Extra bits and bobs for the HD2

Last time I wrote about splashing out on an HTC HD2 with Orange via the Phones4U website. This time I thought I’d mention some of the accessories and software I’ve got for it.

First things first – I was a bit concerned about the phone getting damaged if I stuff it in a pocket so wanted something to protect it. So after a bit of digging I went for a “Case-Mate Barely There Black Rubber Case” and bought it from superetrader.co.uk since they had a good price and virtually free delivery. The case arrived pretty quickly and as is documented elsewhere, it’s a very snug fit – you really don’t want to be putting it on and taking it off very often. The case also comes with an adequate screen protector so no need to buy a separate one of those.

I also picked up a cheap car windscreen mount for the HD2, but with the Barely There adding slightly to the phone’s bulk, it wouldn’t fit. As it happens, I already had a Brodit screen mount for a Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox N560 PDA which I’d previously used as a sat-nav with a copy of TomTom among other things. Lo and behold, the HD2 wrapped in its Barely There is a not bad fit for the N560 mount – bit of play fore and aft but snug enough side to side so that will do for now. It’s a shame Brodit don’t make adjustable mounts for phones other than that Apple one – what’s it called??

I also bought a class 6 Samsung 8GB microSD HC card via Amazon to give me some extra room for music and maps and stuff – shame my computer won’t recognise it when plugged in the SD Card slot (in its adapter of course) but it certainly feels quick in the phone.

Software wise, after a bit of discussion with the chaps at PocketGPSWorld I bought a copy of Sygic Mobile Maps version 10 to use on it in conjunction with the PGPSW safety camera database and their Points of Interest. This I like and find a worth replacement for TomTom, and considerably cheaper. Since TomTom’s attitude to devices other than their own isn’t one of their strong points I was happy to look elsewhere. The HD2 had a trial version of CoPilot on it but I tried it and wasn’t impressed.

For flying navigation I have PocketFMS, SkyDemon and MemoryMap for CAA charts (and walking and stuff). Three packages is probably excessive so one of them probably won’t be renewed when the licence runs out.

I’d already been using pocketwit on the N560 so put a copy of that on the HD2 as I didn’t take to the included “Peep” programme. Most of the other included stuff including Opera and Internet Explorer is fine.

Games-wise, I’m a bit old-school here and mainly go for puzzle-ish games. I went for Smart Mahjongg, Pocket Uno, Freak Othello by Andy Jurko, and a few other free, simple time-wasters.

The only thing I’ve paid for apart from Sygic is a copy of Ruttensoft’s CloudFiles which means I can access the stuff I’ve got at Dropbox (or this referral link for 250 extra MB for me and anyone who joins through it).

I’m sure there are lots of “must-haves” out there which I haven’t seen so feel free to suggest some in the comments….

Thats all for now

Slow beginnings…

I was thinking it was about time I started writing a blog. Doubtless some would say that train has left the station and/or I’ve missed the boat but here I am anyway. Was thinking I might jot some stuff down about things I have, things I do, etc, etc. Some of it will be techy – I am a bit of a geek after all – but there’ll be other stuff too, as long as I find the time to write it! I guess even if no-one else looks here I can still use it to refer to.

So then, what to write about first? How about mobile phones?

I’ve recently put my long serving Motorola Razr V3i into semi-retirement having taking the plunge and got an HTC HD2. Why the HD2, and not the ubiquitous iPhone? Several reasons I guess… 1) The iPhone’s ubiquitous! 2) The HD2 runs on top of Windows Mobile and so most of the software I had on a Fujitsu Siemens Pocket Loox N560 PDA would still work. 3) The screen’s bigger and brighter than the Loox was. 4) Synchronising with Outlook is ok. I liked the sound of the device and checked out some of the video reviews, especially some of the ones comparing it with iPhones. I was a bit apprehensive about the size of the thing at first and whether it would fit comfortably in a pocket like the V3i did so I toddled off down to the phone shops and found one that I could pull far enough off the wall to test! In actual fact it’s not that much bigger than the V3i and so I was hooked.

Partly my interest was triggered by Virgin Mobile having a good offer on it, but thinking about it further, the dodgy network signal at home caused me to think again. Went into the O2 shop in the high street and the sales chap was like “there it is, take it or leave it”, so I left it. Went over to Phones4U and the chap there was very helpful, but they didn’t have any HD2 and would I like a Desire or something else instead? Err, no! Then back to the interweb and found a good deal on Phones4U’s web site with Orange so I went for that.

That was about 2 months ago now – am I happy? Yes. Do I like the phone? Yes. It does fit in most trouser pockets and/or shirt/jacket ones. It makes phone calls, it runs my GPS software and other stuff, it has a decent camera – what more could a gadget freak ask for??

Anyhow, think that will do for now – toe in the water and all that. Next time I’ll go into some of the stuff I’ve put on it and accessories I’ve bought for it…