Book Acela now - Amtrak.comHTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)
Manufacturer: HTC America Inc. Part number: MP6950SP
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- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint brings some nice additions and improvements over the unlocked GSM version--most notably to performance. It's best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or light users, while business customers should wait for the Touch Pro.
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CNET editors' review
HTC Touch Diamond (Sprint)
price range: $249.99
- Reviewed by: Bonnie Cha
- Reviewed on: 09/12/2008
- Released on: 09/14/2008
The good: The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint offers better performance and supports Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and multimedia services. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone also features the cool TouchFlo interface and has integrated Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS.
The bad: While performance is greatly improved over the unlocked Touch Diamond, there's still some sluggishness. The virtual keyboard is cramped and may give some users problems. The Touch Diamond also doesn't offer an expansion slot.
The bottom line: The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint brings some nice additions and improvements over the unlocked GSM version--most notably to performance. It's best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or light users, while business customers should wait for the Touch Pro.
The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint showed up a little early to the CTIA Fall 2008 party, after a certain news outlet leaked the information prematurely. However, our concern wasn't so much over the broken news but, rather, would Sprint's version be better than the unbearably slow unlocked Touch Diamond we reviewed back in late June? And the answer is yes. The Sprint Touch Diamond is noticeably snappier, though the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone can still get bogged down when too many applications are running. You do get the boost of Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network and wireless options aplenty, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. There's plenty to keep you entertained, too, with support for the carrier's multimedia services and a dedicated YouTube application.
Now, whether we like it or not, the Touch Diamond will and already has drawn comparisons to the Apple iPhone. Is the Touch better? Well, it has many good points. The TouchFlo 3D interface is cool and helps make the Windows Mobile device more intuitive, but you still can't beat the iPhone's ease of use and Web browsing. That said, for Sprint customers looking for a smartphone to balance work and play (serious business users may want to hold out for the HTC Touch Pro) and want more functionality than the Samsung Instinct can provide, the Touch Diamond is a good choice. The HTC Touch Diamond will be available for pre-order starting September 14 and will cost $249.99 (after rebates and discounts) with a two-year contract.
Design
By name, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint is the same as the unlocked GSM version. However, a number of design changes inside and out make the Sprint model almost like a new device. First, the smartphone has more rounded edges and gets a splash of color with a burgundy back cover that features a smooth soft-touch finish. We were a little torn since we liked the cool prism effect of the GSM version, but also liked the color and feel of the Sprint model. Obviously, style is subjective so your preference may differ, but in general, we'd say both are attractive devices.
The Sprint Touch Diamond is slightly thicker and heavier than the current GSM Touch Diamond, but overall it's still a very compact smartphone, measuring 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and weighing 4.1 ounces. It feels solid and comfortable to use, and you should have no problem slipping the handset into a pants pocket or purse.
That said, we recommend using some kind of carrying case in order protect the gorgeous 2.8-inch VGA that dominates the front of the smartphone. The touch screen displays 262,000 colors and has a 640x480 pixel resolution for an extremely vibrant and crisp screen. It was definitely easy on the eyes whether we were viewing images, e-mails, or Web sites.
Of course, the allure of the Touch Diamond is the 3D TouchFlo interface. In general, it works the same way as the unlocked Touch Diamond. There is a toolbar along the bottom of the screen that lets you scroll left to right and launch applications with one touch. In several of the programs--more specifically e-mail, the camera, and music--you can go through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen, all with a cool animated 3D effect.
The Home Screen and interface has been tweaked and customized for Sprint. You still get the larger clock and you can view such information as upcoming appointments, missed calls, and new messages. The toolbar icons are slightly different, a little more aesthetically pleasing in our opinion, and you also get a dedicated Sprint TV shortcut. As far as ease of use, there's a slight learning curve to the TouchFlo interface. Basic navigation is pretty simple to master, but once in other applications, it can be confusing as to how to return to the previous screen or which swipe motions apply to the specific app.
As for text entry, you can use the onscreen keyboard, which you can switch from full QWERTY to compact QWERTY to phone keyboard or other formats, depending on your preference. Most of the time, we used the full QWERTY mode. It's pretty cramped; we had a number of mispresses and we weren't able to fire off text messages or e-mails with as much confidence or as fast as we could with a tactile keyboard. The other nuisance is when you have the keyboard open, it takes up about half of the screen, so if you're entering text into any field on the bottom half of the screen, it's covered up and you have to use the scroll bar to get back to the section.
