Have an HTC HD2, Your Android Toss History is Complete

The Foreign Media column wrote an article about the “hardcore” smartwatch Moto ACTV two months ago. A People commented that he could see the content about HTC HD2. In this issue of the Geek Museum, we will meet the wishes of these people. Let’s talk about the “brush artifact” HTC HD2.

The complete model of HTC HD2 is HTC Touch HD2, codenamed LEO, and in some forums, everyone is accustomed to using this code. This model released by HTC in 2009, itself pre-installed Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, because of various coincidences, it became a legendary brush artifact. In fact, regarding this article, I personally have quite a lot of stories related to HD2, but it is decided to take a comprehensive look at this legendary mobile phone in the form of retrospectives.

To understand this phone, you must start with its biggest feature – the brush phone. As mentioned in the previous article, the official pre-installed system of HTC HD2 is Windows Mobile 6.5, but under the efforts of all the gods, it successfully runs Windows Phone 7, Ubuntu (Touch), Linux, Firefox, MeeGo, Sailfish, etc., but the most The welcome system is definitely Android. The name that can be called is CyanogenMod, MIUI, HTC Sense, Flyme, etc. There are many different versions of the magic and the homemade version.

Why is a Windows Mobile model released in 2009 capable of swiping so many systems? This matter will start with HTC leaking the underlying drivers of HD2, which also provides the basis for running other systems. In fact, this is a reason to adopt the new system to the manufacturer. The reason why every time Google releases the new Android system, the vendors will have to push the upgrade after a while, because the vendors have to do drive adaptation, compatibility and stability testing. This is why Project Treble appears.

To put it simply, this principle is like a “black apple” on a PC. If you can find the corresponding driver, any PC or laptop can run Mac OS perfectly.

In addition to the underlying driver, HTC HD2 hardware specifications were absolutely real flagship at the time, Qualcomm QSD8250 chip CPU clock can reach 1GHz, and it also has 448MB RAM. Such specifications are more than enough for Android systems, and powerful hardware configuration is one of the foundations for porting systems.

With the two prerequisites of the underlying driver and powerful hardware, a technical god from the Russian ID Cotulla wrote the MAGLDR bootloader, and then Recovery was successfully ported to HD2. On the basis of the underlying driver and Recovery, the difficulty of installing the Android system is much reduced, because the existence of MAGLDR also provides a prerequisite for WP7 and other system migration.

After the emergence of the late NativeSD technology, HTC HD2 can even complete multi-system coexistence, switching ROM without brushing. Of course, all of this, in addition to the selfless dedication of the great god of technology, there is a certain threshold for the user, at least have a certain theoretical knowledge base, but fortunately, HD2 is not so easy to “change bricks”, as long as it can enter the three-color screen, HTC HD2 can basically “save bricks” by re-injecting the bootloader and Recovery.

The reason why some people are so keen on writing and booting ROM for HTC HD2 is actually from the unwillingness of HTC HD2. In 2009, Android has accumulated certain popularity, but far less than the momentum of iOS and iOS, HTC It’s a pity that the Windows Mobile 6.5 system is pre-installed for hardware such as HD2. Although there were many people tossing the Windows Mobile system at the time, the playability was far less than that of Android. Therefore, many people think that this hardware is too “wasted” on WM 6.5, and they continue to study whether other systems can be used. HTC leaks the underlying driver and is even considered to be intentional.

Although the HTC HD2 that I picked up this geek selection didn’t have a full set of packaging, the overall color was very good, and as an old user of HTC HD2, I can see that this HD2 is not a refurbished machine, which is really valuable. Because HD2 was very popular in the parallel market at that time, the shipment volume was not small. At the same time, because the brush ROM was very rich and the life cycle was quite long, many unscrupulous merchants started to renovate.

The HTC HD2 has a 4.3-inch WVGA (480*800 pixels) capacitive screen. The reason why the capacitive screen is especially noted is that some manufacturers will introduce a product with a resistive screen before and after 2009. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and support for MicroSD card expansion are guaranteed to be outdated. The only regret is that there is no front camera, but in the age when 3G is not popular, the front camera is not counted. The standard ranks.

Although there was no concept of “full screen” at that time, the border control of the HTC HD2 was very good, and the proportion of the front screen was very high at the time. In fact, the name “HD” is precisely because it has a 4.3-inch giant screen. In that era when the iPhone is still 3.5 inches and the Android model 3.7-inch screen is mainstream, the word giant screen is not excessive. At the time, as a user, I was thinking, “This screen is so big, should this be the limit of the screen size of the mobile phone?” But now I don’t have to say more about you.

The back of the HTC HD2 has a three-stage design. The upper and lower parts are made of a skin-like coating, which feels very good to the touch. However, if the shell is not streaking, the coating on the surface will wear out easily.

Because HTC HD2 adopts the design of the replaceable battery, the back cover of the middle part of the back is detachable, and the back cover is made the f metal. Some of the refurbished HD2s used by the profiteers are not the original back cover, so after a period of use, The paint drop is also obvious.

