HTC announces the Diamond with 3D TouchFLO
It seems to be tough for Windows Mobile OEMs to keep the lid on new products and HTC has as much trouble as everyone else since all the details on the HTC Diamond were revealed online last week. That didn't stop HTC from holding a special event in London to announce a single device, the HTC Diamond. The Diamond is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional device with an innovative new TouchFLO 3D UI. It will be available in Europe in June and elsewhere in the second half of 2008. There is no pricing information available yet.
The interface looks amazing (check out the video on the HTC site) and it is nice to see OEMs like HTC innovating with products like this and the SE Xperia X1. The new Today screen is the rumored HTC Manila interface we have heard about. Opera Mobile 9.5 is also included since it looks like the latest Internet Explorer Mobile is not ready yet.
Specs on the HTC Diamond include:
- Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional with Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528MHz processor
- WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA
- 802.11 b/g WiFi
- Integrated GPS receiver
- Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
- 2.8-inch VGA touch screen
- 4 GB Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM
- 3.2 megapixel camera
- 900 mAh battery
- Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm
- Weight: 110 g
The device also has an accelerometer(s) that supports an auto rotating display.
The use of the proprietary HTC port for a headset is disappointing and I worry about the small 900 mAh battery powering all these wireless radios. I am also not a real fan of integrated-only memory (unless it is high capacity flash like the 16GB on the iPhone) since it limits your expansion options and is another failure point built into the device. There was no announcement of a keyboard-enabled device, which was a bit disappointing for me. I should get some hands-on time with the Diamond next week at Mobius and will post pics and my thoughts after I have had a chance to use it a bit.
UPDATE: I thought the device was pretty sweet from what was available online and in the press release, but I wasn't super excited about it or anything. However, after reading Paul's thoughts on it (he was at the event) and reading about the ton of other features and functionality (removing the magnetic stylus during a call opens a note so you can take notes during the call) I am now very excited about getting my hands on the Diamond. Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but I think the HTC Diamond may be the mobile geek's best friend very soon.