HTC Touch Diamond CDMA Cell Phone
OverviewWhat’s good: TouchFlo 3D is useful, device resembles unlocked version, addition of microSD card slot
What’s bad: Lack of memory, slow at times, battery life is mediocre
Introduction
Often criticized as the last carrier to get interesting devices, Verizon Wireless has stepped it up a bit by offering the HTC Touch Diamond. Granted, Sprint has offered the device for a while, and more importantly, its successor has been announced. But it's still a good option for Windows Mobile fans seeking a decent device on the network, and would be even better if Verizon lowered the $299.99 price tag.
Design & FeaturesIn the box, a USB cable, charger (which utilizes the USB cable as a liaison between the charger and phone), headset adapter and charging combination accessory that recognizes both 2.5mm and 3.5mm headsets, an extra stylus, and instruction manuals. Overall, the Verizon version aesthetically pleasing; it's a bit boxier than its Sprint counterpart, but it retains the back of the unlocked Touch Diamond. The 2.8-inch, 262,000-color display looks great and displays colors well.
The Verizon version of the device adds a few new programs, most notably Visual Voice Mail, VZ Navigator (which utilizes A-GPS), and the newly minted VZAppZone. Besides that, other standard applications such as Office Mobile, Adobe Reader LE, Audio Booster, Mobile IM, MP3 Trimmer, Remote Desktop, and YouTube were included. The MP3 trimmer was a favorite during testing; the user can cut an MP3 to ringtone length and use it.
A key benefit to the Touch Diamond is the TouchFlo 3D interface. Available as a replacement to the typical "Today" screen, it offers an easy way to keep track of important things. Flicking from the left to right brings up the home, favorites, messaging, music, e-mail, browser, camera, applications, weather, and settings pages. Minus a few performance issues, the overall experience was relatively smooth.
Usability & PerformanceA key feature not found in the Sprint version is the addition of a microSD card slot. Offering support for up to 16 GB of storage, the expandable memory is certainly an added benefit. It comes with a cost, though: with the expandable storage comes a noticeable lack of memory that bogs down the device and makes it less responsive than the Sprint Touch Diamond. The Verizon version has 256 MB of flash and 128 MB of RAM onboard, whereas its Sprint brother has 4 GB. As a result, there is a noticeable lag between the two. It often slipped while performing the most basic tasks, such as viewing the call log or scrolling through the programs menu.
The slow nature of the device made it challenging to perform some tasks, particularly when browsing the web. When we would visit a web page and click to zoom, the Touch Diamond would lag, making us think that it didn't recognize the tap. In turn, we would tap it again, and overcompensate. Likewise, this was present in messaging and the phone application, making it challenging for those that move quickly. While on this note, the on-screen keyboard is going to be a love or hate item. The Touch Diamond offers several different typing options, such as an on-screen QWERTY keyboard, "Compact QWERTY," which resembles SureType, and a typical "abc" keypad, much like a standard phone. The virtual keypad is essentially useless for anyone with large hands. In this scenario, the stylus is essentially a requirement, which in turn slows the user down while e-mailing or text messaging.
The camera clocks in at 3.2 megapixels, and while camera pictures were generally decent, the slow shutter speed made it challenging to take a clear picture. Our video quality didn't have the same success; most of our clips came out quite blurry.
For the most part, our test calls were clear; users claimed that they couldn't tell we were on a cell phone. Speakerphone, on the other hand, was a bit shoddy and hard to hear, even at the loudest volume. Battery life is estimated at 5 hours of talk time and 15 days of standby time; our device was dead after 4 hours of talking, e-mailing, and some light web browsing. Overall, we would say it's decent, but keep a car charger around just in case.
