A little more on HTC's Touch Diamond
By Ryan Block 
posted May 6th 2008 12:01PM
posted May 6th 2008 12:01PM
- The Touch Diamond makes use of GPU accelerated procedural graphics, so you will not see a backward-compatible TouchFlow 3D update for the current Touch. It's capable of doing 7-8mil polygons per second (not that many games or apps will make use of that right now).
- HTC has made hiding WinMo away something of a priority; CMO John Wang stated, "You wouldn't even know this device was Windows Mobile. You would just think it's TouchFlow 3D."
- HTC totally reworked the WinMo virtual keyboard (as you can see above). Definitely not the best laid out we've seen (okay, it looks kind of messy), but it's instantly lightyears ahead of what WinMo had before.
- Opera "reflows" web formatting, which HTC is pitching hard. Basically it just reformats and wraps text on zoom -- unlike, say, the iPhone.
- Unfortunately, the device still uses a resistive touchscreen, while the controls below are capacitive. That really ought to be flipped around.
- And of course, we had to ask about Android: the first device is (still) coming later this year, but it will not br in the form of the Diamond.
Can't wait for a propper video walkthrough.
Reflow is a key reason why I'm still using Opera Mini instead of the leaked Opera Mobile 9.3 beta. It's vital for reading. Good thing Opera decided to postpone Opera Mobile's new release until they got it right, I guess.
Totally don't like their TouchFlo 3d at the moment. I preferred the TouchFlo 3d to be in real time instead of a delay.
I surprised they are way ahead of SE Xperia X1.
nice
OMG! The keyboard has all the same letters as the iPhone's keyboard! They must be copying Apple..
2 posts in and already an iPhone reference.
I think HTC should come out with a new phone called the uPhone - a phone made just for you. It will be like the iPhone, except yours will have - ah forget it - I just gave up on the joke.
It's actually a lot uglier than the iPhone because they put numbers and punctuation on top of the keys, and then decided that using a "shift" key highlight wouldn't be enough for people to know that the text was going to be uppercase. The way the descenders touch the bottom of the keys (in the q,y,p,g, and j) is really distracting. They should have kept the keys uppercase with no punctuation.
@ larcen007 & John
Reading your posts reminded me of this. It should be relevant to your interests.
http://www.prezzybox.com/data/media/11814.jpg
Seriously guys, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm
I thought we saw pictures with a qwerty keyboard? What happend to that part?!
Different device
Probably gonna be released in a few months or weeks
Awesome how the iPhone has forced everyone to raise their game, to the point where handset makers are willing to blot out poor GUIs with their own in-house designs. Huge win for use gadget consumers!
Agreed. These competitors are quite desperate now in emulating the iPhone. The fear of infringing Apple patents are resulting is half hazard designs for UI workarounds with WinMO deficiencies and hardware designs to emulate the look of the iPhone. Case in point with this article. Look at the image closely. It's a commendable attempt, but laughable at best in comparison to the iPhone. The high caliber UI from Apple is not easy to copy.
We need information about the raphael! when is that coming?
-Unfortunately, the device still uses a resistive touchscreen,
in other words, GARBAGE...
"GARBAGE"
Isn't that what your moma said when she first saw you ?
Nah Ike, you're just confusing things from your own birth with others.
Instead of beating women, why don't you go and read on the cons of resistive touch screen technology? Ike Tuner...
Have you ever tried to use a capacitive touchscreen with gloves on?
the real question is why would u have gloves on.
Like... the cold maybe?
Driving gloves? Or your O.J. and you have to wear 2 gloves.
@ Al
I am NOT ORANGE JUICE!! It was one time in Vegas...ONE TIME!
this now concludes the romper room segment of this broadcast.
Agreed 100%. Resistive touchscreen = unresponsive crap, same as the current HTC Touch which I have.
The OP has a point, Resistive screens suffer from reduced light due to the resistive layer, and they are pressure dependent. And most people who can buy this type of device have a car, so using this with a glove make so point, especially when you are trying to activate a small icon on a small screen.
Yeah I'm not a fan of resistive touch screens after years of Using HTC devices and then switching to an iPhone. I will be glad to go back to Windows Mobile, but seriously they should have learned and put a capacitive touch screen on there.
Oh well, at least it still has a glass screen.
Yeeesh, that keyboard is aweful. I remember when that came out for orig Touch. There are better third party touch keypads out there. Otherwise, the HTC Touch Diamond is looking good!
This isn't the same thing the released for the original touch ;)
you can complain all you want about the onscreen keyboard but HTC has a couple of other keyboard styles. also, you're forgetting this is a windows mobile device, so you're not locked into one type of keyboard. you can use handwriting recognition or if you really want an iphone copy: http://www.pocketcm.com/keyboard2.php
Download & Install (Free)
I really like the look of this device! Great looks, Great UI, Great feature set!
Only thing is... it runs Windows Mobile :(
As far as i know Windows mobile won't sync with a Mac so im out lol
Would have been great to see this made with Android at it's base but oh well :)
Well you don't know much...;-)
http://www.eltima.com/products/syncmate/
http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_windowsmobile.php
Oh, but it can. SyncMate.
