When the HTC HD2 originally hit the market it was just an ordinary Windows Mobile 6.5 handset, nothing special or worth gawking at. Now, years later? The HD2 has continued to dodge the Grim Reaper by continuing to live on as a hackable device that allows would-be modders to push modern software onto the device.

The HTC HD2 not only moved past Windows Mobile 6.5 over to Windows Phone 7 via hacking efforts, it was also recently shown off by Cotulla running Windows Phone 8. While the HTC HD2 probably doesn’t run these modern operating systems blazingly fast, the fact that it can run them at all is impressive.

Not impressed with the HD2 running both Windows Phone 7 and Windows Phone 8? What about Windows RT, the ARM-version of Windows 8? That’s right, Cotulla has now returned with a new mod that allows Windows RT to be installed onto the HD2.

Considering RT is meant for big screens, this probably doesn’t run or look all that wonderful, but it is still pretty cool.

For those that are hoping for something less Microsoft-ish, there have also been hacking efforts in the past that put Android onto the device as well.

So what’s the secret to the HD2′s hacking success? Part of it is that it managed to lure in some very dedicated and talented hackers. The second reason is that its Qualcomm chip and the rest of the hardware is all very hack-friendly and highly compatible with a vast array of operating systems it seems.

Do you have an old HD2 laying around? Have you tried any similar projects to give the device renewed life?

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When Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8, some consumers were at least a little disappointed to learn that there would be no direct upgrade path from older Windows Phone 7 hardware. At the time Microsoft said that it had to do with hardware problems that would arise, namely that the older handsets wouldn’t provide an optimal Windows Phone 8 experience. That being said Microsoft never said it wasn’t technically possible for older devices to run the new OS.

It seems that the HTC HD2 has now received an early port of Windows Phone 8. For those wondering, this isn’t a Windows Phone 7 device, it was released in 2009 running Windows Mobile 6.5, actually. Ever since its release, the HTC HD2 has managed to get an update to every new release of Windows Phone 7 thanks to a very active modding community.

For now, the posting modder ‘Cotulla’ isn’t giving directions on how to get the project up and running, but it is further proof that just about any mobile mod is possible with enough patience and know-how. Keep in mind that Windows Phone 8 on the HTC HD2 seems to be an earlier build of the OS and is likely not very capable or stable at this point.

If the HTC HD2 can run Windows Phone 8, don’t be surprised if similar mods eventually arrive for Windows Phone 7 handsets. Keep in mind that just because you can upgrade doesn’t mean you’ll get a fast or fully compatible experience with your older handset, though. Unless you are a tinkerer that just wants to do it “because you can”, you might be better off just upgrading to a new handset like the Nokia Lumia 920 when you contract is up.

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Samsung Messenger Phone arriving at Bell Mobility this week

Do you like descriptive names? Sure, it’s fun hearing about the Dell Streak or the BlackBerry Curve, but these names don’t really tell you anything about what these devices do. Bucking that trend is the Samsung Messenger, a phone designed with messaging in mind. How appropriate.

Even though people seem to be more interested in Windows Phone 7 Series these days, new handsets are still being developed with Windows Mobile 6.5 in tow. The Samsung Messenger is one such phone, doing the Microsoft dance alongside its QWERTY keyboard and 2.6-inch 320×320 display.

Taking on a slightly slicker appearance than the Samsung Blackjack series, the Samsung Messenger also comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, speakerphone, microSD expansion, and a super thin profile.

Also known as the GT-B7330 (not as descriptive), the Samsung Messenger will be made available through Bell Mobility starting this week. Rogers is picking it up too, but Canada’s big red isn’t launching the Messenger until May 4th. Telus will follow suit later this year. Pricing is set at $300 without a contract on Bell or $0 with a 2 year plan.

The post Windows Mobile Samsung Messenger arriving at Bell this week appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

A variety of Windows-powered smartphones.

When Apple came forward with the App Store for the iPhone, everyone got pretty excited. At the same time apps had already existed on other platforms; just not in a unified storefront. The other trouble was that other smartphones did not have the same kind of internal storage capacity as the iPhone.

As a result, it has been more difficult to install quite as large a number of applications on other smartphones because of internal memory limitations. That’s about to change, at least for the Microsoft fans in the audience. Rather than restrict you to internal memory, you can now install some apps on a storage card.

Microsoft just made an announcement on the ability to install new applications from the Windows Marketplace for Mobile has been added to both Windows Mobile 6.5 and the upcoming Windows Phone 7 Series.

Since you can get these microSD memory cards in fairly sizable capacities, you could say that this brings Windows Mobile smartphones on par with the iPhone, at least in terms of installing a large number of apps.

For the record, Google Android phones are still lacking in this ability and rely solely on internal memory for app installations. I have a feeling that’s going to change pretty soon based on today’s news.

The post Microsoft to let you install mobile apps on memory cards, sticks one to iPhone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Developers, or hackers, at the XDA Developers forum have released a beta ROM of Android 2.1 that will run on the HTC Kaiser (aka AT&T tilt), Vogue, Niki, and Polaris.  Apparently the setup is nearly complete, everything is operational except a couple insignificant things (yikes) like the camera and Bluetooth.  WiFi, GPS, Phone, Sleep and Battery indicator a bit sluggish, but all working.

The team is doing their best to get the camera and Bluetooth working, they also have a bug tracker for users to help them troubleshoot anything that may arise during your conversion to Android.  A tool called HaRET will allow you to run the hacked ROM on your phone alongside Windows Mobile, if your just interested in taking a peak without the plunge.

The post XDA Developers hack Windows Mobile HTC smartphones to run Android 2.1 appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

With the recent launch of Windows Phone 7 Series, many Windows Mobile 6.5 (and Windows Mobile 6.53) owners cringed at the thought they would be dropped without a second thought. Contrary to those thoughts, Microsoft has announced that the OS will stay on board and will be re-badged as Windows Phone Classic. Why? Well, it’s still popular and Microsoft doesn’t want to turn their back on such an important core group of users.

As we reported earlier, WinPho7 will be a complete overhaul on Windows Mobile, making it more of a mobile lifestyle device by integrating Zune and Xbox Live. Windows Mobile Classic may just be the version targeted to businesses with continued support from Microsoft. For those of you looking for a Windows Mobile 6.5 download, your best bet is to wait it out for the Windows Phone Classic release.

The post Still alive: Windows Mobile 6.5 now Windows Phone Classic appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that the leaked beta seems to only work with an HTC Blue Angel Pocket PC phone, so if you’re rocking any other Windows Mobile device, you’re still out of luck for now. On the bright side, you’re probably not missing out on all that much.

Based on the provided screenshots and early discussion, Windows Mobile 6.5 is a pretty minor upgrade over the Windows Mobile 6.1. The only critical differences appear to be cosmetic, giving you a slightly different user experience.

For instance, the home screen almost has a Zune-like feel to it with the large text for voicemail, phone, text, appointments, and so forth. Perhaps the saddest thing, at least for me, is that the dial pad has remained largely unchanged since Windows Mobile 5.

If you happen to rock the Blue Angel and want to take WM 6.5 for a spin, you can find the leaked beta on XDA-Dev. Proceed at your own risk.

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