| Width Width information - refers to the horizontal side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 67 mm (millimeters) 6.7 cm (centimeters) 0.22 ft (feet) 2.64 in (inches) |
| Height Height information - refers to the vertical side of the device in its standard orientation during use. | 120.5 mm (millimeters) 12.05 cm (centimeters) 0.4 ft (feet) 4.74 in (inches) |
| Thickness Information about the thickness of the device in different units of measurement. | 11 mm (millimeters) 1.1 cm (centimeters) 0.04 ft (feet) 0.43 in (inches) |
| Weight Information about the weight of the device in different units of measurement. | 157 g (grams) 0.35 lbs 5.54 oz (ounces) |
| Volume The approximate volume of the device, calculated based on the dimensions provided by the manufacturer. Refers to devices with the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. | 88.81 cm³ (cubic centimeters) 5.39 in³ (cubic inches) |
| SoC (System on Chip) A system on a chip (SoC) integrates various hardware components, such as a processor, graphics processor, memory, peripherals, interfaces, etc., as well as the software necessary for their operation. | Qualcomm Snapdragon S1 QSD8250 |
| Technological process Information about the technological process by which the chip is manufactured. Nanometers measure half the distance between elements in the processor. | 65 nm (nanometers) |
| Processor (CPU) The primary function of a mobile device's processor (CPU) is to interpret and execute instructions contained in software applications. | Scorpion |
| Processor size The size (in bits) of a processor is determined by the size (in bits) of the registers, address buses, and data buses. 64-bit processors have higher performance compared to 32-bit processors, which in turn are more powerful than 16-bit processors. | 32 bit |
| Instruction Set Architecture Instructions are commands with which the software sets/controls the operation of the processor. Information about the instruction set (ISA) that the processor can execute. | ARMv7 |
| Level 1 cache (L1) Cache memory is used by the processor to reduce access time to more frequently used data and instructions. L1 (level 1) cache is small in size and works much faster than both system memory and other cache levels. If the processor does not find the requested data in L1, it continues to look for it in the L2 cache. On some processors, this search is performed simultaneously in L1 and L2. | 32 kB + 32 kB (kilobytes) |
| Level 2 cache (L2) L2 (level 2) cache is slower than L1 cache, but in return it has a higher capacity, allowing it to cache more data. It, like L1, is much faster than system memory (RAM). If the processor does not find the requested data in L2, it continues to look for it in the L3 cache (if available) or in RAM memory. | 256 kB (kilobytes) 0.25 MB (megabytes) |
| Number of processor cores The processor core executes software instructions. There are processors with one, two or more cores. Having more cores increases performance by allowing multiple instructions to be executed in parallel. | 1 |
| CPU clock speed The clock speed of a processor describes its speed in terms of cycles per second. It is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). | 1000 MHz (megahertz) |
| Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) The Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) handles calculations for various 2D/3D graphics applications. In mobile devices, it is most often used by games, consumer interfaces, video applications, etc. | Qualcomm Adreno 200 |
| Amount of random access memory (RAM) Random access memory (RAM) is used by the operating system and all installed applications. Data stored in RAM is lost after the device is turned off or restarted. | 448 MB (megabytes) |
| ROM memory capacity ROM memory is read-only. In some mobile devices, this is the internal memory that contains the operating system. Data in ROM memory is retained even after the device is turned off. | 512 MB (megabytes) 524288 kB (kilobytes) |
| Type/technology One of the main characteristics of the screen is the technology by which it is made and on which the quality of the information image directly depends. | TFT |
| Diagonal For mobile devices, screen size is expressed by the length of its diagonal, measured in inches. | 4.3 in (inches) 109.22 mm (millimeters) 10.92 cm (centimeters) |
| Width Approximate screen width | 2.21 in (inches) 56.19 mm (millimeters) 5.62 cm (centimeters) |
| Height Approximate screen height | 3.69 in (inches) 93.66 mm (millimeters) 9.37 cm (centimeters) |
| Aspect Ratio The ratio of the dimensions of the long side of the screen to its short side | 1.667:1 5:3 |
| Permission Screen resolution shows the number of pixels vertically and horizontally on the screen. Higher resolution means clearer image detail. | 480 x 800 pixels |
