HTC Touch Diamond - Review and Specs
| Manufacturer | HTC |
| Model | Touch Diamond |
| Release Date | May 2008 |
| 2G Network | GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G Network | HSDPA 2100 / 900 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional |
| Processor Speed | 528 Mhz processor |
| Processor Type | Qualcomm MSM7201A |
| Size | 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm |
| Weight | 110 g |
| Display Type | TFT touchscreen, 65K colors |
| Display Size | 2.8 inches |
| Display Resolution | 480 x 640 pixels |
| Ringtone Types | Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, WAV, WMA |
| Ringtone Vibration | Yes |
| Phonebook Memory | Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall |
| Call Records Memory | Practically unlimited |
| Memory - RAM | 192 MB DDR SDRAM |
| Memory - ROM | 256 MB ROM |
| Memory Slot | MicroSDHC |
| GPRS | Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps |
| HSCSD | No |
| EDGE | Class 10, 236.8 kbps |
| 3G | HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g |
| Bluetooth | Yes, v2.0 with A2DP |
| Infrared Port | No |
| USB | Yes, miniUSB |
| Messaging | SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging |
| Browser Type | WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML |
| Games | Yes |
| Camera Pixels | 3.15 MP |
| Camera Resolution | 2048x1536 pixels |
| Battery Type | Standard battery, Li-Ion 900 mAh |
| Stand-by Time | Up to 285 h |
| Talk Time | Up to 5 h 30 min |
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND REVIEW - DESCRIPTION
Editor review
HTC Touch Diamond Brings Style With Substance
|
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Design standards at HTC continue to push the envelop and the HTC Touch Diamond is no exception, featuring yet another new design backdrop the Touch Diamond looks more like an iPhone that warped in the hot sun than a standard HTC Touch Cruise offering. The unit is sleek, offers a nice portable size, and features the cell phone and pocket pc devices that have come to be expected from both HTC and from the new Windows Mobile 6.1 Operating System.
HTC Touch Diamond Design
The first thing I noticed on the Touch Diamond is the first thing I noticed on the HTC Touch Cruise, the unit features very few push buttons, in fact the only button option on the front of the device is a single round button in the middle front bottom of the device that works as an Okay key.
Looking at the top frontside of the device users will notice a single speaker and VGA video conferencing camera which features a VGA output, a pretty standard feature on HTC devices released in about the last 6 months. Below the camera is the devices 2.8 inch TFT Touch Screen with the ultra popular HTC TouchFlo Technology.
Below the screen I found a keypad with 5 buttons, at first it appears the keys are touch sensitive, until you actually push one of the keys and realize they are attached to a board like keypad that moves in the direction of your pushes. The keys on the far left feature the home screen key which will return you to the main menu of the device, follow directly below it by the Send Call Button on the opposite side of the keypad is the devices back arrow key followed below it by the Call End Button. Finally in the middle of all four buttons sits the D-Pad, which features a single button to push down on for selecting your icons. The D-Pad configuration is a little odd in that you can move up and down through items by pushing directly above, below, or on either side of the D-Pad button, yet there is no clearly defined area to push, just small arrows pointing in each direction, it seems odd at first, but once you begin using the new configuration a breeze to handle and allows the front of the unit to utilize its clean lines configuration.
On the top left side of the device there is a simple volume rocker, clicking up or down will increase and decrease your sound and doing so will also display a vibrate and silent screen for easy access to those functions.
The bottom of the HTC Touch Diamond features an HTC MiniEXT USB port which is used for charging the phone, data syncing and for plugging in an HTC Headset adapter. The unit unfortunately does not feature a separate 2.5mm or 3.5mm headset jack which was missed on the unit.
The bottom right of the device then houses the Stylus which is magnetic, followed by no other attributes on the side of the unit.
The top of the HTC Touch Diamond features the units ON/OFF/Standby button.
Finally the back of the HTC Touch Diamond offers a new unique design, it literally looks like the face of a diamond with beveled edges consuming the backside, the edges are smooth and feel good in the hand which was a big plus. At the top of the backside the 3.2 mega pixel camera is prominently features with a silver lining, literally, the only part of the device that is not offered with a shiny black gloss and shows off the unique design by mounting the camera within one of the triangular diamond patters.
Overall the relatively small size of 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm packs quite a large bit of design into the unit, while not sacrificing functionality thanks to the excellent placement of the devices backside and front side cameras. The unit shows no signs of gapping or any other issues in the build of the unit and the magnetic stylus while maybe not needed in a practical sense made for another unique feature. Overall the HTC Touch Diamond design is not only inventive, but a nice change of pace that really puts a Windows Mobile 6.1 Pocket PC on par with other non-business devices in terms of visual appeal.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND FEATURES
My favorite feature on the HTC Touch Diamond is the use of the HTC Home Screen display. When using the unit you will first notice a nice large clock, clicking on the clock will bring up the time settings with the ability to integrate world times onto your device. You can get to the home screen at any time by clicking the home screen shortcut key located on the bottom front side of the device.