Many users will hesitate to choose HTC HD2. There are three versions on the market at the time. China licensed using the Dopod brand, model T8585; the other two versions use the HTC brand. The so-called “HTC Edition” is a concept with the current public version; there is also a “T version”, which is a customized version of the US operator T-Mobile, which is a relatively more popular version.

In appearance, Dopod T8585 and HTC HD2 have no difference except for the logo. The T version of the HTC HD2 is slightly longer than the fuselage length of 1.5mm. The answer and hang up keys are green and red (the HTC version buttons are all white), and the “T-Mobile” logo is added under the handset.

As mentioned in the previous article, the biggest charm of HTC HD2 is that it has a lot of system options. Android ROM accounts for 90%, and the rest of the Windows Phone system has some. Others are relatively niche, most basic. Let’s experience it, or brush it with a try.

The T version HD2 mentioned before is the most popular because this version has a natural advantage in the brush machine. The public version of the HTC HD2 uses a memory combination of 448MB RAM + 512MB ROM, while the T version of the HTC HD2 uses a memory combination of 576MB RAM + 1GB ROM.

More than 100 megabytes of RAM may not be considered from the current point of view, but the 20% improvement cannot be ignored at the time. The most important thing is that the T version HD2 with 1GB ROM has more ROM options. It can directly brush into the complete ROM without relying on the “A2SD+” technology. The public version of HD2 often needs to streamline some system components or mount it on MicroSD. On the card, this not only increases the complexity of the brush, but also has certain requirements on the speed of the memory card.

For most users, MIUI and CM7 are relatively secure choices, and stability and fluency are ok. This is the T version of the HTC HD2, which is the CM7 system. In fact, until the CM10 system, the HD2 also has the official support of CyanogenMod. The smoothness of HTC HD2 under Android 6.0 is still good. As for the transplant version of the technology god, until Android 7.0 is released in ROM, but the experience is more general.

For me personally, MIUI is the favorite ROM. Because of the era of Android 2.X, although most of the functional applications of the Android system have been completed, the experience of the native system is still very inadequate, and there is almost no localization. At that time. In contrast, MIUI has a very good reputation in terms of UI interaction, functionality, stability and localization. The update speed and the addition of new features are also very timely. In fact, that period of time was also a key period for MIUI to quickly build word of mouth and users.

For those who prefer HTC Sense UI, they also choose to brush HTC-style ROM. Because of the similarity of hardware, HTC HD2 experience is not much different from HTC G7 (Desire), but there is a price difference. Great advantage.

For the Windows Phone system, most users are actually trying to adopt early adopters, but the WP system has very low hardware requirements. Even in the later WP7.5 and WP8 systems, HTC HD2 can run very smoothly, and it is far better than the Android system. . However, because of power saving optimization and software resources, if you want to use HD2 as the main machine, most people will still choose Android system.

Like many products, HTC HD2 is not perfect, and there are still many common problems. Perhaps the most well-known of these is the “virtual soldering door”. Like all virtual soldering models, some chips on the motherboard will have a solder joint condition at high temperatures, which will directly cause the phone to shut down.

To solve this problem, you need to disassemble the mobile phone, remove the soldered chip and re-solder it on the motherboard. The problem of the virtual soldering problem is very high at the time, whether it is the T version or the public version of the HD2. This problem has occurred. This problem is actually very easy to distinguish. If you can record a video for more than 15 minutes without using a mobile phone to record video, it basically proves that this phone has no problem of soldering. In the years when HTC HD2 was hot, many second-hand goods on the market had this problem, and this problem also caused a certain crisis of trust for HTC itself.

In addition, the battery contacts of the HTC HD2 are prone to problems due to design flaws. If the user finds that they cannot be turned on one day, then it is likely that the phone is not broken, nor is it brushed into bricks, but the battery contacts are not. Connect to the battery.

HTC HD2’s screen touch and buttons are also high-risk areas. If the touch problem is caused by the underlying driver or some other reason, the button is blamed on the manufacturer’s design problem, because the HTC HD2 uses the conventional The physical button does not have a separate power button, so the lock screen and unlock are implemented by the hook button. After a long time of use, the button is very easy to fail, which is one of the most common problems for users.

Although HTC HD2 has many shortcomings and even defects, it has become a unique existence due to its coincidence. In the era of Android 2.X, the brush machine is a very multi-user choice, through the brush phone can get a better experience, more cool features.

Visit Also: HTC Desire 12s Is Official With 4GB of RAM, An 18: 9 Display and 13MP Cameras

HTC HD2 not only has a lot of Android ROM options, but also the choice of super-multiple systems such as Windows Mobile, Windows Phone, Ubuntu, Firefox, etc., which makes it one of the representatives of the geek spirit at that time. HTC HD2 not only witnessed the rapid rise of the Android camp but also witnessed the decline of other systems, it is more synonymous with an era.