Below the display you get some tactile controls, including Talk and End buttons, a Home shortcut, a back key, and a directional keypad with a center select button. The latter is also touch sensitive in certain applications. For example, you can use your thumb or finger to make a clockwise or counterclockwise circle to zoom in/out of Web pages. In addition, you can press the navigation keypad up, down, left, and right.
On the left spine, there is a volume rocker, while the mini USB port and stylus holder are located on the bottom. A power button is located on top of the unit and on the back you'll find the camera lens. We think there are a couple of flaws. First, the USB port serves as the audio jack and though Sprint includes an audio adapter in the box that has a 2.5mm and a 3.5mm headphone jack, we'd rather have the 3.5mm jack just built into the device. Also, like the unlocked GSM version, the Sprint Touch Diamond is not equipped with an expansion slot. True, there's 4GB of internal memory, but for those who have large multimedia libraries, this might be an issue.
Sprint packages the HTC Touch Diamond with an AC adapter, a USB cable, a wired headset, a headset adapter, a belt holster case, an extra stylus, a software CD, and reference material. For more add-ons, please see our cell phone accessories, ringtones, and help page.
Features
With the flashy TouchFlo interface, HTC Touch Diamond doesn't seem like your typical Windows Mobile smartphone, but if you dig deeper you'll find the usual suspects. The Touch Diamond runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition with the full Microsoft Office Mobile Suite for editing native Word and Excel documents, and viewing PowerPoint presentations. In addition, the phone features Windows Live integration, and while you can use Internet Explorer Mobile, Sprint's Touch Diamond also ships with the Opera Web browser, which many argue is a superior mobile browser than IE. Other PIM tools include Adobe Reader LE, a Zip manager, a voice recorder, a calculator, a notepad, and a task manager (located at the upper right-hand corner of the screen) to help optimize CPU and memory usage.
The Touch Diamond supports Microsoft's Direct Push Technology for real-time e-mail delivery and automatic synchronization with your Outlook calendar, tasks, and contacts via Exchange Server. You can also configure the smartphone to access POP3 and IMAP e-mail accounts, which, in most cases, is a simple process of inputting your username and password. We were able to set up our Yahoo account on our review unit with no problem and started receiving e-mail within a few minutes. Sprint offers a download that installs three of the major instant-messaging clients--AIM, Yahoo, and Windows Live Messenger--onto the phone.
Voice features include a speakerphone, voice dialing and commands, speed dial, and text and multimedia messaging. The address book is only limited by the available memory and you can store multiple numbers for a single entry, as well as home and work addresses, e-mail, IM screen name, birthday, spouse's name, and more. For caller ID purposes, you can pair a contact with a photo, a caller group, or one of 64 polyphonic ringtones. The smartphone also has Bluetooth 2.0 that supports mono- and stereo-Bluetooth headsets, hands-free kits, file sharing, dial-up networking, and more. If you want to use the Touch Diamond as a modem for your laptop, you will need to sign up for a Sprint Power Vision Modem Plan, which runs $39.99 per month for 40MB or $49.99 per month for unlimited.
Whether you're using it as a modem or just cruising the Web on your device, you should get some good speed given that the HTC Touch Diamond works with Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network. The Rev. A bumps up download speeds to the 600Kbps-to-1.4Mbps range versus 400Kbps-to-700Kbps, while upload speeds will average around 350Kpbs to 500Kpbs (compared with EV-DO's 50Kpbs to 70Kbps). In short, you're going to get faster Web browsing, e-mail, and downloads--that is, if you live in a coverage area (you can find a coverage map from Sprint's site. Alternatively, you can also hop onto any available hot spot, since the smartphone also has integrated Wi-Fi.
The final wireless feature on the Touch Diamond is GPS. A utility called QuickGPS is also installed on the device to speed up the time it takes to find your position; it works by downloading the latest satellite information via an Internet connection. You can get some basic navigation tools with Google Maps but for more robust capabilities, you'll have to turn to a location-based service (LBS) like Sprint Navigation. The LBS offers turn-by-turn text- and voice-guided directions, traffic updates, local search, and more. Sprint Navigation is free for the first day of use, but afterwards, you will have to pay $2.99 per day or $9.99 per month for unlimited use.
