[Q] Should I buy an HD2 ? - HD2 General

I switched from a Touch Pro to a Blackberry four months ago. Although its a great phone, I am constantly looking for new handsets, often after the “thrill of the new toy” wears out...HTC`s phones are great, IMO and although the S2 seems to be the most praised phone recently, I would never buy a Samsung (or anything else, for that matter). Except for another Blackberry ) Strangely, the Sensation didn`t arouse my curiosity. Nor did the DHD. It felt too...cold. So, since I got no other 4.3 inch options (and since I`m low on cash) I thought about the HD2. It`s decently priced and I like the W7\Android boot option. My question is, will I be regreting this purchase ?
(made from“emotional” reasons-cause I like the phone a lot-and cause the TP was bought based on the same reasoning [but soon I had a love\hate relationship.Emphasis on hate, that`s why I switched to RIM] ) I keep reading about screen isssues and overheating\ hardware problems and I don`t want to make a bad decision. Should I get a native Android device or a NAND build will suffice ? I don`t want lag, that`s why I ran away from WM...Thank you

Here's the deal.
I would 100% recommend this phone. I have used RIM, iOS, Galaxy S, Sensation, Diamond... and for what you are talking about the HD2 would be perfect! But you have to learn how to mod the phone, stock you may not like it.
Know before you buy!
If it's amazon, make sure they will refund a defunct device. I would NOT buy ebay. If you use XDA market, make sure the seller is trustworthy. Ask for a youtube video if you have to. if you buy locally test the device before you buy!
1) do something processor intensive. Stream netflix or play some video. If it restarts or freezes, it is overheating, don't buy.
2) Take out the battery and ensure the white moisture indicator near the top area where the battery goes is white. If it's red, do not buy.
3) Turn on the screen, slide to unlock, turn off screen. Repeat 10 times or more. If you get where it will not slide to unlock at any point, do not buy, the digitizer or flex cord are failing.
Buy an HD2, but buy smart. It is an awesome device and even though I could afford a GS2 or Sensation and I actually put my HD2 up for sale sometimes, I keep coming back to it as my favorite device ever.

I can say that buying a secondhand HD2 isnt a bad move.
The HTC HD 2 din't disappoint me yet. I used the nand installation HTCHD2 Hyperdroid GBX v12, Gingerbread 2.3.3.
Everthing works and I havent encounter any app that didn't work yet.
Goodluck in finding your HD2, sometimes people already installled a working Android on it.

Related

Just got my HD2. Little late to the party, but... woooow...

Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka
zukа said:
Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congrats on your new phone/pda.
as for me ive had it with HTC anymore. yes the hardware is awesome but HD2 software freezes just annoys me. I hope you will not encounter such problems but i doubt it.
Regards.
i too purchased an hd2 last week...i got the touch pro2 when i came out and deliberately put off purchasing the hd2 untill i got bored with the tp2...also i wanted a winmo device as opposed to the wp7
as far as the freezing issues goes...once i updated the software at http://www.t-mobile.com/wmupgrade/ that reduced the freezes on the device nearly 95%...the only "mini freeze" i get is when listening to music when a text message comes through...prior to the update it froze approx 5 sec and about half a sec post update...
i went to tmo yesterday and all their hd2 accessories were 30% off and and they took off and additional 35% i got a data cable, screen protectors and the clear case w/ kickstand for 8 bucks n change...
da9th_one said:
i went to tmo yesterday and all their hd2 accessories were 30% off and and they took off and additional 35% i got a data cable, screen protectors and the clear case w/ kickstand for 8 bucks n change...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off I am glad you got yourself an HD2, I hope you find it as great a device as I do. The HD2 is one sweet HTC device that will be talked about in the history books and looked at as a one of a kind device forever more. I also feel like it might be something of a pioneering device as it has shown what can be acomplished if one puts their mind to something.
Secound you wreak sooooooooo lucky. I bought my body glove cover in like Oct. for $20.00 USDA, and the last screen protectors I bought like four mounths ago I payed $15.00 USDA. Your lucky #@$&?#@$&?. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ..........just playin man
zukа said:
Just posting this in case anybody is tossing up purchasing a 1 year + old phone - I certainly was, and don't regret the decision at all.
Just received my HD2 I bought last week. New definition of frustration - having your SD card arrive a few days after your handset so you can't install Android yet. Anyway, just on hardware alone... woooow...
Even in WinMo 6.5, the screen appears to be relatively clean and crisp. The handset itself feels incredibly good to hold, is amazingly thin (everybody I've shown it to remarks about that) and somehow manages to feel slight despite packing a screen large enough to have your breakfast on.
I've handled every phone HTC has put out for the past two years, and this by far feels the most solid and premium. One of my biggest bugbears about the Android stable is I haven't found build quality to match Apple's iphone efforts, but the HD2 does - I was especially impressed with the rear battery hinge mechanism and just the general feel in your hand. The thing is gorgeous.
Why did HTC abandon this minimalistic design direction? The Desire HD looks like it has several growths coming off of it, the Desire looks like some kind of quasi-purple alien sex toy, and the Legend - which I currently own - is far too blingy for my tastes. This is understated, space-defying and restrained. Even the HTC logo on the back is a reasonable, unflashy size, as if they recognise that not everybody likes feeling like a giant billboard.
As I say, I can't flash Android for a few more days yet, but based on hardware alone this thing is a real winner. Very impressed. To me, it feels better made than any handset on the market that I've played with: more solid than an iPhone 4, more expensive than a Galaxy S, more restrained than a Desire HD and thin enough to make Tom Brady's wife want to go and have a vomit.
If you're tossing up whether to buy an HD2, do it. I'll let you know how I get along with flashing Rafdroid HD (I'm a total noob, so it'll be interesting to see if I manage it).
Cheers,
Zuka
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The HD2 its a great phone. I hope you get to enjoy it as mush as I do. Its truly amazing
Just to report back after the laborious process of installing Android...
I had a few problems flashing HSPL and MAGLDR, but people in the community helped me quickly and without judgement, which I really appreciate. HD2 owners seem to be committed to the cause of helping other people out with hacking, and it's a nice change to not be called dumb for asking a question
Anyway, I installed Rafdroid HD 4.0.2 and it's amazing. I've used a stock Desire HD extensively and there's no doubt in my mind that this is a) quicker day to day, b) smoother in animations/reflows, c) better in benchmarks (for what they're worth) and d) kinder to battery life.
This phone is actually amazing. Somehow, a 4.3 inch screen manages to feel smaller in the hand than an iPhone 3G/S, and a hell of a lot better built as well. I've already talked about how great the hardware is, but I'm really, really impressed with how well Android runs from NAND. The people that say it's better than a stock android device aren't lying - it's the bomb.
The best thing is, if I get sick of it, I can flash WP7, which is also in my opinion a great OS. If in doubt, buy an HD2 - it's half as expensive as a Desire HD, runs five times as many OSes and is twice as good.
da9th_one said:
as far as the freezing issues goes...once i updated the software at <t-mobile> that reduced the freezes on the device nearly 95%...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have had my Leo for 6 months now, and for the past 2 I had been dealing with the constant freezing. It was to the point where it wouldn't even make calls, it would just freeze, then go into a loop of rebooting.
Earlier today I snagged the upgrade from t-mobile, and although my phone almost melted from overheating in the process, it instantly fixed all of my problems.
Granted, I had spent 2 hours trolling around these here forums looking for a solution, so after I finally got my phone working again, I was so excited to try out all these new exciting things I had been reading about, so I flashed Cruzer-5th WWE, and updated my radio to 2.14.50.04.
After several hours, I got everything working, and suddenly my phone is fast, stable, and I get an HSDPA signal! No more overheating, and try as I might, I can't crash it.
Long story short, the t-mobile upgraded ROM works like a charm, and I went from wanting to drill a hole through the middle of my Leo to loving it all over again.

Hd2 is it worth it?