| Pixel Density Information about the number of pixels per centimeter or inch of the screen. Higher density allows information to be displayed on the screen with clearer detail. | 217 ppi (pixels per inch) 85ppcm (pixels per centimeter) |
| Screen area Approximate percentage of screen area occupied by the screen on the front of the device. | 65.4% (percentage) |
| Other characteristics Information about other screen features and characteristics. | Capacitive Multi-touch |
| Flash type The most common types of flashes in mobile device cameras are LED and xenon flashes. LED flashes produce softer light and, unlike brighter xenon flashes, are also used for video shooting. | Double LED |
| Image Resolution One of the main characteristics of mobile device cameras is their resolution, which shows the number of horizontal and vertical pixels in the image. | 2592 x 1944 pixels 5.04 MP (megapixels) |
| Video resolution Information about the maximum supported resolution when shooting video with the device. | 640 x 480 pixels 0.31 MP (megapixels) |
| Video - frame rate/frames per second. Information about the maximum number of frames per second (fps) supported by the device when shooting video at the maximum resolution. Some of the main standard video shooting and playback speeds are 24p, 25p, 30p, 60p. | 30fps (frames per second) |
| Version There are several versions of Bluetooth, with each subsequent one improving communication speed, coverage, and making devices easier to discover and connect. Information about the Bluetooth version of the device. | 2.1 |
| Characteristics Bluetooth uses different profiles and protocols that provide faster data transfer, energy savings, improved device discovery, etc. Some of these profiles and protocols that the device supports are shown here. | A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) AVRCP (Audio/Visual Remote Control Profile) BPP (Basic Printing Profile) DUN (Dial-Up Networking Profile) EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) FTP (File Transfer Profile) GAP (Generic Access Profile) GOEP (Generic Object Exchange Profile) HFP (Hands-Free Profile) HID (Human Interface Profile) HSP (Headset Profile) OPP (Object Push Profile) PAN (Personal Area Networking Profile) PBAP/PAB (Phone Book Access Profile) SPP (Serial Port Protocol) SAP/SIM/rSAP (SIM Access Profile) |
| Capacity A battery's capacity indicates the maximum charge it can hold, measured in milliamp-hours. | 1230 mAh (milliamp-hours) |
| Type The type of battery is determined by its structure and, more precisely, the chemicals used. There are different types of batteries, with lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries being the most commonly used batteries in mobile devices. | Li-Ion (Lithium-ion) |
| 2G talk time 2G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 2G network. | 6 hours 20 minutes 6.3 h (hours) 379.8 min (minutes) 0.3 days |
| 2G latency 2G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 2G network. | 490 h (hours) 29400 min (minutes) 20.4 days |
| 3G talk time 3G talk time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged during a continuous conversation on a 3G network. | 5 hours 40 minutes 5.7 h (hours) 340.2 min (minutes) 0.2 days |
| 3G latency 3G standby time is the period of time during which the battery charge is completely discharged when the device is in stand-by mode and connected to a 3G network. | 390 h (hours) 23400 min (minutes) 16.3 days |
| Characteristics Information about some additional characteristics of the device's battery. | Removable |
We were concerned that the HTC HD2 wouldn't be very practical in terms of practicality. But in fact, all fears turned out to be in vain.
The HTC HD2 screen is hidden behind glass. Typically, transparent plastic is used for these purposes, which quickly becomes unusable and forces users to purchase protective films in bulk. Future owners of HTC HD2 will be spared this need: its protective glass is very scratch-resistant. Nothing will happen to it, even if you carry the communicator in your pocket with keys, a lighter and other potentially dangerous objects.
But, unfortunately, it was not possible to get rid of the problem with fingerprints - the screen quickly gets dirty. With any other Windows Mobile device, you could use a stylus and minimize fingerprints. But here the screen is capacitive, it does not react in any way to the stylus, being triggered only by fingers.
The resolution has not changed compared to Touch HD or MAX 4G - it's still WVGA (800 x 480), but the brightness, contrast and viewing angles have improved. Despite the fact that the matrix is made using TFT technology, you can work with it quite comfortably outside on a sunny day. Thanks to the light sensor, in the dark the backlight is automatically set to the minimum level that is comfortable for reading, and in the sun - to the maximum. Undoubtedly, the screen is one of the main advantages of the HD2. It’s a pleasure to use the browser, it’s convenient to watch movies and photos, and it’s convenient to read e-books.
