The capacitive screen on the HD2 was OK when you’re using the front ‘Sense’ interface that covers over Windows Mobile. But when you eventually had to delve into the Windows Mobile interface, you find that it is unsuitable for touch screen use.

The screen situation got worse with applications. Most of the Windows Mobile apps don’t recognise multi-touch screens, as they were designed to be used with an old fashioned stylus pen.

There are a lot of analysts predicting the end of Windows Mobile in the next year. That would make a lot of unhappy customers who had just bought Windows Mobile phones, only to see them turn into abandoned paperweights with no software available.

There’s an almost identical specification phone coming out in January from HTC, called the HTC Passion. Instead of running Windows Mobile, the Passion runs Android. Vodafone may be clearing its stock of existing phones to make way for the Passion and the next wave of Android phones.