It can? Great! I really had no idea lol
Might have to be my next phone! That Sony Ericsson Xperia looks great too though, hmm... decisions :D
Thanks for the links!
Look up "The Missing Sync" or alternately just virtualize Windows.
@JerryA
I tried the whole parralels / vmware fusion thing, its good, but yeah i prefer running things native to OS X if possible :)
(btw im no mac fanboy as this all depicts - no stereotyping me please! :D)
Resistive = Your screen will scratch
One great thing about the iPhone it that it has a glass screen, which doesn't scratch as easily as the plastic in resistive screens.
ACTUALLY, I think you'll find that's a TEMPERED GLASS SCREEN!
How can you "Update" the HTC Touch and then put on a Resistive Touchscreen?
I had the pre-order window open at Expansys for the Diamond, but just closed it.
Shame as all the other specs & dimensions are just what I am seeking, but that touchscreen means I can't put the phone in my pocket with my other stuff.
Tempered glass screen on the touch diamond or on the iPhone?
On the Touch Diamond :D
Joylove: Why not? It's tempered glass. And the screen don't work when it's in standby.
The touch keyboard looks nice. Above that it looks like you are back in Windows 3.1 land.
exactly...
this newest Touchflow3D is some great looking lipstick, but every once in a while it reminds you that it's lipstick on a pig.
"HTC has made hiding WinMo away something of a priority"
In my opinion, it shouldn't be a priority, but rather, a ABSOLUTE NECESSITY. that was one of my problems with the HTC Touch... it was only skin-deep, and WinMo kept popping up everywhere (like 70% of actual use time) and stinking it up.
Randomly dropping back to Win3.1 land totally breaks the deal for me. (that wold be like the iPhone having a few screens here and there that look like OS8)
...Attention to details, people!
I hear you Jeff, but does this really look like WinMo to you?
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2008/05/htc_touch_diamo.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y26btrJAy54
When HTC said they made it a priority they weren't kidding. It's freaking art, this UI.
Uh, that keyboard is mighty ugly, but everything else is mighty sexy, which is why I'm waiting to hear more about the Touch Pro. Now that device will have me skeeting for DAYS.
For all you whiners about the keyboard... remember even though they are trying to hide it, this is still WinMo and you can install...
Get this! 3rd Party Programs!
sweet! i can buy a brand new device and then fix it myself?
awesome.
:P
Or you can buy an iPhone and live with-in the walled garden of Steve...
So cry me a river... if your not capable of making your own decision that is exactly what you'll do.
"sweet! i can buy a brand new device and then fix it myself?
awesome.
:P"
Hell yeah!! You can hack it to install third partie apps...oops no Apple already has a patent on this "feature"
Ummm, there any MANY more third party programs available for Windows Mobile then there are for Jailbroken iPhones.
Idiots. It doesnt have a Slide out keyboard so the onscreen keyboard is what you get. If you actually own A Windows Mobile Phone or an HTC youll find that underneath that keyboard theres a button to select from half a dozen other keyboard styles.
No need for 3rd party stuff..
Well actually, I for one use mainly third party keyboards, when i;m not using my slideout physical. But with this i wouldn't need to.
Don't call people idiots for having a different, but still perfectly valid, preference to you
"Windows Mobile? What Windows Mobile?
Hey, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
I wonder how Microsoft feels about its partners doing their best to hide Microsoft's rusty junk behind a coat of shiny new paint?
Are you the new Apple fanboy jackass replacement for clak?
Because it seems like you cant add to any discussion without making a fool out of yourself.
Hey - I resent that. What am I, chopped liver? Man, I gotta work on my trolling skills.
"HTC has made hiding WinMo away something of a priority; CMO John Wang stated, 'You wouldn't even know this device was Windows Mobile. You would just think it's TouchFlow 3D.'"
Yeah, they almost fooled me... then I noticed the big Windows logo in the upper right-hand corner.
It's not like that's intrusive. They're just keeping one of the few attractive bits. They've even prettied up the start menu!
Left
What's the big deal with this freaking phone?
Oh, it has a lot of stuff the iphone doesn't have. Yeah, ok, but you'll never use them.
iphone killer, not! They're just following the bouncing business model. Like when everyone was putting "SPORT" on their clothes or when "Low Carb" was on every product. Today it Gonji Berries( to live 300 years old) and pomegranate( to keep your heart beating longer than it takes Uranium 238 to form lead).
iphone in my pocket once I get my tax rebate in June.
Can't wait!
Yes, I'm an Apple Fanboy.
We can tell.
Apple Fanboy = Steve Jobb Butt buy. You must be the only person that can tell if an iphone is 3g just by sitting on it.
FYI: the original HTC touch has already killed the iphone in sales. I'm sure this new touch will only continue the trend..
I prefer 3rd party input methods - pocket CM, Touchpal - to the 3 defaults (stylus keyboard, handwriting etc...).