The HD2 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon platform with a QSD8250 processor running at 1 GHz. In addition to the fast CPU, the communicator has a record amount of RAM – 448 MB. This is enough for simultaneous operation of several “heavy” applications. You can open Navitel Navigator, a browser with several tabs, mail and a player at the same time - nothing will slow down. Which is certainly encouraging. In general, if brakes appear somewhere, it is due to the fault of the firmware. For example, during testing we had to deal with the brakes of the HTC Peep twitter client, which frankly froze with 100-150 loaded tweets. Only a reboot helped fix this problem. Presumably, this will be fixed in future firmware updates.
Just like the previous platform from Qualcomm, Snapdragon is a complete solution that simultaneously includes all wireless modules, a graphics chip and a GPS receiver. The latter, by the way, has not undergone any changes - it is still the same gpsOne.
But the graphics chip promises to take gaming and video performance to new heights. Even the possibility of smooth HD playback in 720p format is declared. However, due to the lack of a navigation key and the impossibility of reassigning hardware keys, you won’t be able to play games normally on the HD2.
The built-in graphics accelerator of the platform is not yet supported by video players, and you will have to forget about high-quality video. The communicator can easily play back videos in screen resolution (800 x 480). But HD, alas, is slow. Standard test videos literally “fly” when scrolled in CorePlayer. For videos with resolutions of 640x480, 640x352 and 320x240, testing yielded 234%, 217% and 528%, respectively. Excellent results - better than any other smartphone or communicator of the current generation.
Let us also remind you that you can familiarize yourself with all the features of the Qualcomm Snapdragon platform in the corresponding material.
Wireless interfaces are fully present. A distinctive feature of the device is the ability to work as a Wi-Fi access point. This function was implemented in other HTC communicators, even before the company began releasing them under its own brand. But, nevertheless, the moment is very pleasant. Almost none of the competitors can offer such functionality.
HTC decided to abandon the name TouchFLO; now all devices of this company have the Sense interface. The Sense here is not too similar to the Sense we saw on Android - in fact, it is a slightly modernized TouchFLO, with better animation, new tabs and other minor improvements. At the same time, HTC replaced all the standard Windows Mobile menus with its own, which was only beneficial. In its unchanged form from Windows Mobile, the communicator received only the lock screen and the Start menu. The standard calendar, address book, mail, and so on have been replaced. And instead of the usual Internet Explorer Mobile, the latest version of Opera is used as a browser. By default, an alternative browser is used, but if you wish, you can use the standard one.
Deciding on the type of device (phone or smartphone?) is quite simple. If you need a simple and inexpensive device for calls and SMS, it is recommended to choose a telephone. A smartphone is more expensive, but it offers a wide variety of options: games, videos, the Internet, thousands of programs for all occasions. However, its battery life is significantly less than that of a regular phone.
smartphone Operating system (at the beginning of sales) MS Windows Mobile 6.5 Case type classic Housing material metal and plastic SAR level 0.725 Number of SIM cards 1 SIM card type
Modern smartphones can use not only regular SIM cards, but also their more compact versions micro SIM and nano SIM. An eSIM is a SIM card integrated into the phone. It takes up virtually no space and does not require a separate tray for installation. eSIM is not yet supported in Russia. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones
regular Weight 157 g Dimensions (WxHxD) 67x120.5x11 mm
Almost all modern smartphones have Wi-Fi and USB interfaces. Bluetooth and IRDA are a little less common. Wi-Fi is used to connect to the Internet. USB is used to connect your phone to a computer. Bluetooth is also found in many phones. It is used to connect wireless headphones, to connect your phone to wireless speakers, and also to transfer files. A smartphone equipped with an IRDA interface can be used as a universal remote control. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, USB Satellite navigation
Built-in GPS and GLONASS modules allow you to determine the phone's coordinates using signals from satellites. In the absence of GPS, a modern smartphone can determine its own location using signals from cellular operator base stations. However, finding coordinates using satellite signals is usually much more accurate. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones
GPS A-GPS system yes
Modern phones and smartphones usually use special processors - SoC (System on Chip, system on a chip), which, in addition to the processor itself, houses the graphics core, memory controller, input/output device controller, etc. Therefore, the processor largely determines the set of functions and device performance. Glossary of terms for the category Mobile phones
Qualcomm QSD8250, 1000 MHz Number of processor cores 1 Built-in memory capacity 512 MB RAM capacity 448 MB Memory card slot There isBefore purchasing, check the specifications and equipment with the seller.
