Disclaimer: The unit used for evaluation in this review is a pre production one. Final hardware and software (for commercial release) will not be available until August 2008.

When I first picked up the HTC Touch Diamond, I had to check it really was an HTC product. My previous experiences had been with somewhat larger devices.

What a pleasant surprise – a smartphone with style!

Not only with style, but with class.

And one that made great use of its large screen.

But I get ahead of myself.

The HTC Touch Diamond, exclusive to the Telstra Next G™ network, brings an exciting array of features that will set the standard for future handsets, including:

• 2.8-inch TFT screen with VGA resolution
• 4GB of internal memory
• Inbuilt Accelerometer (aka Motion sensor)
• Inbuilt GPS
• 3D interface for rich multimedia experience – music album art, animated photo browsing, video playback and more!

Touch Screen and Stylus:

The touch screen on the HTC Diamond is a little different to that of other devices I have used. The screen is not as sensitive as the earlier HTC devices – but then again if you use the stylus rather than your finger, it is easier to control. Once you get used to it, navigation is quite simple.

Talking about the stylus – the folk at HTC have come up with a great (and long overdue) idea – the stylus bay is magnetic – meaning less opportunity to lose the stylus. It also turns off the key lock function.

Watch out for finger prints and smudges – within ten minutes my Touch Diamond looked like a thousand people had touched it. Front and back – totally finger print covered.

Accelerometer:

The Diamond allows you to switch from portrait to landscape views by simply turning the device 90 degrees. This is not the first device I have used that has this feature, but the Diamond does it well. To test it out, I went into the Games menu, and tried my hand at Teeter. Teeter is best described as an electronic version of Labyrinth – and will really test your hand/eye coordination to the limit. (For those of you not familiar with Labyrinth, you have to navigate a small metal ball through a track, avoiding the hazard of many holes that will swallow your ball!)

Take note:

Using the stylus, the Touch Diamond’s character recognition is second to none that I have used over the years. (Thank Windows Mobile 6.1 for this enhancement!) It instantly recognised my writing – something that even I have difficulty doing at times.
There are several methods of character input available – via the phone keypad, compact qwerty keyboard (two letters per key), full qwerty, letter recogniser (as mentioned above), block recogniser, keyboard (stylus accessed) and transcriber (write anywhere on the screen).

“Meeting Mute” mode:

We are probably all guilty of not turning our phones to “meeting” mode at least once in our lifetime. The Diamond has a great feature – if your phone rings and you don’t want to be disturbed, simply turn the phone over so it is face down – and the ringing will stop. No more fumbling with buttons and menus to silence the handset. You can pick up your messages and return calls at an appropriate time.

Finger Power:

A single flick of your finger over the screen will step you through your photo gallery. A clockwise swirl will zoom in, and an anticlockwise swirl will zoom out.
Slide your finger along the icon scrollbar at the base of the screen to change applications.

Speeds and Feeds:

• Iconic sleek design
• HTC Touch FLO 3D
• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• 3D interface for rich multi media experience – music album art, animated photo browsing, video playback and more
• 3.2 Mega Pixel Camera
• 2.8- inch TFT LCD with VGA resolution
• Internal Storage: 4GB memory
• Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
• Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11 b/g
• Inbuilt GPS – AGPS supported
• Inbuilt Accelerometer (motion sensor)

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 102 (L) x 51(W) x 11.5 (T) mm
• Weight: 110 grams (inc battery)
• Radio: UMTS 850/2100MHz
• GSM 900/1800/1900MHz
• HSDPA: Up to 7.2Mb/s
• HSUPA: Up to 2Mb/s
• Standby Time* :
  • WCDMA: up to 396 hrs
  • GSM: up to 285 hrs
• Talk Time*:
  • WCDMA: up to 396 hrs
  • GSM: up to 285 hrs

What’s in the box?

• Handset
• 900mAh Battery
• AC Adapter
• Wired Stereo Headset
• USB cable/AC Adapter Cable
• PC Link CD (inc user guide)
• Warranty Card

In Summary:

Thumbs up:

• Size (only 11mm thick)
• Touch screen
• TouchFLO 3D
• “Meeting mute” mode
• 640 x 480 VGA Screen
• Speed 7.2Mbps HSDPA
• WiFi
• Capacity – 4GB
• Video Calls

Thumbs down:

• Gets dirty easily
• No expandable memory slot

Definitely look out for the HTC Touch Diamond – coming soon to Telstra