Wi-Fi Router on HTC HD2 – Application overview

The HTC HD2 is, without any doubt, one of the hottest and most powerful Windows Phones on the market today. MobilityMinded has been very fortunate to conduct a very extensive and indepth review of the HTC HD2, which is published in the article “HTC HD2 review – A new era in Windows Phones’ history“.

However I would like to highlight one specific application on the HTC HD2, which is a helpful addition for every mobile professional:  Wi-Fi Router, which turns the HTC HD2 in a true Access Point that shares your cellular data connection.

The screenshots above show two ways of launching the Wi-Fi Router application on the HTC HD2. The first way is simply to tap on the Wi-Fi Router icon in the improved Windows Mobile 6.5 start menu. The second way is via changing the switch for Wi-Fi Router in the Comm Manager on the HTC HD2, which is shown in the right screenshot above.

Both ways of launching the Wi-Fi Router application result in the same first step of “transforming” the Windows Phone into a Wi-Fi Router / Access Point. The mainscreen of the application is shown in the left screenshot above.

There you can see the Wi-Fi Router status and you can configure Network name and WEP key as the Wi-Fi Router parameters. Furthermore you need to select the Cellular Data Connection that you want to share, in the example this is called “Vodafone Live!”

The right screenshot above shows the status change “Connecting Vodafone Live!” when you hit start on the right softkey.

After this status change or in the case when you hit “Help” on the left softkey a screen with (help) instructions is shown on the massive screen of the HTC HD2. As you can see in the left screenshot the (help) instructions consist of four simple steps, while the right screenshot above shows the Wi-Fi Router status: “Wi-Fi Router running, ready to accept connections“.

One of the best improvements of Windows 7 on my Lenovo X60 tablet is the improved way of managing the wireless networks, which I described in the acrticle “Windows 7 RC reviewed on HP Mini 1000” as:

“Windows 7 makes viewing and connecting to all of your networks simple and consistent. You’ll always have one-click access to available networks, regardless of whether those networks are based on Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-up, or your corporate VPN.”

In the left screenshot you can see that I’m connected with the Linksys WRT54GS Router of the Home network, while you can see the the Wi-Fi Router is in the list of available wireless networks.

Connecting to the Wi-Fi Router Wireless Network is simple. At first you click on the Wireless Network, and you click on the connect button. From the previous device screenshots above you probably remember that the WEP key is 1234567890, which I need to enter in order to get connected with the Wi-Fi Router Wireless Network.

In the right screenshot above you can see that I’m connected to the Wi-Fi Router Wireless Network. The left screenshot below shows the status of the Wi-Fi Router application on the HTC HD2 as: “Wi-Fi Router running, Connection established” so on both devices you can clearly see that connected status !!

If you want to stop the Wi-Fi Router application you simply hit “Stop” on the right softkey, while as a result the Wi-Fi Router status directly changes to “Stopping Wi-Fi Router“. All connections are disconnected and the Wi-Fi Router application returns to its main screen.

Concluding thoughts on the Wi-Fi Router application

At first I would like to compliment HTC for developing this great application and pre-loading the Wi-Fi Router application on the HTC HD2. In the review I concluded that the HTC HD2 addresses also business needs or the needs of power users and mobile professionals:

“The HTC HD2 is a very well balanced Windows Phone for various usage scenarios, and with a bulk load of added value not only in terms of technology and hardware but also in terms of software innovations. HTC has done an amazing job and set the bars significantly higher.”

Wi-Fi Router vs. Internet Sharing

Jaap van Ekris, Windows Mobile MVP and Editor in Chief of ModernNomads.info, has written excellent articles related to the internet sharing functionality in Windows Mobile:  “Bluetooth Internet Connection sharing” and “Use your Windows Mobile device as modem for your laptop“ 

Internet Sharing on Windows Phones can substitute devices like the Option GlobeTrotter GT MAX HSUPA modem card or a Huawei E160 USB modem. But it is not possible to share the cellular data connection with more devices or people. This is the biggest advantage of the Wi-Fi Router application on the HTC HD2, while it furthermore is extremely simple to use.

However I would also like to address a few points for improvement in future itterations of the Wi-Fi Router application.

1. The security of the Wireless Connection is just a 10 digit WEP key, while I use the more secure WPA security on my Linksys WRT54GS Router. In the extreme case that you work with a project group on location, and have your Wi-Fi Router application up and running for the whole day, you simply want the corporate project data to be secure.
2. In the same usage scenario of a project group working on location, it would be extremely helpful to have a central and secure sharing folder, which acts like a document dump. In the case of a “normal” router you can use a USB-stick for that purpose, and it would be great if the Wi-Fi Router application could somehow take advantage of the storage on microSD card of the HTC HD2.

In order to wrap-up I find the Wi-Fi Router a very helpful application, and honestly I do think that this should become standard available on ALL Windows Phones (which would mean that it needs to become part of the core OS). With the Internet Sharing functionality already available the Wi-Fi Router would be a great addition.

What do you think of the Wi-Fi Router application ? If you want to learn more about the features and performance of the HTC HD2, you might want to check out the extensive review on this website.