In the HTC model range there were smartphones with the names “Legend” (HTC Legend) and “Hero” (HTC Hero), but another model turned out to be truly legendary - the HTC HD2. In a short article I want to tell you about this unusual device, released back in 2009, but still used and supported by different communities. What was so good about the HTC HD2 and why do some people still use this “unit”?
The model was announced in October 2009, at that time there was no such clear classification of devices by type (at least in Russia), so they called it a communicator. The HD2 was released at a turning point for the company: on the one hand, Microsoft began to show serious unrest with its Windows Mobile OS, on the other, a few months earlier, HTC introduced Hero on the then unknown Android platform. The company immediately appreciated its potential, having already managed to create a convenient Sense interface for Android 1.5, which was completely crude in terms of ease of use.
It was between 2009 and 2010 that there was unrest within Microsoft regarding the mobile OS, at least that’s what it looked like from the outside. In fact, MS was already developing a new Windows Phone, and the aging Windows Mobile was named WP (rather for show and easier perception of the future new OS). HTC HD2 worked on the basis of one of the latest versions of that old Windows Mobile 6.5. However, over many years of working with MS and its system, HTC learned to hide most of the shortcomings of the OS, and the Sense shell used in HD2 became the crown of alternative interfaces for Windows Mobile - it completely changed the appearance of the system and most of its elements. Therefore, not everyone could immediately recognize the HTC HD2 as a communicator based on Windows Mobile.
In any case, some crutches were visible, and if at the beginning of sales the operating system on which the HTC HD2 ran did not yet cause many reproaches and laments from users, then the older the device became, the more obvious a simple fact became evident - the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system was for HTC HD2 is old. Time has shown this. Now Windows Mobile has already become history, and the HTC HD2 communicator is still supported by various communities, and modern systems are ported to it. On the Internet you can easily find guides for installing Windows Phone 7 OS, for example, or Android OS on HD2. Moreover, for HTC HD2 there are different builds of the world's most popular custom version of Android - MIUI. You can read how exactly to install firmware with MIUI on HD2.
It may seem that in the case of such an old device, all these installations of new firmware and porting of other systems are mere self-indulgence, because if everything worked well, then the manufacturers themselves would release such updates. Alas, everything is not like that. As an example, you can take some MIUI build for HTC HD2; many of them work stably on the device and allow you to use it like any other Android smartphone with average characteristics.
My HTC HD2 with MIUI on board is quite suitable for use as a phone, it lasts about a day on one charge, makes calls, takes photos and does everything else. And this is a device that is already four years old, that is, all the deadlines for its relevance seem to have passed. Now flagships are updated annually, and it’s hard to imagine that a phone released four years ago remains relevant and works on modern systems. At the same time, manufacturers are now focusing on cores, RAM, graphics, and so on, but the HTC HD2 used a single-core processor with a frequency of 1 GHz on the Qualcomm QSD8250 Snapdragon platform and about 500 MB of RAM. And new OSes can easily run on this hardware without any brakes.
At one time, the HTC HD2 was chosen because of several excellent qualities - a high-quality metal body, a high-resolution display with good viewing angles and other characteristics, as well as performance. An operating time of approximately one or one and a half days was already a luxury for communicators back then, and the HTC HD2 was no exception. But an even more important criterion for buying an HTC HD2 then, when sales of this model began, was its exclusivity. Nowadays such a concept is almost absent in the world of smartphones, but in the past companies sometimes managed to release devices that other manufacturers could not or did not want to offer analogues. This is exactly what HTC HD2 was - this communicator was the most powerful and coolest, in simple terms, and simply had no competitors.
Today, the HTC HD2 seems small compared to top-end smartphones and even middle-class models in all respects, especially in terms of dimensions. But when it came out, it seemed like just a huge shovel and was one of the largest devices on the market, not counting PDAs. Time passes, and the understanding of the “big smartphone” is changing. Who knows, perhaps in a couple of years devices like the Lenovo K900 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra will be perceived as the norm and seem ordinary in size?
Over many years of use, my HTC HD2 has gone through a variety of events, but overall the body of the communicator is still strong, although it has numerous scratches, chips and other damage.