Okay so right now I'm using the evo shift but I'm about to switch to cincinatibell and was thinking of getting a hd2 because I'm an obessive flasher but I was wondering is the phone fast? Like my evo I've herd rumors that the speed is rediculously good like just as good as my shift I don't actually know how true that is what kinda changes would I be looking at if I did this would it be worth it I mean honestly is it as beast as the rumors I've heard or is it a p.o.s and I should concider a different phone
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
Is it worth it ? depends on what it costs & what other device options are on offer.
HD2 is good for a cheap price, plenty of fun for a flashing junkie.
Downsides are: 1100Mah battery, no TV out, screen & motherboard issues are too common, sound quality is not the best, device can get hot very quickly.
I got my T-Mob version cheap but if paying close to full price it is out classed by other options.
1230 mAh battery, not 1100.
It's a good buy for a flashing junkie. And yeah, it's fast. It's the best Windows Mobile device and very good and fast Android/WP7 device. Of course there are faster and newer (and more expensive and not capable of multi OS), but there are also tons of slower devices.
Mister B pointed out downsides so... yeah, that's pretty it.
It would definitely satisy for disorder. On the note on whether it is fast. Yes it is fast, however your evo 3d should be a bit snappier.
To be honest, you won't find another phone with all these opportunities like the HD2, so if it's a ride you're looking for, this will give you one hell of a.
In terms of the best performance, you should look else where I suppose.
So its a great phone but like all phones has its issues (undrstandable) so aslong as I get it cheap then yes its worth it if not then find something else gotcha thanks every1 you helped me and I think I will be joining your community very soon jw is the android fully functional? And is it swype compatible?
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
Swype is fully functional and Android, well, that depends on the ROM you pick. But on the whole, Android works very well on the HD2 (as does WP7 too).
I am on my second HD2, the first one being stolen after 6 months. I didn't want any other phone as a replacement. It HAD to be another HD2. For me, it's the best phone I have ever had and the most versatile that has ever been built. For a flash-junkie, it has to be the best phone in the world! Android either via SD or NAND, WP7 NAND, Ubuntu and Meego (the latter still rather wobbly) and of course WinMo 6.5 factory installed. You can still get them new via Amazon and co, but expect to pay about €450 - not cheap for a phone that is over 18 months on the market. Just goes to show that it is still a desirable piece of kit
seeing as you said your a flash junky like most of us here than def go for it. i barely got mine thursday after school and im coming from a captivate and you would have to be doing some really intensive stuff to see any lag what so ever and since your coming from a evo shift there really isnt much of a difference between it and the hd2 plus you can dual boot!!!!
not worth every cent (hryvnia) i paid.
i keed, i keed =P​
Many good quality used ones from $200 - $250. Well worth it. This is the only handset I need till SGSII hits TMOUS.
And yes they can be fast with the Android ROMs
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
HD2 is a very nice phone. If you want to try different operating systems, it's the only choice. If you already know what you want, choose a new one with native operating system of your choice, if possible, dual core.
Used phone seems to be a very good choice nowadays, because people update their phones much too often.
It's awesome, I've switched to HD7, Vibrant and Nexus 1, and the HD2 buries them all in terms of flexibility, power and is a very well constructed device, glass and metal. I don't understand why folk say Evo has more power, isn't it the same hardware wise? The new 2ghz phones aren't valid yet as I read
most app's don't utilize the processor...besides, you know once you buy virtually any other phone, it will be stuck on gingerbread and have far less roms than XDA has for the HD2...
I love my HD2 and will for a long time coming..
Correction, they don't utilize the full power of the processor. Meaning whilst its not operating both cores, both are still being used, just one is a helper.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
evereste said:
It's awesome, I've switched to HD7, Vibrant and Nexus 1, and the HD2 buries them all in terms of flexibility, power and is a very well constructed device, glass and metal. I don't understand why folk say Evo has more power, isn't it the same hardware wise? The new 2ghz phones aren't valid yet as I read
most app's don't utilize the processor...besides, you know once you buy virtually any other phone, it will be stuck on gingerbread and have far less roms than XDA has for the HD2...
I love my HD2 and will for a long time coming..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very well said, I will hold onto mine until it completely dies. Then I eill still try to fix it if repair parts are still avaliable.
At the OP, the HD2 is the beast you have read about. The HD2 falls short of nothing except maybe undo able hardware mods like no font facing camera and no TV out. It can handle almost anything you throw at it software wize and hang right in there with the native devices of what ever OS you use with it. I would dare say ot was the introduction device and is the intruduction device for several people who knew nothing ofcthe mobile development community and giving some pretty awsome crash courses. I am ome myself, now I know a good bit about Windows Mobile, learning like a ton about Android right now, and will try Windows Phone 7 eventually. I use Android for my daily driver now. I do not think my life would be the same without my HD2 now.
Much as I like my hd2, there are a couple of drawbacks: 65k dual touch screen & shonky GPS. Battery could be bigger too, but that goes for most androids.
Sent from my Atari 600XL using cassette tape and a stamp.
I just started using the HD2 with Android and I'm blown away. My house mate wants to swap his iphone 4. I love the voice commands with google. Swype is amazing. I've used the Navigation feature which worked right away. It seems like there is nothing the phone can't do, coming from a Blackberry perspective.
I find that the phone is very fast.
i own an hd2. i tried the stock rom, customized stock rom, and 2 android builds. as for android, the cam and camcorder suck, theyre not asd sharp as on the stock rom. battery on droid sucks too. and call quality is very bad.
on a customized rom, the call quality sucks, cam is horrible, and batt drains a lot, but it does look good. and this is what i dont understand. why is fluff taken out of a custom rom then its cam and batt suck?
on the stock rom, batt is better than custom rom and android. call quality sucks but a patch can reduce the static greatly. everything else works sharply and perfect. but, it lacks apps.. and this is what kills the phone.
hope this helps.
According to me, the only things that go against the phone are the fact that it has no front cam, the screen is just a 65k and the speaker could have been a wee bit louder. Everything else software related has been or will soon be sorted out by the good folks at XDA. If you can accept the hardware limitations, take the plunge man. This phone is a flash junkies dream.
My hd2 is my first smartphone (comming from a old nokia) i still use my hd2 as a normal 'call & be called' phone
litle by little im feeling comfortable with the bazillion options
i got it cheap for 150 euro (+- 200$) in original/clean state .
This is my second hd2 and it is well worth it...it is a very fast phone when flashed to android
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA Premium App
after my digitizer suddenly died out of nowhere and found out that this is a known issue to all HD2s, no its not worth it

