Microsoft Quietly Approves of Windows Phone 7 “Mango” on HTC HD2

Enterprising hackers on XDA Developers have managed to install the latest beta version of Windows Phone 7 Mango onto the last major Windows Mobile 6.5 flagship smartphone in the HTC HD2. Microsoft has even acknowledged the ingenuity of the team responsible and has given its tacit approval, while not completely endorsing the practice as it does require voiding the warranty by unlocking the phone’s original bootloader in order to install the new operating system.

Microsoft spokesman Bill Cox said in a statement to AllThingsD, “We say tinker away with Mango and enjoy the juice, but beware the fine print — unlocking phones may void your warranty.”

The HTC HD2 was one of the first Windows Mobile smartphones to meet the original Windows Phone 7 hardware specification with a 4.3 inch display and 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which would technically qualify it for the current spec too, were it not for the inclusion of one more button than necessary according to the revised hardware spec.

Since the HD2 had four hardware buttons and the Fall 2010 devices were limited to three as a hard specification, the HD2 was excluded from receiving its previously promised update to Windows Phone 7 despite meeting the Chassis 1 minimum hardware specifications to begin with. This has led to an increasingly resurgent community of HD2 hackers that have made it a point to keep the hardware viable in the face of forced obsolescence by Microsoft and HTC.