned a number of devices over the last 8+years and the HD2 is the best so far.
I dropped my HD2 last year and had the option to sell the insurance replacement or keep it. I kept it.
I probably won't upgrade from my HD2 until there is a dual core phone on the market with both cores running at 1 Gig.
RAM ? I have plenty on the HD2, make it a LOT faster and I'll upgrade.
ROM ? Ditto.
Micro SD expansion ? Again, haven't used the whole 16Gb I have on this device.
What else is there ? Retina type display like on the iPhone (spit) ? Yes please.
HDMI Out ? I don't use HD content in that way preferring VLC or DLNA
Android ? Already doable but Android is still in beta, too, and it's still a bit rubbish
Is the HD2 worth it ? For me, the HD2 is the first fully converged device I've had and
it does everything I need it to do reliably, in a decently sized package without fuss.

@ eugene
If you're browsing the web, you can expect that amount of battery usage, especially if you're watch videos.
With normal use, and I mean say just about 2-4 hrs of on screen time, and the rest stanby, you can expect the battery to last two days.

buy it now!!!!!!!!!!!

I will add my two cents if i may...
terms ROM ( which can either be WM6.5, WM7 or Android)
HSPL ( a secondary boot-loader that should be flashed first to safeguards us noobs bricking our phones)
RADIO ( the software that talks to the hardware )
KERNEL ( don't know what this does as yet or how to upgrade it)
I bought mine only two weeks ago...
1. i read alot....from the HTC leo section
2. I flashed first MAGLDR v1.13 (HSPL) to safeguard against any major mishaps
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10197474&postcount=1
3. and then flashed a NAND android rom ... this we not so smooth as the phone kept on rebooting without notice
4. I upgraded the radio to as xx.50.xx.xx
5. I downgraded again to WM6.5
6. then back up to a nand CMYLXGO's BlueTopia HD(2)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916707
It is bascially that simple......run as smooth now as a baby's bottom