HTC Diamond Reviewed

 14 August, 2008

There is array of touchable smart phones currently hitting the market. Though these devices have been around for a while, Apple’s iPhone lead the way in making a user experience simple enough for nearly anyone to pick one up and start making calls or browsing the internet.

But even the newest devices are not for everyone’s taste, especially with composing emails. The Diamond tackles this by giving more than 4 different ways of inputting text. Blackberry Pearl users will be familiar with the Compact QWERTY as there 2 letters on each key which makes it easy to press the right onscreen button and also when used with just one hand. Smart predictive suggests words while typing and picks up words you use most often.

I have been using the HTC Diamond for the past month as my primary phone and have come away so very impressed that it has become a necessity for communicating and navigation. The TouchFlo3D interface is just gorgeous and hides most of the not so Windows Mobile operating system underneath. This all displayed on the super sharp VGA 2.6inch screen. Navigating is provided by sliding you finger across the bottom menu system which gives access to all functions of the phone. There are 3D animations once you reach information such as weather which, for example, drops rain on the screen to be wiped before your eyes by a windscreen wiper. Even the home screen which flips to the current time like the old school travel information at the airport is a pleasure to watch. 
 
There is a vast array of applications included, Office Mobile gives the ability to not only view but edit Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Opera 9.5 web browser replaces the cumbersome Internet Explorer for browsing the internet. Pages are resized for easy reading and double tapping on the screen or using the touch scroll wheel allows you to zoom in and out with ease. I didn’t come across any page the browser could not handle - so finally surfing on the go is made easy. Google Maps with AGPS navigation works incredibly well, this tracks where you are and can show you local information around you current position such as café’s and transport.

 I also tested TomTom 7 navigation software. The high resolution screen makes for great viewing of maps and the application runs very smooth and responsively. For non productive times the inbuilt games include a game called Teeter which using the inbuilt accelerometer you guide a ball through a course by tilting the screen. You can be fooled into thinking there really is a small metal ball inside the screen as it bumps the edges haptic feedback.

Plugging in the phone via the USB cable gives you access to the internal 4GB memory acting like a high speed USB flash drive to store any documents that you need. While plugged in you can take advantage of high speed internet from you laptop using the phone as a modem. The media options are well covered with a brilliant FM radio, MP3 Player with Cover Flow so you can flick through the covers with your finger (though like the iPhone you will just resort to using the library option after the initial buzz has worn off). The YouTube client lets you browse and search all videos which all playback smoothly. The 3MP camera does a great job with photos and video. These can then be viewed in the media section by swiping you thumb up or down the screen. Pictures float down the page and either double tapping or circling on the screen clockwise you can zoom and pan about. Turning the phone on its side lets you view images in landscape.

Other notable features of the phone are the ringer profiles which, if set to automatic, will set the phone to vibrate during all meetings which are set in your calendar. While in a call, removing the stylus from the side of the device brings up notes so you can write directly on the screen with details automatically entered such as number, time and date. Also, you can simply turn the phone over to mute an incoming call - ideal for when in a meeting or such.

Overall, I have come away very impressed by just how much HTC have packed into such a minuscule device. You hardly even notice it’s in your pocket!

Features that let the device down are:

•No flash or light for night time photos.
•The proprietary headphone jack, which means you have to use the included headphones.
•The initial software version which was pre- installed had performance issues in the TouchFlo interface. •The latest version 1.93 that was released at early in August has cleared the issues and now menus and animations are smooth and lag free.

Quick specs; Windows Mobile 6.1, 3 megapixel Camera, 4GB internal storage, VGA screen, 3G, Bluetooth, FM radio, GPRS, GPS, GSM, HSDPA, Li-ion battery, MP3 player, Touchscreen, Wi-Fi.

http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=46278
Check out the 3D TouchFlo interface in action.
http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=46294

Reviewed by Richard Baguley