More than a few people seem to be struggling with this problem. I didn't have much difficulty deciding however, back in February I awaited the Mobile World Conference, a few hours after Microsoft's keynote I ordered the HD2.

Don't get me wrong, the WP7S is nice. It does have some killer features, such as Xbox Live integration and Zune integration which hopefully will mean Zune Social and Zune Pass (fairly priced) will become available in the UK later this year as I've been whinging about lately. It'll also help application developers raise the quality of their applications by not having to write for the lowest common denominator as Microsoft have set pretty high minimum guidelines for the device specifications they'll be more willing to take advantage of the improved performance that WP7S will offer.

But the HD2 is here now, well has been here for 6 months in Europe, with Windows Mobile 6.5, perfectly respectable and with the HTC TouchFLO 3D, now called Sense interface highly usable with a finger. And with some pretty nice specifications.

The good:

  • Fast, that 1Ghz Snapdragon is nice.
  • Nice screen 800x480 pretty standard for WM devices over the last 18 months or so, but puts iPhone users in their place.
  • Flash support in Internet Explorer (although not Opera the default browser).
  • The ability to install applications from any source. :-) The Marketplace is good, but only lists a tiny fraction of the software available for WM.
  • Ability to tweak the hell out of the phone to get it exactly the way you want it.
  • And of course always the potential for juicy ROM updates in the future, including to WP7S *fingers crossed*.

It's got some bad bits as well. Performance is pretty poor in the SMS client. And doesn't have a hardware keyboard (I do sometimes miss my Touch Pro).

WP7S on the other hand:

  • Won't have copy and paste on release, I don't use it much but I know when I happen to need it, I'll be swearing.
  • Doesn't have full multi-tasking, although the limited multi-tasking it does have is superior to the iPhone.
  • Application performance is up in the air considering its Silverlight based, developers might want to write natively for the hardware but don't currently have that option.
  • Uncertainties over application distribution, will the Marketplace be an absolute monopoly, or can I still dump a .cab on their and install it?

Of course it's got the good stuff, Xbox Live, Zune, Super-swish UI that isn't trying to be an iPhone clone, like Android seems to be, no offence but surely there's something a bit better than a boring grid full of icons? Oh yeah WP7S' interface.

So that's why I went for the HD2 back in February, I did actually wait until February so I could check out the WP7S announcement and weigh things up instead of just ordering one in November like Catherine did. Plus Windows Mobile being Windows Mobile, there's always a good chance of WP7S being made available unofficially for the HD2. :-)