Does this have expansion possibilities? This + 12GB card to bring it up to the $499 16GB iPhone is going to cost how much?
4GB is not enough.
No expansion, unfortunately :(
I really wish it had a capacitive touch screen... that really is a killer for me. I, for one, am looking for two things when I replace my Mogul:
1. Windows Mobile doesn't CHUG.
2. Smoother interface while using my phone. This includes not having to press down to drag my finger, which causes way more resistance and makes the experience so-so.
I wish it didn't have a stupid cheap 2.8" resistive screen either.
Let me guess, it'll turn out to have the same old suckful QVGA screen that HTC has been peddling since 1998. How many other devices have undergone "revision" in specs between the hype and the launch.
Revolution indeed.
READ THE DAMN ARTICLES
It's VGA
Ah yes, imitation is still the sincerest form of flattery. Now all you Mac-haters can have an iPhone without, uh, having one! Woohoo!
I can't think of any other single brand that commands such blind zealot like loyalty.
It boggles the mind.
Doesn't James?
Watch those iPhone haters boast how much they love the Diamond's Windows Mobile virtual keyboard because it's so much better than the iPhone OSX Mobile virtual keyboard (which they never tried).
WinMo users will claim it's predictive typing is far better because it actually figures out what they're thinking ahead of time. In a few months, WinMo users will claim MS lead the cellphone industry by being the first to use an onscreen keyboard in large numbers. Why? Because Microsoft is the tops in innovation.
An HTC Diamond is not an iPhone replica, it's more like an iPhone caricature. Did they really put WinMo 3.1 under TouchFlow 3D to get better menu speed?
Steffen Jobbs, it's actually the other way around. When Apple does something that's been done before Mac fans go all crazy and decide that Apple was first, etc.
I'm not biased, but don't spout your bullshit about any one being like that when your name is Steffen Jobbs and you're obviously an Apple Fanboy.
The fact that faithful HTC Touch users don't get the new diamond GUI is a bit of a disappointment. I would even be willing to pay for the new GUI. If these boys want to play with the likes of Apple they need to be willing to support updates for earlier gen devices. Especially when it comes to an enhanced touch experience for the user. That's what makes the iphone so successful. The Iphone GUI is like icrack once you use it you don't want to use anything. And with third party apps and the new 3g model coming soon they need to consider this stuff more seriously. Please not I don't own an Iphone. I
It's not that they don't want to support it, it's purely hardware
The hardware isn't the problem, us Touch users have the hardware, it's that the Diamond actually comes with drivers to use the hardware.
...good point.
I forget which devices have the hardware, it's usually just the Kaiser that gets mentioned
Expect the guys at xda-devs to port it to the other oolder device only it's only compatible with vga devices... =/
There's the other hardware issue! VGA!
i'm looking forward to the Maddox cartoon on this keyboard
i'm disappointed that android didn't debut on this device. it would have been a beautiful phone to launch a beautiful mobile os with. oh well, guess i'm still looking forward to getting and iphone.
i'll still wait for the Samsung Instinct.
This looks nice, however.
Samsung wha-now?
This looks pretty nice.
I'm disappointed they didn't pimp their lock screen. Where are pics and vids of that? C'mon HTC, show us some of that 3D accelerated S2U2. :)
On screen keyboards will always suck until they can improve upon the haptic feedback currently being implemented. I look foward to the HTC Raphael - although it will be hard to beat the Xperia. Tha is just one sweet feature rich phone.
Rapheal = more feature rich than the X1
But I thought all Windows Mobile users in this forum hated typing with virtual keyboards. Oh, that's right, only if it was on the iPhone.
Well, people, I think you'd better get used to using virtual keyboards on all top-of-the-line handsets from now on. That is, at least until Apple starts to use another form of input. Then the rest of the cellphone manufacturers will follow and start using that.
Correction
Steffen Jobbs = Steve Job's Butt boy. You are the only person that can tell if an iphone is 3g just by sitting on it. Loser.
You're the only one I've seen obsessed with SJ's butt, and so much so that you capitalize it.
Resistive touchscreen is actually better than capacitative since you can use stylus input more effectively on resistive screens. Capacitative buttons actually streamline device design but are hard to use without looking at the device. Also the new Touch keyboard design is actually really nice compared to the old Touch keyboard design which had both Suretype and normal keyboard functions. The addition of Shift symbols and active switching between T9 and QWERTY are a huge improvement.
I'm sure Microsoft doesn't really care that HTC is hiding a lot of Windows Mobile, since they're themselves working up WM7 and WM8 to update the OS.
Instead of waiting to buy an HTC Touch Diamond, I'm planning on getting an HTC Mogul soon, because for what I want it for I like the form factor better, a slide-out keyboard. Plus I get a expansion card slot, which, from what I hear the Touch Diamond doesn't have.
While Windows Mobile could use UI updates, I also don't care much for viewing my email in little graphical envelopes, and seeing graphical windshield wipers wipe my screen when its raining. Some of the visuals in the Touch Diamond are a bit overboard, they didn't know when to stop