HTC Touch Diamond

First off, let’s address the interface. The Touch Diamond utilizes HTC’s proprietary UI called TouchFLO 3D. This stylized interface is being touted as the first 3-D animated touchscreen interface. Well, be that as it may, what’s of greater interest is the design mentality the development team took into crafting the Touch Diamond; that being that one should only have to use a single digit to navigate the interface, meaning a streamlined means of accessing contacts and dialing numbers. This means less time staring down at the little device, however given the aesthetics, that's not necessarily a good thing.

In terms of appearance, HTC claims that they consulted not only the design industry but the fashion industry as well in crafting a device they hope people will be readily recognized from across the street. Well it certainly isn’t as iconic as the iPhone (at least not yet) the design itself is sleek and downright purdy. With a nearly pure black colour scheme, easily accessible and discrete buttons, the Touch Diamond is real easy on the eyes.

As for mobile browsing, HTC has given surfing special attention, offering a full web browser (Opera) and powerful HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. With the Touch Diamond you can pan and zoom your way through websites. With a built-in accelerometer the TD will automatically rotate the browser window depending on the position of the phone.

So when does this puppy hit the shelves? Well, the breakdown happens like this:

Europe: June 2008

Asia and the Middle East: Summer 2008

North America: Later half of 2008

HTC Touch Diamond Key Specifications:

Size: 102 x 51 x 11.33mm

Weight: 110 g

Connectivity: WCDMA / HSPA: 900/2100MHz. HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA

Operating system: Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional

Display: 2.8-inch VGA touch screen

Camera: 3.2MP, with video calling

Internal memory: 4 GB Internal Storage, 256 MB flash, 192 MB RAM,

Bluetooth: 2.0 with EDR

Wireless: WiFi 802.11b/g

GPS: GPS/AGPS

Interface: HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB and audio jack in one; USB 2.0 High-Speed)

Battery: 900 mAh

Talk time: GSM: up to 4 hours

Standby time: GSM: up to 300 hours/100 hours with push email

Chipset: Qualcomm® MSM 7201A™ 528MHz