The HTC Touch Diamond wants to provide you a nice balance between work and play, so there are plenty of entertainment features on the smartphone. To start, there's support for Sprint's various multimedia services, including Sprint TV and the Sprint Music Store. Sprint offers these services as part of the Sprint Power Vision pack, which ranges in price from $15 to $25 per month. Sprint TV gives you access to programming from a variety of channels, including CNN, Comedy Central, and Sprint Exclusive Entertainment. In addition, you can listen to live streaming music and talk radio from Sirius, VH1 Mobile, and MTV Mobile. Meanwhile, the Sprint Music Store offers simultaneous track downloads both to your PC and wirelessly to your phone. Songs cost $0.99, or you can get a six-pack for $5.94.
You can, of course, transfer your personal library to the smartphone. Windows Media Player 10 Mobile supports a number of audio and video formats, including AAC, MP3, WAV, WMA, MPEG-4, WMV files, and more. The HTC Touch Diamond also has some multimedia extras, including a YouTube-dedicated app, a streaming-media program, and a utility called MP3 Trimmer that allows you to cut and trim MP3 files and make them into ringtones. Given all this multimedia goodness, we have to say again that we're disappointed by the lack of expandable media.
Finally, the Touch Diamond is equipped with a 3.2-megapixel camera with up to 4x zoom and video recording capabilities. There are six capture modes (photo, video, panorama, MMS video, contacts picture, and picture theme). For still photos, you have a choice of five resolutions and four quality settings, in addition to white balance and brightness controls. Other tools at your disposal include a photo counter, a self timer, flicker adjustment, and various effects. In video mode, you get four resolutions as well as white balance, brightness, and effects.
Picture quality was a little disappointing, since colors looked very dull and flat. It's too bad since objects were clearly defined and otherwise looked good. Video quality was also pretty poor with very dark and grainy clips.
Performance
We tested the dual-bad (CDMA 850/1900; EV-DO Rev. A) HTC Touch Diamond in San Francisco using Sprint service and call quality was decent. On our end, the audio was mostly clear but at times we could hear a slight background hiss. It wasn't anything that interrupted the conversation, and we had no problems using an airline's voice-automated response system. Meanwhile, our friends had no complaints and were impressed by the clarity of the phone call. Unfortunately, speakerphone quality wasn't the greatest for either party. Volume was pretty weak on our side, our callers said we sounded tinny, and there was a slight echo. We had no problems pairing the Touch Diamond with the Logitech Mobile Traveller Bluetooth headset or the Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones.
The most impressive thing we noticed about the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond is how much more responsive and snappier the smartphone felt in general usage. We didn't experience any of that frustrating delay when trying to perform simple tasks like switching between menus or launching applications. That said--as with other Windows Mobile devices, the more applications we had in use, the slower the device responded, particularly some of the multimedia features like Sprint TV.
As far as multimedia performance, music playback through the phone's speakers sounded a bit tinny and harsh. There wasn't very much warmth or bass to the songs. Video quality was mixed. We watched some clips using Sprint TV and YouTube and the picture quality was pretty atrocious, with lots of pixelation and some interrupted playback. However, when watching a WMV clip from our personal library, it was perfectly fine. We used both Wi-Fi and Sprint's network to connect to the Web and had no major issues.
The HTC Touch Diamond's 1,340mAh lithium ion battery has a rated talk time of 4.2 hours. In our battery drain tests, we were able to get 4.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. According to FCC radiation tests, the Touch Diamond has a digital SAR rating of 0.85 watt per kilogram.
User reviews
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cnet can't review phones
by cardfan1212 on September 13, 2008
Pros: WM 6.1
High res screen
Premier browsing experience
Lower fees on better faster network (sprint)Cons: virtual kb
non expandable storageSummary: I'm having a hard time understanding CNET's review ratings. Under features, they gave it a 7.0. The phone that cnet uses to compare is the iphone 3g.....
