HTC HD2 - the smartest smartphone ever?

The smartphone has also begun selling in some Asian countries and is expected to hit the Indian markets by the end of this year.

But what is so great about the HD2?

Well, to begin with, the HD2 boasts of a 4.3-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen with a whopping 480x800 resolution (the biggest touchscreen on a smartphone ever), runs on the latest Windows Mobile 6.5 platform and is powered by the powerful Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon processor that not only makes the device road-ready for mobile internet use but also boasts of lightning-fast response when switching between applications, enjoying multimedia or playing games.

The HD2 is also the first Windows Mobile-based phone to come equipped with HTC Sense UI, which is based on the principles: "Make it mine," "Stay Close" and "Discover the Unexpected." This allows the user to create his own environment, to conveniently communicate with contacts through multiple channels, while the innovative features make the difference between local phone and online disappear. HTC Sense slightly resembles the TouchFlo which we have seen on other models, but HTC Sense, which lets you create personal widgets and screens for your own personalization and is capable of multitasking, takes things just that little bit further as the HD2 will also have integrated applications that connect directly for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allowing users to access data more easily.

Other features include a 5-Megapixel camera with dual LED flash and auto-focus, WiFi, GPS, HSUPA, 3G HSDPA, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, FM radio, HTML (Opera) browser, virtual touchscreen-based keyboard, G-sensor (like accelerometer in the iPhone that senses if you rotate the device and changes the display to match), proximity sensor (to conserve battery life) and ambient light sensor, 448MB internal memory, microSD card slot, support for multiple audio and video formats, digital compass, FM Radio, HTC Footprints (geo-tagging), micro-USB connector, built-in stereo speakers and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

The HD2 will also be the first Windows Mobile-based device to reportedly come with the "pinch to zoom" option.

The quadband smartphone, which measures 4.7x2.6x0.4 inches (121x67x11 mm), weighs 5.5 ounces (157gm) and is powered by a decent 1230mAh Li-Ion battery that has enough juice to power the phone up to 380 minutes (talk time) and up to 490 hours (standby time), however, has a few drawbacks.

For instance, video recording is enabled in the HD2, but there is no front facing camera, so no 3G video calls.

Also, weighing in at a hefty 157g, the smartphone is no lightweight superhero.

The HD2 also has a slightly quirky multi-touch browsing feature and initial tests have revealed that the multi-touch feature seems to be slightly lagging compared to other smartphones despite HD2 running on 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and it having a Opera Mobile browser. The lag is especially noticeable when the accelerometer doesn't work right away when browsing the Internet.

Moreover, the internal memory of the HD2 seems slightly lacking as at 448MB, you will pretty much find yourself running low on space soon enough. Which is unfortunate as considering that the HD2 is being billed as a heavy-duty multimedia phone thanks to its large screen, it hardly has sufficient space for storing media files, particularly videos. Of course, you could get a high capacity SD card for the SD card slot, but you will still want some of your files, apps and map data stored internally on the device.