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

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 my favorite so far … Yes, so far since Apparently the folks over there 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 decide just to match the iPhone path and spec, but rather decided to set its own standards by offering our Touch HD2 with the most powerful CPU available on the market, the 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 include 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’s internal memory and also perhaps the overall quality of the camera module.

Everyday Usage
I have been playing with the Touch HD 2 it has been 5 days now, and I am still playing with it while we are speaking. Switching 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 with its SENSE UI, which will not only completely take over Microsoft’s basic UI but also will drastically improve the way you interact with your phone.
SENSE goes beyond the UI thingy and provides many little tweak and nifty apps like a Twitter client, a gorgeous weather app, an improved 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 character that no other Windows Phone 6.5 devices will have the pleasure to posses.

And what better way to enjoy HTC’s SENSE UI than having a 4.3” Multitouch screen tweaked to work with, unfortunately, there are a limited number of applications 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 manufacturers which are yet to release multitouch capable Apps

Finally and Although I would like you to discover by yourself many of thess tweaks and improvements next time you have the opportunity to play with a Touch HD2, I cannot resistsharing 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 decreases your phone ringtone when physically pickup your phone from a table for example, while the “Pocket” mode will on 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 is 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 versions work pretty well, but hey, Rome has not be been built in one day, and we will have to wait a couple of months more to get iPhone like quality Apps coming into 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 not found time to use my iPhone, yet… Elegant, Fast, with a brilliant UI, the Touch HD2 is really something that I was expecting for a very long time in the Window Phones world.
Yes, the Touch HD2 is the ultimate Window Phone yet, and there will be very few competitors capable of offering a real alternative to this device, however, and while 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 users, the Touch HD also lacks the iPhone “Made for Everyone” attitude and will only attract a limited number of wealthy customers.