Photos: HTC unveils its Diamond touch
An iPhone rival?
Peter Chou (pictured above), president and CEO of mobile maker HTC, has announced the latest smart phone in its Touch touchscreen series at a launch event in London.
The multimedia device - called the HTC Touch Diamond - will be the first phone to the market running Windows Mobile 6.1 when the Diamond goes on sale in Asia and Europe this June. The device runs a version of the Opera browser instead of Internet Explorer. Microsoft's senior VP of mobile comms, Andy Lees, explained this is due to "the leapfrog" HTC want to make with the device and IE6 for the mobile not being ready in time.
Florian Seiche, VP of HTC Europe, said the Diamond will be offered by all five main network operators - a first for the company.
Photo credit: Natasha Lomas
Chou said while 2007 "was the year of the touchscreen", next up will be "the year of the usable mobile internet".
He said the experience of the mobile internet has not always lived up to people's expectations, with the process of getting to a website on a handset far too complex - requiring multiple clicks. He said the Diamond's 3D animated touchscreen user interface was designed to address this challenge.
Photo credit: HTC
Asked whether HTC envisaged business users coveting the Touch Diamond, HTC's Seiche, told silicon.com: "Our core positioning, in terms of the key consumers we would like to target with this device, is more of a consumer high end multimedia savvy audience.
"Because we can leverage all the features and functionalities of the Windows Mobile platform - and a lot of the other features are equally great for business - I think you will find still a lot of business people opting for this device, however our core marketing position is more towards the consumer."
Photo credit: HTC
Unlike the iPhone, the 2.8-inch touchscreen Diamond packs an HSDPA punch - although given that it is due to launch in June there may be a 3G iPhone available by then.
The Diamond also boasts embedded GPS, and there's a 3.2 megapixel camera too.
Photo credit: HTC
The Diamond is 102 x 51 x 11.33mm - small enough to fit comfortably in the hand, according to HTC. The mobile maker also made much of the navigation needing only one finger to operate.
Photo credit: HTC