Summary: I'm having a hard time understanding CNET's review ratings. Under features, they gave it a 7.0. The phone that cnet uses to compare is the iphone 3g..it received an 8 in features. How is this possible? The Diamond has all the basic features missing in the iphone. It boasts much MUCH more in features than the iphone. What is the deal here?
Just wanted to update by saying i will be getting the Touch Pro. The virtual kb is simply too much of a con for me. Although i could probably manage 4gb, just knowing there's a card slot in the pro makes a huge difference as well. My use of the diamond comes from using it in the store for a 2-3 hours.
Performance: Again, the iphone received an 8 while the diamond a 7. Have you lived under a rock? The iphone is plagued with performance issues as CNET defines performance: When assessing performance, we judge sound quality, clarity, and loudness. Other pluses include minimal call drops and a consistently strong signal. <shakes head wondering how cnet gave the iphone an 8 here>
Design: I won't argue with the iphone's design. It's deserving of a 9. However once again, the diamond gets smacked with a 7. Are you kidding me?
I have to wonder about cnet's credibility. This is the same Cnet that gave the Samsung Instinct an 8.0 given all its limitations.
The Diamond is a full featured WM 6.1 phone with a great looking touch interface. EVDO rev a or wifi puts it among the fastest smartphones out there. Guess what? It has MMS, copy/paste, lots more apps, tethering, office apps, slingbox, BT stereo, etc, etc that the iphone will never have. And it has a better screen, a better browser, better email, and runs on a much cheaper better quality network.
A 7.0??? CNET, that's a disgrace. Learn how to do reviews consistently. I've no doubt you'll give the same bizarre treatment to the Touch Pro when it debuts.
Updated on Sep 13, 2008
However, I still feel the Diamond deserves an 8.5 at least. The Touch Pro, if works as promised, probably higher in the 8.8- 9.0 range. Seriously.. HTC has done a great job targeting both ends of the market together in this device (consumer/entertainment and professional).25 out of 27 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Iphone Killer?
by kennyb123 on September 13, 2008
Pros: See the "Bottom Line Summary for full Pros & Cons of this phone.
Cons: See the "Bottom Line Summary" for full Pros & Cons of this phone.
Summary: PROS:
Sprint HEAVILY downplays the significant improvement in web-browsing that the Opera 9.5 browser brings to the table. They give it a compliment, but neglect to say that this ...Summary: PROS:
Yes, of course I meant CNET heavily downplays the significant improvement in web-browsing that the Opera 9.5 browser brings to the table.
Sprint HEAVILY downplays the significant improvement in web-browsing that the Opera 9.5 browser brings to the table. They give it a compliment, but neglect to say that this browser is easily as good as Safari for the Iphone. They probably didn't also realize that at this current time, there is a plugin called MyFlash 3.1 that now gives the Diamond FULL FLASH CAPABILITY on any website. Yes, this means you can now go to the REGULAR Youtube site, and watch embedded flash video, as well as load up flash-only sites that alienated mobile users. This combination completely topples the Safari browser's capabilities, and is what should bring this phone's rating much higher.
Though CNET did not complain about the additional thickness of the Sprint Touch Diamond over its GSM version, the reasoning is worth mentioning. This version comes with an upgraded battery, up from 900 mAh to 1340 mAh, giving it a 33% bump in longevity.
The accelerometer on the Diamond is very accurate, and the programmers on the XDA forums have already written some extraordinary software utilizing it. An alarm you can turn off by shaking the phone, the ability to lock the screen just by rotating the phone 360 degrees clockwise in your hand, and unlocking it the opposite way, just to name a couple. The included game "Teeter" will mesmerize you and your friends - remember the "Labyrinth" game with the two knobs and a marble? Search youtube for video of this working perfectly on the phone.
Unlike the original Iphone or new Iphone 3G, this phone does what ANY and EVERY phone should have the capability of doing. It allows for Copy/Paste, which is vital to any business user. It also has video recording, which is ridiculously absent from the Iphone. Also, like every other phone sans the Iphone in the past 5+ years, this phone fully supports the MMS protocol, for sending pictures and video to friends. No email workaround needed here, folks.