Buying Omnia 7?

Dear users,
Im doubting between an Omnia 7 and an HTC HD7.
Today I visited the Omnia 7 forum for the first time, but I can see that there are a lot of complaints. So now it made me doubt between the omnia 7 and the hd7.
What is your advice, should I buy the Omnia 7(it is much cheaper) or the hd7?
Thanks!
BTW: I'm currently using an AT&T Samsung Captivate, which is being repaired at the moment. I'm done with Android, that is why I want a Windows Phone.
Hi,
A few months ago I loved this phone and would have reccomended it. I've now had it a year, my sister has one too. However as you can see by a post I started the other day over time it's developing more and more problems.
These are not WP7 problems... i'd say they are related to the Samsung firmware aspect.
I love the WP7 platform, my next phone will definitely be WP7. However I will more than likely go for a Nokia. Is the Lumia not an option for you?
My personal opinion is that i could not reccomend this model to anyone. If I was offered a replacement for a HD7 now i'd take it.
Sorry to sound negative, there are many people here who are pefectly happy with theirs. I may just be unlucky with mine.
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
JigsterNL said:
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...sorry for my poor english
I recommend you a samsung omnia 7.
previosly I had a HD7 for few months- but the omnia 7 are much better, faster, with best super AMOLED, good battery time and my was 200,00 €. The screen from HD7 is more grey as black. I'm very happy with my omnia7 ... Is also very good with finctions and jailbreak ...
and if 3,7" the htc mozart are a good and cheap
I just don't want to flash or do anything with the phone, just install the updates through Zune. So no modding at all
For starters, this is my opinion.
The Omnia 7 has a far better screen (AMOLED) and the battery life is better. The looks and feels of the Omnia 7 is also better than the HD7.
But if you want to spend some more bucks I would also advice to buy the Lumnia 800.
Hey there,
I can recommend you the Omnia 7. I (we) got 3 of them.
One for myself, one for my father and recently bought one for my brother.
I did not expirience any troubles till now. Samsung Omnia 7 was the best of all Windows Phones, before Nokia Lumia, HTC Titan and the rest began to appear. There have been hundrets of reviews saying the same.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=Samsung_Omnia_7
The phone its worth its price, its even too cheap for it. 16 Gigs, a cripst Super Amoled screen, pretty good battery life, and a neat design.
When looking on the phone, it simply looks like something unique when you see the tiles flowing through your screen with the black background and the black design.
Amoled screens offer the best black color, its the darkest of them all. Also the contrast, viewing angles and the brightness is better compared to S-LCD's like of the HD7.
I didn't like the HD7, it kind of feels a bit too "massive" and "cheap" I would say. In my opinion it looks like a brick.
I felt for the Omnia 7 design which is like a chocolate bar. It also fits pretty well into your hands, its not too big, not too small. Because of the curved back it is easy to hold. Also it doesn't make you think its some cheap hardware you paid a bunch of money for.
The aluminium back feels some kind of soft, if the phone was used for a while and got warm. You can warm it with your hands pretty easily within a short time.
The camera is pretty good for a phone I would say, it takes awesome pictures at daylight. In night its still well, but you can notice some edges that are not as sharp as in daylight. Still a lot better than the HD7's capabilities of recording.
In video mode, you can take videos up to 720p. It looks vivid and fast on VGA recording, but you will notice some performance loss when recording 720p. (Its also normal, same stuff on any other wp7, except 2nd generation like lumia)
The video playback (1080p movies and the recorded ones) are damn smooth.
No pixel errors, natural colors and it doesnt get stuck at all. You wont notice anything slowing down, also not at web playback like youtube videos on 1080p or megavideo ones.
I have had before a Samsung Galaxy S I9000, before I switched to HTC Mozart and then to Omnia 7.
If I it was necessary, I would buy another one of this one.
When you buy the phone, you are supplied an older version of the OS running on it. It is laggy and simply said sucks. Later you receive the NoDo update providing a huge boost in performance. The last update you receive will be the Mango one as you know, it changes the whole phone and it cannot be compared anymore to the ones running older versions of WP. It will get very fast.