ConclusionThe HTC Touch Diamond is a good addition to Verizon's lineup, and a solid offering for Windows Mobile fans. Minus a few caveats in pricing and features, there are things to like about the device. As with many devices on today's market, the Touch Diamond is a classic case of "try before you buy." Make sure the on-screen keyboard and memory works for you, and you'll find a lot to like in the phone.Read full review » Better late than never, Verizon picks up HTC's Touch Diamond Windows Mobile smartphone with TouchFlo 3D. Funny, b/c HTC just announced pricing for Touch Diamond 2 ... Seeqpod.com has long been one of Noah's favorite websites. Why? Because whenever a bad song pops into his head, Seeqpod lets him hear it. Now you can get Seeqpod on your iPhone or Windows Mobile phone, too. Noah gets hands - and ears - on with Seeqpod. LetsTalk.com's Editorial Director, Joni Blecher, and Sprint Merchandising Manager, Michael Cera, talk about the HTC Touch Diamond. Part 2 of Noah's review of the first CDMA Touch Diamond - Sprint's version. Is it a diamond or just a piece of cubic zirconia? Watch Part 2 to find out. Noah goes in-depth with Sprint's version of the HTC Touch Diamond. Is this the best Windows Mobile phone out there right now? Find out what kravvykrav thinks, and decide for yourself, in Part 1 of the review. Unboxing the Sprint version of the HTC Touch Diamond. Noah's quick tour shows some Sprint modifications to the design and software, including Sprint TV and Music Store support. OverviewWhat’s good: TouchFlo 3D is useful, device resembles unlocked version, addition of microSD card slotWhat’s bad: Lack of memory, slow at times, battery life is mediocre
IntroductionOften criticized as the last carrier to get interesting devices, Verizon Wireless has stepped it up a bit by offering the HTC Touch Diamond. Granted, Sprint has offered the device for a while, and more importantly, its successor has been announced. But it's... Customers that have been eagerly anticipating the HTC Touch Diamond's arrival on Verizon Wireless can rest easy. Though it's a late bloomer on Verizon, the device will be available to B2B, website, and Telesales customers on April 10th. The specs of the Verizon version are below:CPU: Qualcomm 7500ASpeed: 528 MHzRAM size: 128MBFlash size: 256MBDisplay resolution: 480×6403.2 megapixel camera with autofocusExpect to pay around... Carrier: AlltelRetail Price: $539.99 or viaebayContract Price: $249.99 or via Let's TalkHot Feature: Touch-FLO 3D + Win-Mo 6.1
The HTC Touch Diamond smartphone runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional under a clever TouchFLO interface. Key features include adjustable text size, streaming video that supports youtube, WiFi, Type A-GPS that supports LBS, 4GB internal memory, and a 3.15 megapixel camera. Apparently the home office has been getting a lot of impatient
questions about the full review Sprint Touch Diamond video I promised
when I did the unboxing vid a little while back. I really didn't mean
to keep you in the dark on this one, folks, so here's an update.
I
shot a bunch of footage on Tuesday and Wednesday but wasn't sure that I
was happy with it. No matter, for when I sat down to edit, the largest
of my footage... Q.Hey Noah, Love the work that you do. I was just wondering if you heard any whispers when the Touch HD will be coming to the US and if so which carrier. From the stuff I've seen I love it but if the wait is too long (say over 6 months) I'll just settle for the Touch Pro. Thanks!
A. I'm amped up about the Touch HD, as well. So far there's no word - or even whispering - about a US carrier.
I know HTC is interested in bringing... Q. hey noah, love the phonedog site i check it daily and all the reviews you do are amazing. most of the videos from CTIA were all on new phones for sprint, which is fine, but i was looking to get a new verizon phone for Christmas and was wondering if anything new was coming out for verizon anytime soon, or if what they have now is pretty much all they're gunna have. if its possible for you to answer this, i would greatly appreciate it. and if... Pros: - 3G - Sliding/tilting keyboard very nice - Nice camera - Decent built in speakers - Many applications, lots of them free - Decent processor speed - Good battery life, plays music for me for 24 hours on a full charge - Best touch screen so far - Stylish - Heavy, but feels very durable and is easy to hold Cons: - Short USB cable - Microsoft Active Sync is glitchy, not so great; need to upgrade OS from XP to Vista (never!) or 7 - Texting on this keyboard takes some getting used to, it's much wider than a BB so may take a bit more dexterity - Not a standard USB cable, so have to buy additional if you need extra - No separate headphone jack, have to buy special or use clunky adapter Summary: I do love this phone, despite a few shortfalls. Some of the reviews are misleading, and were published long before the US version of the phone was even available. For example, the SD card slot is easily accessible on the side of the phone. My son received his MyTouch the same day I got this phone, and the boxing for this phone could be much MUCH better, especially for the price. Unboxing the MyTouch was like "Here is your AWESOME, new COOL PHONE!!!" While the Touch Pro 2 was like "Here's your new phone." The MyTouch came with an SD card, this phone did not, which seemed cheap on T Mobile's part. Would I buy this phone again, YES! 