CONS:
Yes, being locked to 4 GB storage is a severe limitation. It should have been 8 GB to compete with the Iphone a little better. It's obvious that if you're a power-user, you're going to want the upgraded ROM/RAM available in the Touch Pro, as well as the keyboard slider, which has gotten RAVE reviews. The Micro SDHC cardslot for the Touch Pro will support a card up to 32 GB's, which, when the cards become available this Christmastime, will be a major upgrade. The Touch Pro also adds a flash for the camera, which doubles as a flashlight.
BOTTOM LINE SUMMARY: The Touch Diamond does EXACTLY what it set out to do. For most users, they will never stray from the comfortability of the TouchFlo 3D interface, where they will enjoy the phone completely.
The only real cons of the device aren't cons at all - they are just excuses to wait for the Touch Pro, if you need the additional power-user features.
Between both phones, I believe we have ourselves an Iphone killer.
Updated on Sep 13, 2008
Not Sprint.
Updated on Sep 18, 2008Another simple rule... no reason to rate the phone a half star when you're just "informing" us. Sprint has been very open with the fact that the phone is available through tele-sales only at this time.
Updated on Sep 18, 200816 GB microSDHC cards are not even currently available. They are slotted for availability in a month or two, with the 32 GB card being available by Christmas.
Designed to be a failure? Please...that's quite a harsh, unrealistic statement.
Updated on Sep 23, 2008Those of you looking for MyFlash 3.1, I found it from a great website, called WMpoweruser. I'm not sure if CNET will let me link a site, so copy the link and fix it, and look for the download link under the post "Flash Lite 3.1 for Windows Mobile leaked!!" hxxp://wmpoweruser.com/?cat=4&paged=317 out of 17 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I feel there's things left out in this review...
by Groovydude on September 16, 2008
Pros: Great design, hardware and software!
Cons: No expandable memory, but meh, I barely use 1Gig of memory on my Mogul.
Summary: I read a review from MobileTechReview.com about this phone, and their review was way more in depth then Bonnie's. They played with the YouTube and SprintTV and the ...
Summary: I read a review from MobileTechReview.com about this phone, and their review was way more in depth then Bonnie's. They played with the YouTube and SprintTV and the reviewer thought that the two were excellent quality. With the amount of memory and horse power that this phone has, how many apps is she running there? I mean she said that it was starting to lag when running programs with Sprint TV? What the hell are you going to be running when you're WATCHING tv? I can understand if she said she was playing music, but come on!!!
The 4GB of memory doesn't scare me either, since I use ORB for all my multimedia, that gives me more space for my applications anyways. I have the mogul, and I think this is a great phone, of course it can be better, which is why i want to get the Diamond. I was gearing my way to the iPhone, but the pro's on the Diamond outweighs the pro's of iPhone. I mean they got a dedicated app for text messaging photos and multimedia to phone numbers now (but I don't think you can receive though ) :( that's still a major plus in my book.
Also she mentioned nothing about the new accelerometer in the device (aka G-Sensor for HTC). No mention how the Opera browser was customized for the Diamond, that when zooming in with the touch wheel, the text will format to the width of the screen, so you don't have to horizontally pan left to right. She also didn't mention the fact that it's 528Mhz + 288MB memory is what makes this device a rock hard performance block in your hand. I mean that's like 30% faster and like what... almost 5 times more memory then normal PPC phones.
Again, go to that website, you'll find a more detailed indepth review then Bonnie's... she left out way too much 'need to know' information about this phone and totally suckered the Diamonds score, giving it less then what it deserves!
I mean already people like the diamond so much, that they are developing new cool applications for it.12 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Beautiful, iphone is great this is equally amazing
by pavbaby on September 17, 2008
Pros: Great size, fantastic web browser, easy to use, full of every function you could want in a smart phone
Cons: charger and headphone use the same port.
Summary: I was thinking about upgrading to the iphone 3G. It is a fabulous phone with very few shortcomings the biggest being AT&T. I use an unlimited plan on ...
Summary: I was thinking about upgrading to the iphone 3G. It is a fabulous phone with very few shortcomings the biggest being AT&T. I use an unlimited plan on sprint ($99) and so I would need to spend another $50 a month for the data and texting plan with AT&T so I have been looking at alternatives. I have been watching the GSM version of the phone which every one said was slow, but this one from Sprint has not shown any lag between programs or screens.
