HTC has just taken the wraps off its latest device, the HTC Touch Diamond. The comparisons with the iPhone, justified or not, are already being drawn: it’s a high end device with a lot of storage (4GB) and a touch interface. It also appears to be aimed squarely at the consumer market, rather than HTC’s traditional business heartland – it’s got a “customised new, HTC-developed, YouTube application”, 7.2Mbps HSDPA and a 3.2 megapixel camera for starters.
The device runs on Windows Mobile 6.1, as you’d expect, but there’s one notable difference on this HTC phone: the Diamond’s browser is based on Opera, not Internet Explorer – a bit of a coup for the Opera folks. It looks like HTC has done some cool stuff with the touchscreen, with an iPhone alike ability to rotate the view to either landscape or portrait depending on how you hold the device, pan and zoom with one hand and autofocus the camera just by pressing the screen. Can’t wait to see all this in action.
I've just bought the HTC Diamond. Had I known it had MS as the OS, I think i would've reconsidered. (My fault for not searching, was focused on something other than the iPhone!). Although now i wonder if i've made a terrible mistake, and should go for the iphone. I still have a chance before teh 14 days expiry, what do you suggest?
Gaylene, In the brief time I had to have a play with that device I didn't paticularly like it… the TouchFLO is only a skin-deep cover for the less pleasent Window mobile interface and it didn't seem very stable. However, 6.1 is getting much better feedback than previous versions so Microsoft are definitely improving things. What's right for you (I love the iPhone, but am very aware of its short comings) will depend on your priorities and usage… what do you need?
Gaylene, In the brief time I had to have a play with that device I didn't paticularly like it… the TouchFLO is only a skin-deep cover for the less pleasent Window mobile interface and it didn't seem very stable. However, 6.1 is getting much better feedback than previous versions so Microsoft are definitely improving things. What's right for you (I love the iPhone, but am very aware of its short comings) will depend on your priorities and usage… what do you need?
Gaylene, In the brief time I had to have a play with that device I didn't paticularly like it… the TouchFLO is only a skin-deep cover for the less pleasent Window mobile interface and it didn't seem very stable. However, 6.1 is getting much better feedback than previous versions so Microsoft are definitely improving things. What's right for you (I love the iPhone, but am very aware of its short comings) will depend on your priorities and usage… what do you need?