Twitter has just launched the official twitter app for android 2.1 powered mobile phones, looks like they have planned to launched it before they release tweetie for iPhone.

IT ARRRIIIIIIIIVVVEEEEEED!!!

Woohoo, I finally have the phone I’ve been mithering on about for months. Yes, folks, my HTC HD2 arrived today, and it’s a good job really, because if I’d gotten any more excited, I’d have done some serious damage to the wallpaper, when I went off like a pressure cooker with the lid nailed down. I’m serious, I couldn’t sleep last night, I was so excited. It was like Christmas!

So, as promised, here’s my hands-on review (finally) of the HTC HD2, and I’m sorry to say that my excitement was premature; it’s an awful phone, and I hate it with a passio- haha, had you going! Yes, I’m kidding; it’s a stunning phone.

But since me saying “OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, OMG, it’s the best thing EVER” isn’t what you’d call the best review technique, I suppose I’d better go into some detail about why it’s so gob-smackingly, mind-breakingly awesome.

Hardware

Right, first stop, the hardware, and this accounted for my first “oh dear god, yes” moment with the HTC HD2, specifically the moment I opened the box, and saw that beast sitting there, waiting for me. When discussing the hardware, there’s one thing everyone’s going to dwell on, and I’m not going to be any different, because it’s the screen. I knew it was going to be good, but dear god, it rocks. Put it this way, everyone in my family who’s seen it has gone, “Whoa, that’s amazing!”

Even my mum.

As for the build quality, it’s second to none, and the phone feels rock solid; it’s nice and substantial (without being overly heavy), and I hesitate to use the word ‘flawless’, but it so very nearly is. The only downside I’ve found is that the screen is a massive, massive, massive, massive, massive fingerprint magnet. Other than that, I can’t fault the hardware.

Interface 1 – HTC Sense

You may have noticed there’s one bit about the hardware I didn’t mention in the hardware section, because you’ll only see the benefits of it when you actually use the phone; I’m talking about, of course, the Snapdragon processor. When fiddling about with the HTC Sense interface, you can really see the benefits of having a 1GHz processor. I’ve never seen a phone as responsive as the HTC HD2. As for the Sense interface itself, the best bits of it, in my opinion, are the music player and the photo viewer, which are both brilliantly brilliant…

The music player is wonderfully slick, and the photo viewer let me do the ol’ multitouch pinchy gesture thing, so that gave me my second “oh dear god, yes” moment of the day. Also, bleedin’ hell, the photo viewer’s fast, too.

However, I didn’t just stick to using Sense, and so…

Interface 2 – SPB Mobile Shell, what I downloaded and installed

My opinions of SPB Mobile Shell are well noted throughout the pages of this blog, but to reiterate, I love it. And on the HTC HD2, with that super-fast processor… well, there’s my third “oh dear god, yes” moment of the day. It goes like a rocket! In fact, the only downside to SPB Mobile Shell is that it doesn’t have access to the HTC Sense music player.

So, simple answer, I got an app to switch between the two interfaces instantly.

In other words, yes, I have both of the best two interfaces in existence running on my phone. That caused a tiny bit of a problem with the 3D accelerator in SPB (the carousel isn’t working properly, with 3D acceleration turned on), but it’s a small trade-off with being able to flick between the two instantly.

[UPDATE: After re-installing, the 3D acceleration is now working. Perfectly. And dear god, is it nice!]

Web browsing – Opera Mobile, Internet Explorer and Opera Mini 5

Here we go, the thing the HTC HD2 is really, really the king of the hill at doing: web browsing. It comes with Opera Mobile (which has pinchy zooming as standard) and Internet Explorer (which supports Flash, and is now, shockingly, good) out the box, so I stuck Opera Mini 5 on there, as well, to cover every possible base. There’s Opera Mobile for my general web browsing, there’s IE for any time I fancy viewing Flash sites, and there’s Opera Mini for when I’m in an area with rubbish bandwidth.

