London - It's official, folks - UK's second largest network operator Vodafone will not be stocking HTC HD2 for general customers.

Though HD2 was selling well, Vodafone said it would not be ordering fresh stock of HD2 once it ran out of the present stock.

"Although we understand our consumer customers will be disappointed, we're confident the range of handsets we have in the pipeline will offer more than enough options to pick up a great handset," a Vodafone spokesman said.

In other words, folks, if you want to buy HD2, better check off Vodafone from your list.

However, Vodafone's business customers are luckier as the company made a lame announcement that it will continue to sell it to them. "We see the HTC HD2 as a strong business users' handset, so that's why we'll be keeping it in range," the spokesman said.

When contacted, a company source said Vodafone wanted to focus on smartphone launches that were in the "pipeline" such as Sony Ericsson's Xperia X2 and Xperia X10 and Nokia N900.

Surprisingly, Vodafone has offered no explanation for its decision because rivals O2 and T-Mobile are continuing to sell HD2 to general customers. And, industry analysts feel they have no current plans of following Vodafone's footsteps as they are witnessing strong demand.

Meanwhile, though the Vodafone source did not confirm nor deny whether Apple, whose iPhone Vodafone will be selling from 2010, had pressurised Vodafone to take the harsh step, industry watchers feel that Apple could be having a hand in this matter as HD2 has received several rave reviews and many had billed it as an 'iPhone-beater.'

And why not? HTC HD2 boasts of features worth drooling over, such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor; 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 pixel resolution display and multitouch support; Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS (that supports multitasking); 5-megapixel onboard camera with autofocus, dual LED flash, geo-tagging and video capture (@30fps); GPRS; EDGE; 3G; WiFi; Bluetooth; MicroUSB port; A-GPS; digital compass; accelerometer sensor; proximity sensor; HTML browser with Flash and Java support; and microSD card slot.

HD2 also has standard smartphone goodies such as FM Radio; media player with support for multiple audio and video formats and 3.5mm audio jack.

HD2 is also an excellent messaging and emailing device as it comes with an onscreen Qwerty keyboard and supports SMS, MMS, Email and Instant Messaging (IM).

The smartphone also has pre-installed applications that connect directly for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allowing users to access data more easily.

But what makes HD2 stand apart from the rest is probably its HTC Sense UI, which is based on the principles: "Make it mine," "Stay Close" and "Discover the Unexpected." This allows the user to create his own environment, to conveniently communicate with contacts through multiple channels, while the innovative features make the difference between local phone and online disappear. HTC Sense slightly resembles the TouchFlo which we have seen on other models, but HTC Sense, which lets you create personal widgets and screens for your own personalization and is capable of multitasking, takes things just that little bit further.

No wonder, HD2 has spread awe and fear among other smartphone makers and we will not be surprised if it turns out that one of HTC's rivals had arm-twisted Vodafone into taking the extreme step.

What do you think, folks? Leave your comments below.