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful Pros: Lots of functions. Built pretty sturdily. Both physical and screen works well. Cons: Clunky. No battery life, dies before completing a days work (7hrs if you work it is all I got). Insufficient memory. Needs to remove battery cover to use SD memory card. Likes to freeze up. Bluetooth works spotty. Slow response. Scrolling and gestures poor. Many functions but no programs to use them. Summary: Not for heavy use unless you have spare battery or you can keep it plugged in. Jack of all trades but definitely masters none well. If you don't need windows for your job don't get it. Not user friendly. Needs faster cpu and more memory. Not for everyday use. Display too small. Wouldn't buy again. 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful Summary: It constantly freeze up. T-mo exchanged my phone twice and all three of them had the same problem. And the funny thing is t-mo tech support told me not to install any third-party software. Than what i am going to do with this powerful phone? 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful Pros: Setting up and adding contacts easy to do, just plug into computer and it automatically updates your contacts and your calender which is also good since you have backup files on phone and computer. Sound quality is great i could listen to music and watch movies all day on it. This phone is really light weight and easy to carry around. Easily customizable and makes this literally your own phone. the screen itself is really durable. I was working and it got dropped straight on a nail and there is Cons: Phone case cracks easily but you can send the phone in for a new one. When i receive picture messages my phone will often freeze up and I will be forced to turn the phone off then back on to look at the file. The boot up process is really slow compared to most other phones I have owned but this one is also a lot more complicated which may add to the lag. Sometimes if I send a message and one is trying to come in at the same time the messaging feature will lock up so I can access anything else Summary: Overall I believe this phone is worthwhile getting if you can look past the minor flaws that this phone contains. I would recommend purchasing screen protectors and maybe looking for like a rubber sleeve that can go over the phone so the case doesn't crack so easily. 3 out of 3 people found this review helpful Pros: Display, keyboard, 3G Cons: UMA (wifi calling support from Provider) Summary: certainly a good phone but missing UMA 0 out of 2 people found this review helpful and was wondering if u can test it out or recomend one cause i want to use my g1 to here music insted on geting an ipod or zune (zune is better) but wat do u suggest ? its between the HTC touch pro, HTC touch diamond, blackberry storm, samsung omnia please let me know which one to get. For your first question, yes and no. Both phones require a "simply everything plan + data" when you buy the phone (unless you don't want the mail-in rebate). Although the cost is pretty high, you only have to stick with that plan from anywhere from 3-6 months, then you can change to a messaging only plan. And for your second question, yes. but the cost of each phone is going to run you $100 more. If you want to save money, it would be better to... Can this phone be used with sprints Everything Messaging plan? Im about to upgrade and I was about to get the instinct until I found out that it needed the everything plan and that cost too much. So I was wondering if what plans the HTC Diamond can be used with. On the website it says "mail in rebate requires and everything plan, Data primer add-on, or Pro Pack add-on" Does this mean that I can get the phone with any plan but not get the rebate? if you like those then compromise and get the instinct s30 which is pretty awesome I can't speak for the Touch Pro, but I can speak for the Touch Diamond.Texting on the Touch Diamond is perfectly fine, with the option to switch between full QWERTY, compact QWERTY and the standard phone keypad. For the QWERTY keyboard, you're going to need to use the stylus to stay accurate. I can use the compact QWERTY without the stylus with no problems at all, although those with bigger hands may have issues.I'd suggest you head out to a... just hold out a little longer. honest opinion, the touch pro 2 looks amazing. altell is horrible. Hey guys can yall help me decided which one to get, i dont know which one to get, sometimes i want diamond and then sometimes i wont instinct, i think its to close. couple things to take in mind1. Dont rlly care about the camera2. like music3. like gps4. really like webthanks guys Ok. So my basic question, is... should I get the Touch pro, or the diamond. The Pro has qwerty, and Microsd, but its also super thick. And I like a thinner phone, like the diamond. But that (from what I hear) has bad texting, so idk. I have altell, and these are basically the only two good phones. I need an honest opinion. My second question is... should I wait for the Pro2 and Diamond2? I know for sure they wont come out on altell, atleast at... im in the samme situation.i was hoping the pro2 would come for telus. but i dont have any luck except that the pro 2 is avalable in the uk unlocked and can be shipped to canada. but im not shure if thats 100% true or rumor Buying choicesWith new service  with a Verizon plan from $99.99 with an ALLTEL plan from $49.99 with a Centennial plan from $349.99 With pre-paid service This item is not being sold with a pre-paid service service plan by any online merchant. Purchase phone only Accessories Purchase compatible accessories for this phone Ringtones & MediaShop for compatible mobile content for this phone
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