Oddly enough, if you believe information from Yandex.Market, HTC HD2 can still be found on sale for about 8,000-11,000 rubles. Naturally, it makes no sense to buy this model just to get a new smartphone, but if you collect interesting phones and suddenly forgot about the existence of the HTC HD2, it’s worth filling this gap. This is one of the few truly legendary communicators of its time and simply one of the most interesting devices ever released on the Windows Mobile operating system. Again, if we do not touch on the topic of pocket computers.
Which smartphones based on Windows Mobile OS do you remember most?
Artem Lutfullin ()
Review of the HTC HD2 smartphone
Choosing a smartphone was not easy for me. Doubts arose primarily when choosing a platform - it was quite obvious that Windows was losing its position, and Android was still damp. I didn’t consider the iPhone for purely subjective reasons - I don’t have a passion for Apple products.
Switching between shooting modes is quick and intuitive. In addition to regular photos and videos, you can select panoramic shooting mode, photo contact mode, “light” video for MMS messages, as well as photography with geographic coordinates (GPS photo).
Video shooting I also tested in a variety of modes: during the day, at night under artificial light, in motion. The quality of shooting, color rendition, noise level and autofocus performance do not cause any complaints; in my subjective opinion, according to these parameters, the video shot by . is superior to videos shot by smartphones of the same class. I also liked the fact that when shooting at night, the LED flash automatically starts working as a backlight, while it produces a powerful stream of white diffused light.
You can view the footage, as well as watch images, videos and films, both from the standard “Explorer” and by using the “Album” function, where media files are presented in the form of graphic thumbnails that can be scrolled through in the vertical plane.
By touching the icons on the right side of the screen, you can switch directly from the album to photo or video mode.
Listen to music You can use the Windows Media Player included in the firmware, but it is much more convenient to use the HTC Sence “Music” function for this. By touching the treble clef icon at the bottom of the desktop, we launch an interface in which sound files are structured by artist, album and genre; You can also create playlists or play files directly.
The default settings make it possible to listen to music in excellent quality; for finer adjustments there is an equalizer.
The application for watching videos from YouTube is minimalistic and convenient; when connected via Wi-Fi at a speed of 1 Mbit/s, the videos are played without slowdowns:
Browser
Opera Mobile 9.7 is installed as the default browser; The standard firmware also includes a mobile version of Internet Explorer. Despite the quite nice IE interface, it somehow never occurred to me to use it, especially since I immediately liked the mobile version of Opera.
The interface is very minimalistic and user-friendly; controls in the form of large icons are located at the bottom of the screen. The creators of Opera really took care of user convenience, thinking through every little detail. The default settings are optimally selected, allowing you to immediately switch to comfortable surfing: the page loads very quickly and automatically fits the width of the screen; After a couple of seconds, it automatically switches to full screen mode. To call up control icons, just touch the screen. You can open up to three tabs at the same time, switching between them is implemented through the corresponding control element in the center of the panel. Multi-touch supported; In addition, I liked the option that allows you to instantly zoom the page by double-tapping the screen - reading articles and looking at photos on the Internet is very convenient. You can also send a link directly from your browser via SMS, MMS or email.
GPS navigation
The basic package includes a version of the Navitel 3.5.0.224 navigation program, developed specifically for HTC, as well as a complete set of maps of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. At the moment, Navitel is the undisputed leader among domestic navigators; I couldn’t have made a better choice myself. Map drawing, detailing, address search and route planning - all this is implemented very competently, and, in addition, there is a feeling that the Navitel team intends to continue to actively develop its product. Well, the power of the processor and the advantages of a wide and bright screen make using the navigation functions a real pleasure.
Energy consumption
The characteristics declared by the manufacturer - 380 minutes of talk time or 490 hours of standby time - I did not check with a stopwatch in my hand. However, I note that I have been using a smartphone for a year now and the power of the included 1230 mAh lithium-ion battery is consistently enough for me for a full day of active use: 10-15 calls, watching YouTube (5-10 min), Internet surfing, reading books, scrolling through news in an RSS reader. Although, with particularly high call traffic or prolonged viewing of videos, the battery does not last until the evening and there is a desire to change it to a more powerful one.
The time required to fully charge the battery is about 2.5 hours.