Shortcuts can then also be setup by the user, such as the default shortcuts that lead to your call history and calendar by pushing down on the D-Pad. The shorcuts do not stop however on a vertical level, horizontally across the bottom of the screen user can access contacts, emails and text messages, launch their web browser, access photos and videos, play music, get the weather, change the Pocket PC settings, and access their favorite settings which can be setup as shortcut keys for onscreen one button push access, such as YouTube which comes as a standard part of the devices shortcut setup, of course hitting the home key will always bring you back to the start of the options available.
The HTC Touch Diamond also features the HTC TouchFlo technology with the new TouchFlo 3D interface, a nice addition that allows users to swipe their fingers up and down and left and right across the units screen and thus access their favorite applications, the TouchFlo 3D technology is an upgrade from TouchFlo was has been offered on the HTC Touch Cruise and other HTC Touch models for almost the last year, but I especially found it efficient on the Touch Diamond because it offered more usability, as you can see from various videos posted on YouTube, and because it was not a standalone offering this time thanks to the other shortcut keys listed above, whether you are in the mood for finger swiping, stylus use, or the use of a D-Pad each button was well thought out and each type of navigation served its own purpose well.
I usually do not talk about memory on the Features section of reviews I have written so I will keep this short and sweet, the unit features 4GB of Internal Memory which supplants the usually MicroSD card slot which is missing from the unit, if you are a moderate user or are looking to open mostly office documents I doubt it will make much of a difference, beside 4GB can store a lot of songs, documents, photos and even some good sized videos.
The unit also features a very impressive Qualcomm MSM7201A processor with a 528 Mhz processor for very fast processing speeds, which are helped along by the units 192MB DDR SDRAM and 256MB Rom, for a small device the processing power actually beats out some devices like the HTC TYTN II and in terms of memory it outshines the MWg Atom Life.
The HTC Touch Diamond also features a really nice keypad, the keys are big enough that dialing is easy and the device offers a cool feature, once you dial at least 6 numbers a message will come up that says Save to Contacts which you can click on and it will prompt you for a name, which you can enter using several different keyboard layouts, including a 16 key configuration which puts two letters on each number display for faster entry. I like this function because it makes saving contacts easy, plus I tend to forget to save numbers and the HTC Touch Diamond helps ensure I remember to save important numbers.
Finally the HTC Touch Diamond features Windows Mobile 6.1, if you are not familiar with the changes between Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 they are pretty significant, for instance the use of Zoom Out internet browsing technology, and the ability to enjoy threaded text conversations when instant messaging users. Business users will particularly like the ability to open Office 2007. Also, Windows Mobile 6.1 gives access to an actual Task Manager just like you would find on your computer, it shows CPU usage, open programs, and the memory usage of each application. There is of course other new advantages of Windows Mobile 6.1 but I wanted to highlight a few I found helpful on the HTC Touch Diamond.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND DISPLAY
I hate websites that have black backgrounds, and usually I do not like home screens to be dark in color, with the exception being the HTC line of devices, and especially the HTC Touch Diamond, the screen size is a respectable 2.8 inches, and takes up most of the front side realty on the device, the display is also surprisingly crisp considering the 65,000 color output and the 480 x 640 pixels of resolution. I think the display comes off nicer than the specs would have us believe because of the backlighting capabilities of the unit and the layout of the HTC screens. I found picture taking and video playback to both function well on the device, although video playback on a 2.8 inch screen is not ideal and the resolution does not give the best video playback previewing, but for a compact unit that is easy to tote around I am not going to complain too much. The display also offers that nice touch screen technology by HTC known as HTC TouchFlo which responds perfectly, and with nice bright and easily defined icons the display helps the navigation options on the unit, although with a smaller screen the icons could have been bigger, and pushing some of them with your finger is not suggested, I would personally look at using the stylus for some of your navigation, or even the D-Pad.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND INTERNET
The Touch Diamond is a Tri-band GSM Device that features 3G Internet access for International use, but unfortunately not on 3G networks in the United States which was a real letdown. However, considering the unit will only work on T-Mobile in the United States the 3G would not have mattered, with that said what the device does offer is a very capable and surprisingly fast Edge network connection. The unit utilizes the Class 10 Edge network which can push speeds up to 236.8kbps. One big advantage of the unit is the ability for Internet Explorer to Zoom Out on web pages to make browsing around sites much less complicated. Also, Windows Mobile 6.1 works wonderfully if you choose to use Opera Mini 9.5 which allows for multiple windows browsing, zoom in and zoom out functions, and faster page rendering. Overall the GPRS and EDGE capabilities of the HTC Touch Diamond are fine for Email and Internet uses and for 3G internet access if you happen to travel overseas.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND CAMERA