I compared mine with carried supplied OS (older than NoDo), with the NoDo one of my father, and my own one with 7720 (now 7740). You can notice big differences.
I spent a bunch of time writing this, so others can also read this.
I cant complain about this phone after 1 year of usage and recommend it to everyone. You wont find another phone this good for 200 bucks.
Hardware is fine, Quality is fine, Screen is fine. Doesnt feel cheap and comes with pretty good Headphones.
If you want an experiment, sure go for it. If not go for one of the new models, Nokia Lumia 800 would be my best advise. It has superior build quality and a good screen. Nokia is also known for good support and quick updates and fixes.
Thank you guys (and thanks for the long review) I'm going to overthink this now more serious.
I'll will also recommend to buy Nokia, if you can.
Samsung Omnia 7 is very good device.
I have mine for nearly a month and already two accident drops - one from nearly 1 m on it's screen, no scratch or anything problem after that
If I buy a new phone I would rather buy an HTC Titan than a lumia
Well it depends what you want.
If you want to save some money and still get the best of the first generation, pick the Omnia 7.
Else if you got a big bank next to you, take as stated before either the Lumia or the Titan.
Titan offers a bigger screen, while Nokia has a smaller and better one.
The Lumia looks better and has exclusive apps. Later also Nokia exclusive games will follow. You do even get a 50 bucks gift card to buy apps.
So yeah its up to you.
Are you guys all some kind of Nokia supporters
I'd say Windows Phone 7 in general and Samsung Omnia 7 specially is not where you can play a lot ... so if you want to get a phone that calls and runs only few apps and that's it, then go for it, otherwise if you want to experience with it, then this is not the right choice.
as I understood from what you earlier wrote, I guess you already made your choice and you'll go for Omnia 7.
enjoy it bro
JigsterNL said:
Well, I own an Android phone right now and I want to test windows 7 myself before buying a more expensive phone. I want to use a 'cheaper' wp7 phone for like a year and then buy a phone like the HTC Titan.
The Lumia looks good,but is now way too expensive plus I want a 4.0 inch or bigger screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol you sound just like me! I have an HTC Desire HD and it's currently off for repairs too. I've been curious about WinPho 7 for a while and the Microsoft demo site for it, despite being really limited, impressed me. I've got an Omnia 7 coming to me on Wednesday. I'll post my thoughts as an Android user when I get it up and running. This will also be my first Samsung phone so that's another first for me to experience but I am looking forward to it, especially that gorgeous screen!
I've had a few days to play with the phone now and overall it's pretty solid. The screen on the Samsung is gorgeous with black areas looking like there's no screen on at all instead of the muddy, dark grey on my Desire HD.
The UI is simple to use, transitions are quick and apps load quickly enough like the DHD. Unfortunately there are still limited amounts of apps with it looking like there are far more paid than free apps in comparison to Android. Sadly I'm also noticing a lack of apps that I would normally use with a few exceptions. A few apps I have like Shazam Encore is being charged at £3.99 on the WinPho 7 Marketplace but far less on the Android Market. I can't say what it normally costs currently as it's on sale for 10p. The main apps you might use like Twitter, Facebore ... sorry Facebook and YouTube are available and the UI is the same throughout each so you always know how to find items. A bonus that seems to be applicable to all apps is that they have a "Try" option. They might be limited in some way or have ads displayed. If you like it you can "Buy" it, and it'll unlock or remove ads. Similar to Android offering refunds but with this I don't think there are limits on trials unless they're displayed in the description.
You can sync photos to SkyDrive when they're taken or choose to upload them manually but there's no Dropbox app available currently. The easiest way I found to get images on the phone for use as wallpapers (lockscreen and photo hub background) was to create a folder on my PC, drop the images in and sync it.