Although I have only had the phone for 48 hrs I love it. The call quality is great, the phone really stands out in a crowd.
Windows Mobile has never been great but 6.1 adds some useful features like the threaded text messaging. Also as a real smart phone I can actually access my business word and excel documents easily on this phone. Now it will never replace my laptop but for making small changes and checking emailed documents this is incredible. The web browser is stunning and although the screen initially seems small the quality really makes it very easy to use. The high resolution screen makes moving around pages whilst they are reduced a breeze so you are not constantly zooming in and out, which is easy to do on the d-pad.
As I said I was seriously looking at the iphone. This may not have the large screen or the easy to use app store, both of which are incredible on the iphone. It does have a beautiful screen, access to windows mobile programs which are never as pretty but just if not more functional. It has full GPS with turn by turn directions. And although everyone seems to complain about the lack of expandable memory, I don't see it as an issue. I have plenty of room for all my documents. I have an 80GB ipod in my car which will take along time before it gets replaced by any other system. The phone has easily enough memory for music for the gym, but then again I can't remember the last time I went.
I cannot understand how CNET who usually have such fair reviews could give this a 7 compared with both the iphone3G and the Instinct. This is way better than the latter and at least comparable with the former. Every other site I visited prior to making my purchase praised this phone, so CNET what is you're issue, the things you complained about - sluggishness, I don;'t agree with, keyboard being small it has more variations than any other smartphone and you either like a touch screen keyboard or you like a real one - everyone complained about the iphone keyboard until they used it and you get used to it and love it. And then the expansion well I spoke about that above.
It's not an instinct or a Vu or an iphone it has its own distinct personality and anyone who gets this phone will love it hands down.8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Sprint's Best Phone - Hands Down
by DavidMichaelMalloy on September 23, 2008
Pros: The design of the phone is smart as it is less rectangular and cubic and more trapezoidal (edges bevel in slightly to make it feel less thick). The phone is quick and responsive and essentially does what you expect it to do.
Cons: The cons are all addressed by the HTC Touch Pro: Expandable Memory, Full Keyboard.
Summary: HTC has done a great job with the Touch Diamond, and thankfully, Sprint didn't skimp on the details. Don't be surprised if our friends at Verizon are gawking ...
Summary: HTC has done a great job with the Touch Diamond, and thankfully, Sprint didn't skimp on the details. Don't be surprised if our friends at Verizon are gawking at our phones in a month when they realize they are without the G-Sensor and considerably less memory.
The phone feels very solid and the touch screen is quite effective. My finger is not shaped like a stylus but I still found the touch screen to be accurate. I was able to quickly and efficiently access many web-pages with Opera 9.5 and was very happy to see how fluid the zooming in and out was.
Sprint's data network is untouched by the other American Cellular Companies. Surfing around and watching videos on YouTube was a pleasure. I even downloaded videos from websites to the internal memory and was able to watch them in flawless quality. The download was oddly fast (less than 20 seconds for a 2.5mb video that was 3:45 in length.
Texting on this phone is more of a pleasure than I would have ever thought with the threaded texting available on Windows Mobile 6.1.
I previously had the HTC Mogul for Sprint and I am enjoying the new slimmer version of this phone (disregard the manufacturer's dimensions as the phone feels smaller, and that is what's important here). I look forward to my opportunity to upgrade my rating on this phone when I play with the HTC Touch Pro.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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A great phone, the one I've been waiting for
by tcatnat on September 19, 2008
Pros: Screen is incredibly clear, 3.2 megapixel camera, TouchFlo 3D is sweet. Very good onscreen keyboard. Who needs SD card slot when it has 4GB of internal memory. Many hacks and tweaks available already. WiFi, GPS, EVDO.
Cons: I wish the back was not maroon but it's not a huge deal. Like any WinMo phone if yo do not manage open programs it will eventually bog down.
Summary: This phone has everything I wanted. I am mainly a business user so WinMo is the way to go for me for Exchange and Office. The keyboard is very good, ...
Summary: This phone has everything I wanted. I am mainly a business user so WinMo is the way to go for me for Exchange and Office. The keyboard is very good, so good I used the Diamond keyboard on my previous HTC Touch. The screen is simply WOW. VGA and very clear. I just wish HTC would open up the weather app to make it easier to add any city that you can find on Accuweather since that's who they use.