I have to admit that one thing on the HTC Touch Diamond annoyed me, there is no Camera quick launch button, a shortcut key that has become a standard on many Pocket PC and for that matter cell phones in general. To get to the camera it is easiest to navigate the bottom row of touch buttons, find the photos and videos function and then select the camera option. Once in camera mode I did find the Auto Focus to function very well, the camera makes a loud click noise when in focuses and shows the green in- focus box on the screen. Pictures taking on the 3.2 mega pixel camera came out very clear, I did not notice any undertones, overtones, or blurring of images. The devices D-Pad offers some shortcuts, for instance, pushing down on the d-pad will move you between the following options: Photo, Video, Panoroma Mode, MMS Video, Contacts Picture and then Picture theme which allows you to do one of those Time Magazine type photos with the picture framed in a fake magazine layout. I will admit that having the ability to quickly scroll through the camera functions was nice, but once a video or picture is taken it can be confusing to find your way back into the necessary screens to take another picture or browse your videos and pictures you have already taken. The video recording is as good if not better than the HTC TYTN II, and was actually fairly comparable to the Sony Ericsson K850i even though that camera offers a higher 5MP camera option. With tiled browsing of already taken pictures and videos and the ability to quickly send them to friends via MMS the phones offers some really nice camera functions that take some time to get use to and for that matter to find, but overall the camera takes solid pictures and videos, just beware when zooming in which still plagues not only the HTC Touch Diamond, but many other Pocket PC units on the market.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND AUDIO
The HTC Diamond offers an impressive set up supportable Audio playback options. Users can playback MP3, AAC, AAC+, WAV, and WMV files among others. The Audio playback on the HTC Touch Diamond is crisp, although a dedicated headset jack would have been appreciated. Playing back music on the units installed speaker was actually very decent, the speaker offers loud playback with very little distortion, of course external playback can�t match the units ability to play music via A2DP Bluetooth technology, or via the included Stereo Wired headset which easily plugs into the units MiniEXT USB port. The new media player on the HTC Touch Diamond is also very nice, the unit features a stylish new setup that lets users scan through their albums with album art, simply push the up or down arrows and you move seamlessly through the available albums. You can also push the menu button and choose to repeat a song, shuffle your music, add to a playlist, and even view the properties of a song including the album name, artist name, genre, etc. Click on the Library option at the bottom of the music player screen and you willll even find your now playing list, artist lists, albums, and more, I actually liked the display more than the iPod display. Overall audio playback and the options for audio use are excellent on the unit and the new crisp display is top Notch.
HTC TOUCH DIAMOND CONNECTIVITY.
The Diamond features some nice connectivity features, for instance the unit can hook up to a PC via the USB slot, a nice feature that allows for quick active sync capabilities. Aside from corded connections as I previously mentioned the unit features EDGE internet connectivity in the United States, and the option to connect to 3G internationally. The Touch Diamond also features Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP which makes listening to music over Stereo Bluetooth headsets a breeze. Finally the Unit features WiFi 802.11 b/g certified internet access which offers blazing fast speeds over both secured and non-secured WAN networks. The one missing connection is a MicroSD card slot, but if you do not pile on applications and music on your device with the internal 4GB of memory and all the other options available I doubt you will even miss it.
CONCLUSION
If you like style but still want substance the HTC Touch Diamond is one of the best Tri-Band GSM options on the market, this is if you are willing to give up your expandable memory slot and 3G internet access. I will admit that the Menus can be a little confusing at first, partly because it is a new navigational layout which always takes some time to get use to, and partly because the navigation menus were sloppily laid out. The screen is nice and crisp though, and the actual call clarity on phone calls is excellent, I would have liked to see a Quad-Band GSM offering, but its still a nice unit regardless if it only works on T-Mobile in the United States. Yes the unit is a fingerprint magnet for those of you wondering, but really what touch screen device with swiping capabilities isn�t I know the iPhone attracts fingerprints from people just standing near the device.
For business users the ability to go head to head with Office 2007 will be a welcomed addition, while the threaded messaging should also come in handy.
Overall I like the device for what it is, a new style with new layouts and a nice processor that zips along, is there room for improvement? Of course there is, but what device can honestly say it could not build on its own functions, hopefully HTC will continue to build on the design of the HTC Touch Diamond and continue to reinvent the style of the Windows Mobile Pocket PC arena as they have managed to do with the ultra stylish Touch Diamond.
|
| Overall rating: |
|
7.8 |
| Styling: |
|
9.0 |
| Ease of Use: |
|
7.0 |
| Display: |
|
8.0 |
| Voice Quality: |
|
8.0 |
| Battery Life: |
|
7.0 |
| Quality/Build: |
|
8.0 |
Was this review helpful to you?
|
User reviews
|
There are no user reviews for this listing.
To write a review please register or login.
|
|
|
0