Auto-rotate..... oh boy do I hate this. Auto-rotate is always on and there's no toggle option to turn it off. Why is it an issue? I use my phone in bed to check a few things like Twitter or if I get a text message and after unlocking it and loading the app it'll flip to landscape unless I sit up. Small annoyance but one Android lets you toggle. It's quick enough to rotate and it might not annoy others but that's my thought on it.
Background updates are something I was curious about since it wasn't allowed outside a few apps at launch but has supposedly been allowed more widely in Mango / 7.5 and that may be true but finding apps that take advantage of it isn't easy. Mango apps can use live tiles that update in the background but unless you know an app can do it you'd normally end up looking through each one to find it mentioned. There is an app that will help you do it called AppFlow but if you didn't know that you'd be stuck. I'd like to say that the apps I have with live tiles enabled work flawlessly but they don't. I have a Twitter app (not the official app, that sucks just like on Android) that supposedly updates every 30 minutes or so (no option to choose) and I have not yet seen a live tile update from it even with the option selected. I may be doing something wrong, I don't know, I'm still getting used to things. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing though and if so then background updating needs work or apps need more work to make it happen.
Final thoughts are really that it seems very much like Android when I got my G1 way back when it was new which was before even Cupcake / Android 1.5 was around. It has a lot of potential, there are some great touches (keeping the UI consistent throughout and with apps is good) and even with carriers customising all they can do is add apps and maybe a theme. You can uninstall the apps (I did, take THAT Orange!) and change theme with no issues. It's similar to Android back then but with more polish overall. With updates I can only see it getting better. Basically I can see it improving and being a competitor but how long that takes I can't guess. I wouldn't give up Android for it but I'm definitely keeping an eye on it to see where it goes.
Any questions? Let me know and I'll try to answer them but otherwise those are my thoughts on Windows Phone 7.5 after using Android exclusively from release.
I am using the Omnia 7 now for one year. I am using it mainly for work (exchange, phone, look at email attachments like powerpoint, etc.) I am synching 3 mail accounts and play from time to time.
Within that year I had not only one "strange situation" with the phone like reboots or not available via phone or Bluetooth disconnects. It is very reliable.
I owned also the Mozart which was far away from the Omnia 7 (battery, display, reliability, etc.). The HD7 has a poor Display. If you are using black background and scroll through your apps you can hardly see the white writing.
I would buy it again - especially for the current price.
Omnia has a much more impressive screen. The HD7 however can use custom roms and allows for greater degree of customisation
mebula999 said:
Omnia has a much more impressive screen. The HD7 however can use custom roms and allows for greater degree of customisation
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Omnia's screen is the most impresive I've ever seen and among the things I noticed first about the phone. I hear a lot of bad things about Samsung build quality but honestly I feel that the phone is very solidly built and this is the first Samsung phone that I've owned.
I considered the HD7 and the size appealed to me at 4.3" because that's the same as my Desire HD but the 4" Omnia isn't that bad to use. I've got 3.7", 4" and 4.3" display phones and I thought that the Omnia was going to be similar to the Milestone / Droid but that extra little size just pushes it into the right size for my hands. That's a bonus to me because I can now consider 4" and up phones in the future but it'll also make me seriously consider Samsung AND Windows Phone 7 handsets and that's not something I thought I'd say with Android 4.0 / ICS impressing me a lot.
The single biggest factor against WinPho for me is still the lack of apps for things I'd consider popular. I couldn't think of real examples before but after getting my Desire HD back I can list a few.
Dropbox
Google products (GMail integrated but no app) such as Google+, GTalk, Maps
Amazon apps (MP3, shopping)
There are more but they're more personal use items that won't apply to most people. These, however, I've missed quite a lot. It won't matter to others and there are bound to be apps I don't miss that others do. It's just a matter of time really and that makes it difficult to pick one OS over the other.