Or when I’m close to my usage limit…

The crucial thing is that whichever browser I use, the combination of the Snapdragon processor, HSDPA and (joy of joys, I finally have a phone where it works) WiFi makes browsing an absolute joy.

Conclusion

Okay, I’ll be the first to admit that this review hasn’t told you everything about the HTC HD2, but then, I’ve only had it for less than a day. So, really, this is more a first-impressions review than a full I-have-the-phone-and know-it-backwards review. But even after just a few hours, I can confidently say it’s the ingle best phone I’ve ever used. It’s frighteningly powerful, ludicrously responsive, and a pleasure to use, and I can think of no better recommendation than to say that the last few ours have gone by in a blur, because I’ve spent them fiddling about with the phone, occasionally whimpering in pleasure…

So, yes. Without hesitation, it’s a perfect 10. And now, I just need to get my hands on an HTC Desire to compare the two, because that would be one hell of a match-up!

10/10. If you’re a power user, this is the phone for you.

More news as it happens! And be sure to subscribe now to get all the latest action from the world of mobile phones!

More:

The Engadget Podcasters ‘double down’ on the juicy goss from this week. And when we say “juicy goss from this week” it means more than in other weeks – like if the juice were from a succulent, perfectly ripened, just about to fall from the vine grapefruit of a gossip week as opposed to a shriveled, 2-month old lime you forgot to use that’s been sitting out in the sun of a gossip week.

Hosts: Joshua Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Syphus – Save a Prayer

Hear the podcast

00:02:37 – HP buys Palm
00:03:03 – HP: ‘We’re doubling down on webOS,’ Palm: ‘That was the whole point’
00:03:15 – HP: opportunities for webOS ’smartphones, slates, and potentially netbooks’
00:08:55 – HP buys Palm: the liveblog
00:21:00 – HP and Palm: what happens next
00:30:40 – Palm Developer Day reveals interesting bits on the webOS 2010 roadmap
00:40:00 – Microsoft confirms, kills Courier in one fell swoop
00:49:09 – Microsoft says Android infringes on its patents, licenses HTC (update: talking to other Android manufacturers as well)
00:56:25 – Steve Jobs publishes some ‘thoughts on Flash’… many, many thoughts on Flash
00:58:21 – Adobe’s CEO: Jobs’ Flash letter is a ’smokescreen’ for ‘cumbersome’ restrictions
01:17:03 – RIM shows off BlackBerry 6 on video
01:19:40 – BlackBerry Bold 9650 hands-on: yeah, it’s a Tour with an optical pad
01:19:50 – BlackBerry Pearl 3G first hands-on!
01:22:28 – Engadget app update: iPhone app passes the 1m download mark, Android and webOS get an update!


Subscribe to the podcast

iTunes Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).
RSS MP3 Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
RSS AAC Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.
Zune Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast

LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
LISTEN (OGG)

Contact the podcast

1-888-ENGADGET or podcast (at) engadget (dot) com.

Twitter: @joshuatopolsky @futurepaul @reckless @engadget

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Laptops, Tablet PCs, Wireless, Internet

Engadget Podcast 194 – 04.30.2010 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Excerpted from:

Thanks, Erik

Update: Android Central has tracked down an Iron Man 2-themed commercial on YouTube clearly suggesting the Ally is coming soon (if you recall, LG had a big tie-in with the original Iron Man, too). Viewers are encouraged to head over to lg.com/ally to check it out, but there’s nothing useful there — yet. Follow the break for the full commercial.

Continue reading LG Ally to say ‘aloha’ to Verizon in mid-May?

LG Ally to say ‘aloha’ to Verizon in mid-May? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

See the original post here:

Today Google posted a small bit on its mobile blog about the importance of driving safely. The company said, “With the exception of Google Maps Navigation, which is designed for hands-free use with a car dock, Google Mobile products are not intended to be used while you are driving. Hand your phone to a passenger or park your car in a safe place if you need to search for a restaurant or check your email while behind the wheel.” The message was part of a collaboration with many companies to raise the awareness of driving safely.

Read the full story here.

The rest is here:
Google: Don’t use Google Maps while driving