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Vodafone unleashes HTC HD2 'iPhone killer'

After reports confirmed as much last week, the HTC HD2 – formerly known as the Leo smartphone – has gone on sale through Vodafone.

Customers can get the mobile handset for free when they opt for an 18-month contract at £40 per month, or a two-year deal at £35 per month.

SIIM-free, the Windows Mobile smartphone will set you back £500. For contract customers, there's the added bonus of 300 extra minutes, bringing the total to 900 per month, as well as unlimited internet, email and calls to landlines (with a 500MB fair use policy limit).

After the Tattoo and Magic models, it represents the third and priciest HTC mobile device available on the Vodafone network. It has – among many more features – a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen, a 5-megapixel camera (the iPhone 3GS's is 3-megapixel), an MP3 player, HSDPA connection, WiFi and GPS.

T-Mobile and O2 have both confirmed they will be hot on Vodafone's heels with their own HD2 deals, as industry observers watch with interest how the eagerly-anticipated "iPhone killer" fares.

The HD2's touchscreen display is the largest to be found on any smartphone so far, though it matches the Motorola Droid's 480×800 screen resolution.