[Q] would you buy it again

HI!
Trying to decide which phone to get, narrowed between the optimus 7 and the motorola defy. The motorola has earpiece problems, and the one I was leaning to the optimus 7 has shut off problems. I'm a phone in the pocket kind of guy and don't want problems, how many of you are having no problems vs those that have them? Would you buy this phone again? Any other issues I should be aware of? I mainly want it for a phone 1st, though I would be interested in mp3 comments. All comments appreciated, thanks for your time. Dave
I personally would go for some other WP7 device. The only problem I have with the Optimus 7 is that it randomly shuts down.
Sanzo0 said:
I personally would go for some other WP7 device. The only problem I have with the Optimus 7 is that it randomly shuts down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for the record, I have never seen my optimus 7 randomly shutdown. So it may be an isolated issue.
Edit: I wanted to add that I would choose a WP7 device over just about any Android device 100% of the time.
i love my optimus 7. great phone. and never shuts down randomly. only when batery is 0%.
Absolutly,
I have a nook color that I put CM7 on, and while I enjoy it and use it every and have had it for a lot longer than my phone, I find myself trying to do things that I can do on my phone that just don't .... I don't know how to say it other than just doesn't work right.
Even in the browser, I still like the stock IE over the Dolphin HD on my nook.
The only thing I might change in my next phone is to get the Titan, I would like a bigger screen (personal preferance), but the LG has been great so far. Really like the fact that it has gorillia glass and I don't need a screen protector and that it holds together and looks brand new even though I drop it all the darn time.
Sanzo0 said:
I personally would go for some other WP7 device. The only problem I have with the Optimus 7 is that it randomly shuts down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never happened to me. My phone rebooted itself some time, but thats gone with mango
optimus 7 is average phone. its heavy, non standard-size (you won't find any cover that fits), those analogic buttons I don't like, and no standard internal-SD.
on the good side it has gorilla glass, 16GB.
I think, its faster than an HTC trophy and the metro interface runs much smoother.
I won't buy a WP7 any more, I only bought it because it was very cheap, 200€ instead of 450€
Yip, never had any problems with mine. I bought 2 for my parents for christmas presents!
XxAndrexX said:
optimus 7 is average phone. its heavy, non standard-size (you won't find any cover that fits), those analogic buttons I don't like, and no standard internal-SD.
on the good side it has gorilla glass, 16GB.
I think, its faster than an HTC trophy and the metro interface runs much smoother.
I won't buy a WP7 any more, I only bought it because it was very cheap, 200€ instead of 450€
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree that the phone is average, by smartphone spec standards, but like you said its faster than many comparable devices, and WP7 makes it just about faster than any Android device. Heavy - yes. As to the SD storage, swamping cards is not truly supported by WP7. I understand the analog buttons are a personal preference, but I like not having to worry about accidental key touches and swipes taking me out of an application with sensitive capacitive buttons.
I forgot to say that the Optimus 7 speaker has one of the worst speakers I ever faced in a mobile phone...
For the price I paid (£120) I guess I would.
Only real negatives are the visual quality of the screen, camera isn't up to much and speaker is kinda crap.
Windows Phone yes, LG no.
In Italy is sold for 149€... I paid 250 but i have no regrets. The only cons for me is the battery, a little bit under the others wp7.
In a year i have saw only three or four random resets. Not a huge problem if you know the boot time: 20 secs.
16GB memory, very nice physical buttons, with the possiblity that there is a Wolfson inside it (Wolfson has a deal with LG to supply audio codec processors for the Optimus phones, not sure if the Optimus 7 has it). Plenty to like about it.
Thanks to everyone who replied, the feedback is much appreciated. I am now leaning towards the defy, mainly 'cause I think it's size and weight will make it a better pocket phone. Thanks again, Dave
If this discussion is still open, I would like to add my voice.
Personally I would never buy this phone again.
WP7 is good looking OS, but has many disadvantages now. It is very new and does not have many functions as typical smartphone have, like full bluetooth support.
LG phone has nice design, but have also some issues, like battery life time.
Only Windows Mobile, MAMEMO and maybe Symbian have full Bluetooth stacks unfortunately. It seems full Bluetooth never really made it into the modern smartphone OS's. That being said I am sure that the flexibility of Android allows for additions to the stack, but they still don't support all the protocols that smartphones of the past had.
Sent from my LG-E900h using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
I quite like the LG as it holds its own against many of the v1 WP7 phones, and has better storage and battery life than many. I prefer the real buttons too, and no probably with the screen apart from it being too bright to read in bed. You can get Gel covers for it which make it a nice sturdy phone for taking out and about thats capable of taking a knock or two. And the low 2nd hand price because it isn't shiny-shiny enough for the fashionistas or phone thieves means its great value for money. The Jil Sanders version with a slightly tweaked case (more plastic but less weight, USB flap easier to open, less garish camera surround) is currently being sold off half price at Expansys so continues that value theme.
Just wanted to add in, i'm a long time windows 6/6.1 user, and i'd buy another of these in a heartbeat.
infact I was tempted to buy that Jill Sanders version for my g/f, was on offer for £149 delivered but i forget what site.
I don't get the negative issues, Initially I wasn't too impressed but after 2 weeks i'd never go back to winmo 6.1, I personally dislike andriod, to slow and clumsy feeling for me. iOS just doesn't make sense to me either.
For those who say the camera is bad, its a phone, the outdoor shots i've taken are pretty amazing, the inside not so great, which is true of all digital cameras i've ever used, and the fact its got a flash that can be used like a torch as its not a xeon is a big plus for me.
Compared to a friends HTC Mozart (which cost twice the price) to me the Pro's of the the LG phone, longer battery life, nicer physical size, physical buttons (I know its user preference, but after 3 months his buttons have stopped responding, personally i've always had trouble at some point with touch buttons, but thats me being picky!) 16gb, seriously, do you need more than 16gb on a phone? this was the real seller for me, I have 10gb free space with quite a few apps including the 2gb+ navigon satnav.
Sure you can't upgrade the storage, but compared to most which have 8gb i'd say its pretty fair.
I'm also loving the wifi internet sharing, coming from previous winmo devices i've always found the connection just drops out randomly, but with this stays rock solid for hours. (not internet in work other than phone!)
My biggest issue with the phone is the battery, it seems no matter what features you turn off it seems to last the same with the features turned on, i'm not sure if this is a wp7 issue or a handset issue
WP7 for Sure
I would stick with WP7 for sure... I would even buy the LG E900h again compared to the options here in Canada. Samsung Focus, LG Optimus 7, HTC Surround

