[HD2 General] DuoM:
Hi,

I've been surprised by all the problems with the HD2 myself. I don't own one yet but I've been wanting to get one since I first saw the leaked specs.

Unfortunately every HD2 that I've tried over the last two months has not been usable. I've tried different units from different vendors, sometimes for several hours and in each case the primary problem has been the keyboard.

Yes, it's far to sensitive but there are a number of other problems with it including the jumping cursor. I've used that keyboard on the HTC Hero without any problems so it should really be easier to use on the HD2. I know, I can install tweaks to reduce the screen sensitivity (although it's great for everything else) or install other keyboards but I'd like to see HTC address these problems first.

Anyway I have started thinking that the problem with things like SMS, phone slowdowns, etc, etc may not be WM 6.5 related but rather HTC Sense related.

I would like to know if anyone has managed to try a Sense-free ROM or better yet the closest thing they can get to a vanilla WM 6.5 build on this hardware, perhaps with and without the multi-touch driver.

I'm going to try and hold out for a bit because HTC haven't really managed to fix any of the major bugs and they still haven't addressed a number at all.

The Pink Camera issue has been reduced (but not fixed 100%), the camera flash is a problem, they have failed to fix the SMS issue twice already and they still have to address a whole slew of other problems including the 3G connection problem. I'm going to try and wait and see if they do so either this month or by MWC next month, possibly even alongside the next version of WM 6.x.

I also have an issue with available apps but in my case it's missing apps from the iPhone and Android and the lack of depth within apps in Android, so that limits my options.

These are the alternate devices that I'm looking at:

Acer neoTouch

Samsung Omnia II

Samsung Omnia Pro (not so much anymore)

Blackberry Storm 2 (a bit of an odd one out)

Since you like Android you may want to look at:

HTC Bravo (not released yet)

Motorola MILESTONE / DROID

Acer Liquid (you can get the CPU unlocked to 1GHz)

Also since you like Apple you may want to see if anything of interest is announced next week.

The Acer neoTouch has the same CPU as the HD2 but much less RAM and a very light skin on it and it seems to work really well. It also seems to be faster than the HD2 so this is my next choice unless something crops up to makes me think otherwise.

The Samsung Omnia II is a possibility but it is a lot less powerful than the Snapdragon phones. It has a decent 1500 mAh battery and an AMOLED screen as well as the option of 2, 8, or 16 GB of internal storage depending on the model.

The Samsung Omnia Pro is really there because I was looking at it as an alternative to the HTC Touch Pro 2 because it had a faster CPU and a flash. However after trying phones with lager screens than my TyTN II I think that I could live with a software keyboard.

I'm really hoping that the three phones above are added to the forums here at Xda-Developers because that will make the buying decision easier. I'd really rather not loose the great support that comes from the users of this site.

The Blackberry Storm 2 is an outsider but still a possibility as a last resort (but I may end up with one anyway since I want to replace my current phones with two new phones - I use one with a local SIM while traveling). I don't really like the clicky screen that much but it does work well. Right now there is no working VOIP software for use with Skype over 3G available and I'm waiting to see what happens with the BIS upgrades that are meant to happen this quarter and next quarter to see if it can be made to work for me.