Opera Mobile is OK, better then Pocket IE but I am hoping that Skyfire decides to support the Diamond because right now they do not support VGA screens. WiFi and GPS make this a home run. There are so many tweaks and hacks out there the possibilities are almost endless.
This is the phone I have been waiting for (until the Touch HD comes to Sprint).4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Front End, Major Design Flaws
by tomcinthecity on September 22, 2008
Pros: Amazing Screen, Great Battery Life, Decent OnBoard Storage, Great Auto Focusing Camera
Cons: LOTS OF WinMo Instability! Not enough Program Storage, Inability to customize touch menu & De-Sprint (Music, TV, etc, and all other stuff no exp user wants) Menus, Cumbersome & Ineffective Hard Reset, basically clunkier WinMo with a flashy front e
Summary: Well....I can't tell everyone how excited I was to be getting this phone from Sprint. I ordered it the first hour it went on sale and just have ...
Summary: Well....I can't tell everyone how excited I was to be getting this phone from Sprint. I ordered it the first hour it went on sale and just have had over a day to play with this phone. Coming from the 6700, to the Mogul, to the Touch, and now to the diamond, I was very excited to see something gain the potential to compete with the iPhone. However, after just one day of using the phone I have decided to return it tomorrow to sprint despite the aniticipation and excitement I looked forward to just before using it. Here's why:
1st, again....HTC has built a flashy front end with some very basic functionality that links to (if you can believe it or not) a clunkier version of WinMo. While it is cool that the front end includes 3D icons, cool animations to your pics, fast access to e-mails, it fails by making Sprints crappy music service the only front end compatible Music player as well as the even crappier Sprint TV service which would cost the average user more than their home cable bill to get all the channels that don't come with the "everything" plan. I hated the mandatory and unremovable Sprint service integration in the touch which is exactly what kept me from using the first gen TouchFlo program. I also hated the fact that you have a high res screen but are forced to use big bulky menus.
2) Moreover, this phone has another MAJOR flaw. The memory in this phone is classified in 3 different ways. The first is the program operating memory, or RAM, which this phone has a welcomed increase and generally did not cause me problems. The second is Program Storage Memory. Now common sense would tell you that since WinMo allows you to run a very, very diverse set of applications, the average user might be using prgrams which require a fair amount of storage space for the actual program files themselves. Unfortunately for us, the program storage is NOT part of your 4GBs of "Internal Storage" or your second/personal storage space. This problem basically means that you can't utilize the most amount of space for your programs and are firmly locked to the program storage space for your apps. Problem is, the touch flow app is so massive I couldn't even get Slingplayer, SiriusWM5, Softreset, and a few other basic programs on the Diamond because I ran out of storage space. Essentially the TouchFlo3D is so big it consumes majority of the WinMo app storage capacity! OOPS. I got all of these apps and more onto the Touch with plenty of room to spare.
3rd) The hard reset process does NOT clear personal storage which needs to be cleared manually with the Program in WinMo.
4th) Overall value...At the end of the day, it seems to me like this is another wonderful "Proof of Concept" from HTC. I no doubtedly believe that HTC is the closest competitor to Apple in terms of functionality and style, but this device seems like just another flashy memory and storage consuming front end, which seems less than functional for the average business user while making them use a WInMo that is now less stable than previous releases.
Couple cool new apps, really like the 3D software concept, but at end of day you are getting very little in terms of value and the 3d stops as soon as it is time do something meaningful. Additionally, there is no expandability and the keyboard has bugs which force it into undesired modes of operation....(numbering pad got stuck many times)
Overall ... WAIT for the DEMO in a sprint store of the Touch Pro to see if it is more meaningful, else be happy with your touch that functions well and is nice size and shape wise if not as cool as the iPhone4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great phone
by crcostel on September 22, 2008
Pros: 1) Screen is outstanding - this has 2x the res. of the iPhone, 4x as much as the Mogul.
2) Responsive - 528mhz processor and 288MB RAM makes a difference
3) Opera Mobile for free!
4) Sprint Nav is excellent
5) Much better reception than my old ppcCons: 1) Red back is ugly
2) Battery life is ok - I can't imagine what the little GSM battery did.