[Q] HD2 - Still Worth Buying This Awesome Monster?

Hey guys. I'm looking to buy a phone, and the new ones have failed to impress me much, especially due to their price.
Now, I'm looking at the oldies here, and I know this Monster has practically all OSes. And I'm getting a brand new one for cheap.
Please let me know whether this is still worth buying, or should I look at another phone?
Budget: 20K INR tops (~$363)
Lt. Win said:
Hey guys. I'm looking to buy a phone, and the new ones have failed to impress me much, especially due to their price.
Now, I'm looking at the oldies here, and I know this Monster has practically all OSes. And I'm getting a brand new one for cheap.
Please let me know whether this is still worth buying, or should I look at another phone?
Budget: 20K INR tops (~$363)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see why not? Specially if you're into customization and I don't mean just the themes for Android, I mean changing your roms weekly...I cant seems to stop flashing new roms over and over lol. With that said tho, it's never going to perform as good as a stock device, and being that the HD2's stock is a dead system you might wanna think about it.
Other then that, it has a huge screen, it does everything that most of new devices do, cept the really graphics intensive games, and some minor rom bugs, but what you get is pretty much best of both worlds of Windows Phone and Android, you dual, triple, quadruple boot it. Heck I'm still using it as a daily driver...threw my HTC Radar away and went back to HD2.
HD2 is a great device, but it lacks 4G, which is noticeable to me.
I've noticed the newer phones seem to have a better GPS, I have an HTC MT4G, and the GPS locks a LOT quicker than the HD2s.
Still, I don't really like the MT4G very much, so I starting to think what I would like to get next?
uzziah0 said:
HD2 is a great device, but it lacks 4G, which is noticeable to me.
I've noticed the newer phones seem to have a better GPS, I have an HTC MT4G, and the GPS locks a LOT quicker than the HD2s.
Still, I don't really like the MT4G very much, so I starting to think what I would like to get next?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4G connectivity is not a huge consideration outside of the US yet, and definitely not in India (where the OP evidently lives).
@OP, I personally don't see the HD2 as being worth it any more. The hardware is too outdated, and whilst it's cheap you should instead get a Nexus 4 which has far better hardware at a very low price. My particular issues with getting a HD2 now would be the awful GPU (can't even run temple run smoothly) and the screen which is now at quite a low PPI and doesn't have proper multitouch. At the end of the day it all depends on the price you can get it for.
you can get them around nashville tn for $65 and at that price i would HIGHLY recommend it.
i just put the nexusHD jellybean ROM on mine (coming from windows 6.5) and it came back to life! it had been living in the bottom of a desk drawer and now its sleek and running an android OS maybe 2% of the world is using.
in fact i might get 2 or 3 more to have as backups...this thing is great just running without a SIM card on WIFI at home for streaming pandora or using as a portable web browser.
Get the nexus 4 from the play store in usa... see the nexus 4 Indian thread in the nexus forum about how to get it to India. ....
scribbled from "the phab" (N7100)
I still recommend
If you want to buy the HD2. My on attention guaranty. Mine was more than 3 times But I think I have god motherboard now and works almost 6 month, Remember this is pretty old device and have only 2 finger to screen control - more don't work and let me think what next. Battery sometimes sucks. If I listing music all the time. Phone keep battery enough 10/11h without using display(control music by volumes buttons) The funniest thing is is still faster than cheap tablets from hypermarkets and have incredible support from xda
Now I only waiting when my HD2 will be broken or see highest battery which can withstand about 1 week :laugh:
yep! i'm thinking of having a couple of these around the house to play w/ new ROM builds and to use as bluetooth devices for my wireless music jamboxes and as a quick web browser and search tool.
no sim card needed! just use wifi
Unfortunately I don't have that much money.
I found an Xperia S for the exact price of my budget, so I'm going with that.
The Awesome Rooted, Customized And Supercharged HTC Wildfire™ S powered by CyanogenMod 10.0

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