Being the world largest Smartphone manufacturer HTC and facing rough competition coming either from Apple, Sony Ericsson, LG or Samsung, HTC had no other choice to once again to bring mobility one step ahead by introducing another impressive Windows Phone with the Touch HD2

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Hardware
When it comes to built quality, the iPhone with its almost perfectly made case is hard to beat, and despite HTC’s effort with the Touch HD, the “Jesus Phone” was still so far my favorite… Yes so far since Apparently the folks over at HTC Taiwan decided to deliver one of the most impressive pieces of hardware ever!
Like the iPhone, the HTC Touch HD is a perfect mix of plastic, glass and aluminum.
HTC did not decided to just match the iPhone path and spec, but rather decided to set its owner standards by offering our Touch HD2 the most powerful CPU available on the market with a 1GHz Snapdragon chip as well as integrating 512MB of ROM memory and 448MB of RAM memory.
Want more? So what about a gorgeous and impressive 4.3” multitouch screen cover by a strong piece of glass? That will make your day? Coz I don’t know about you but it really did mine!
Finally, specs also includes WiFi b/g, HSDPA and HSUPA, a 5Mpix Camera with AF and Dual Led Flashlight, Bluetooth, GPS, G-Sensor and so on…

No really hardware wise there are very few things to complain about, and only nitpicking guys like I am would complain about the lack of internal memory forcing you to purchase a microSDHC cards to store your apps, which ultimately will run slower on the memory card than on your device internal memory and also perhaps the overall quality of the camera module.

Everyday Usage
I have been playing with the Touch HD 2 since 5 days now, and I am still playing with it has we speak and moving from the iPhone to the Touch HD2 has been nothing but a pleasure.

Thanks to a powerful CPU and a slightly improved Windows Mobile OS (6.5), the Touch HD2 is really fast and responsive, something that has never been seen before on a Window Phone… Also, and to make things even better, HTC decided to offer the Touch HD2 its SENSE UI, which not only completely take over Microsoft basic UI but also drastically improve the way you will interact with your phone.
SENSE goes beyond the UI thingy and provide many little tweak and nifty apps like a Twitter client, a gorgeous weather app, an improve calendar (Seriously Microsoft, no improvement in that regards since your first Pocket PC?!?!?), better PIM management, Better SMS and Email integration… Basically HTC went all over Microsoft Phone 6.5 OS and decided to “almost” brew its own OS, and despite the fact that HTC is primarily a hardware manufacturer, the result is really impressive giving the Touch HD2 a unique experience that no other Windows Phone 6.5 devices will have the pleasure to get.

And what a better way to enjoy HTC’s SENSE UI than having a 4.3” Multitouch screen tweaked to works with, unfortunately, a limited number of application like our phone default browser, maps and photo application where the pinch and zoom works exactly like on the iPhone.Don’t blame HTC here, but blame Microsoft for not fully supporting the multitouch technology as well as other 3rd party software manufacturer which are yet to release multitouch capable Apps

Finally and if I would like to you to discover by yourself many of this tweaks and improvement next time you have the opportunity to play with a Touch HD2, I cannot resist in sharing with you two of the Touch HD2 little secrets… Unlike many other Windows Phone devices, the HTC Touch HD2 features 2 nifty features when it comes to handle your Phone Ring and Notification with the “Quiet Ring on Pickup” and “Pocket” modes, which basically will adapt your Ring volume to the way you are carrying or handling your phone.

The “Quiet Ring On Pickup” will for example, automatically decrease your phone ringtone when you are physically pickup your phone for a table for example, while the “Pocket” mode will in the other hand increase your phone ring to make sure you can hear your device ringing even if your Touch HD2 is at the bottom of your pocket (The phone will detect automatically its surrounding and increase its Ring volume automatically) .

Below SENSE…
Once HTC SENSE UI removed or switched off, our Touch HD2 is just another fast 6.5 Windows Phone. Believe me I have been quite disappointed before with 6 and 6.1, but for what it worth and despite its limitation, I kinda like 6.5 improvement and basic design. Sure you can see in both Microsoft My Phone and Marketplace a desperate move from Microsoft to copy both Apple Me.com and App Store service, but both MS version works pretty well, but hey, Rome has not be been built in day, and we will have to wait a couple of month more to get iPhone like quality Apps coming in Microsoft Marketplace… Yeah SPB, SBSH and RESCO, I am talking to you right now… so don’t let us down !

Conclusion
Since I plugged my AT&T 3G Card in my Touch HD2, I have yet found time to use my iPhone… Elegant, Fast, with a brilliant UI, the Touch HD2 is really something that I was expecting for a very long time in the Window Phone world.
Yes the Touch HD2 is the ultimate Window Phone yet, and there will be very few competitors capable to offer a real alternative to this device, however, and if I really like this new Touch HD2, the lack of a proper App Store, or should I say the lack of proper applications as gorgeous as the one which can be found on the iPhone App Store could make the Touch HD2 a bit less appealing for many.
Finally more targeted to high-end user, the Touch HD also lack of the iPhone “Made for Everyone” attitude and will only attract a limited number wealthy customers….

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