3) Screen is a little small/cnet specs are wrong.
4) Random bugsSummary: I got this phone to replace my old PPC-6700 which was dying (dead). I think the pros and cons above really point everything out, but you should know this when ...
Summary: I got this phone to replace my old PPC-6700 which was dying (dead). I think the pros and cons above really point everything out, but you should know this when you order:
You are getting a WM phone. TouchFLO is amusing but underneath that?s what you get. If you like WM (I actually do) then great, but if you hate it, don?t expect to forget what it is.
That being said, you are getting a really enhanced WM phone. The processor and ram upgrades make WM much more responsive. The screen resolution (Full VGA) makes it very easy to read text.
It?s a 2.8? screen. Smaller than an iPhone, same size as my old PPC. If that?s a deal breaker, get an iPhone or wait for the TouchHD. *One big negative is my phone reports 65k colors, not 262k*.
There is no physical keyboard, which will be tough for Blackberry users. The virtual keyboards are good though (there?s the WM standard, HTC customized and compact). I found I rarely used the slide-out QWERTY on the PPC, so it wasn?t an issue for me.
My reception has been excellent. I?m having a hard time getting use the phone displaying 3G reception status instead of phone reception, but once I make a call its clear I have 5 bars. Everything was crystal clear. As reported in the review, the speakerphone is awful. EV-DO Rev A works as advertised and has always been available.
There is no expansion slot and 4GB storage, its not an issue for me now, but warning bells go off anytime something isn?t upgradeable.
BOTTOMLINE: Massive improvement to the HTC line. Great mix of fun and productivity. Sprint hit a home run ? not a grand slam but a solid solo shot.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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wow such a great phone
by CRACKnberry on September 14, 2008
Pros: vga screen touch flo 3d evdo rev a.
Cons: no sd slot to small for my likeing. will be getting a touch pro
Summary: This is an amazing sprint windows mobile handset.
Summary: This is an amazing sprint windows mobile handset.
3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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better, and worse then the iphone
by DeadShawn on September 30, 2008
Pros: VGA, GPS, Fast Internet, small size, stereo bluetooth, WinMo so VERY customizable (ive changed so much on mine already, hah!) I had to manually enable aGPS which is something I wouldn't expect the average joe do
Cons: single touch screen, no expandable storage, battery life isn't great, a bit sluggish if you're running too many programs at once.
Summary: It gets to about 40% batt at the end of the day, I can deal with that. No multitouch, I can deal with that too. The fact that it has ...
Summary: It gets to about 40% batt at the end of the day, I can deal with that. No multitouch, I can deal with that too. The fact that it has a VGA screen and GPS are what sold me. If it had expandable memory I would be in heaven! I guess 4gigs will have to do.
I'm happy with it, and all my friends say its the coolest looking phone. But some of them have trouble using it. Not for everybody, but definitely for me!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: HTC America Inc.
- Part number: MP6950SP
- Bottom Line: The HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint brings some nice additions and improvements over the unlocked GSM version--most notably to performance. It's best suited for first-time smartphone buyers or light users, while business customers should wait for the Touch Pro.
Telecom
- Data services E-Mail, SMS
- Service provider Sprint PCS
- Cellular enhancement protocol GPS
General
- Built-in devices Digital player, Camera
- Dimensions (W x D x H) 2.0 in x 0.6 in x 4.0 in
- Band / mode GSM 900/1800/1900
- Weight 0.3 lbs
- Combined with With digital camera
Operating System / Software
- OS provided Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1
- Software included Microsoft Office programs, Microsoft Windows Media Player 10, Microsoft Windows Live
Memory
- Flash memory installed 4 GB
Phone
- Call features Picture caller ID, Voice dial, Caller ID
Input Device
- Input device type Keyboard
PDA Features
- Flash memory installed 4 GB
Audio
- Audio input type Microphone
- Audio output type Speaker
Display
- Display type 2.8 in TFT active matrix
- Color support 262K color
- Max resolution 640 x 480
Power
- Battery installed ( max ) Lithium ion
- Max supported batteries 1
- Talk time Up to 252 min
Expansion / Connectivity
- Wireless connectivity Bluetooth