HTC Touch Diamond hands-on
By Joshua Fruhlinger 
posted May 6th 2008 9:57AM
posted May 6th 2008 9:57AM
Check out the gallery below, complete with comments and interface walk-through. A couple vids after the break, too!
A little game using the HTC Touch Diamond's accelerometer
HTC Touch Diamond's YouTube interface
HTC Touch Diamond's YouTube interface
I'm an Apple fanboy.....but even i must admit, this looks wayyyyyyy better than the iPhone!
wwwaaaayyy better?... hm.. well, I don't know. It does look very nice, but I also like the iPhone (almost) all screen face. BTW - any way we could get a side by side with the iPhone? screen comparison, etc.
The other thing is... Windows 6... maybe if they fixed some of the idiotic thinks in the OS it would be worth a little more. Last time I used Windows Mobile I wanted to throw myself off a bridge.
That being said, I think it's a gorgeous machine. I really look forward to some serious reviews and see how it holds up under regular use.
WinMo 6 and iPhone interface are like the Vista and the OS X interface. Microsoft interfaces tend to be more cluttered with menus to access the million features of the phone, most of which you'll never use, while Apple interfaces tend to be more elegant and simplistic at the sacrifice of some functionality. At the end of the day, I don't think you could argue that the interface of WinMo looks "better" than OS X (or the iPhone OS X), but, features will trump that for a certain number of users. For everyone else, they get overwhelmed with menus and options, thus alienating a large segment of the population.
I don't know about OS wise, as I've never used Windows Mobile.
However, you never know......the way Apple has attempted to control everything anyone does with the device may push a few people back to the dark side (Windows/ Windows Mobile).
@Enzei
Some, perhaps. But, Apple has always been about tight control of user experience - not leaving anything to chance. Their success has been marketing to people who are willing to give up a certain amount of functionality or extensibility in order to get that integrated user experience. I, for one, am fine with that. Others are not, and they can use Windows/Linux.
@ Froggy
If only you had thrown yourself off a bridge.
If only you had....
I love the new tack that all these anti-Apple fangirls have taken lately... They all preface their anti-iphone BS with " I have an iphone, but..." or "I love Apple, but" or "I'm an Apple fanboy however,". Then of course comes the anti-iphone "ZMOG The x phone is WAY BETTERZ THAN i-Crap"
such BS. Just be honest, loser
HW looks nice...too bad it runs WinMo. I've got a $1200 HP6965 sitting a paper weight. I'm too scared to use it coz it tends to make me want to kill everyone around me.
Apple does sacrifice some functionality, but the fact that it just works (and work smoothly it does) makes me never look at another WinMo device again.
From now on, its either iPhone or BB for me.
omg where's the video walkthrough!!
thinking the same thing
Come on engadget. At least give us better video.
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=HTC+Touch+Diamond&search_type=
I WANT!!!!!!!
Please engadget, honestly, how tough is it to take a video? 17 pics?? A video will combine all your 50 pics into one. I really don't understand your addiction to insane amount of pics and obvious negation for a video.
Next time, please take a video. This is not for this time, but for all the times you made us flip through a hundred pics.
Other than that, engadget rocks.
I prefer the pics.
Thanks guys!
I prefer clear video.
Thanks guys!
I prefer chicken.
Thanks guys!
I said that because pics don't really convey anything different. The same pics are available at : http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=46294
They show the same thing, except taken better. Whereas, a video would have shown how easy and intuitive the interface, touchscreen gestures and the overall phone is. It would also have shown the features a lot more better.
That wasn't chicken Paul ;-)
Akshay, most, if not all those pictures are product renderings and not actual pics of the device.
In-hand pictures are much better resolution than video (even 1080p is barely 2MP) and do a good job of showing the real product in a detailed fashion.
I'm not disagreeing with you either, a video would be great, probably preferrable to see the TouchFLO 3D in action. I'm just saying you can't discount the benefit of a quality still picture (sadly these stills seem to be of typical Engadget quality...).
i still believe that using a video demonstrates the fluidity, and use of touch screen of WinMo 6.1 pro something the pics cannot convey, and as said by akshay there are plenty of pics up already in other places, i just want to see how it works...
I prefer nudes.
Thanks guys!
Am I too late on this bandwagon? lol.
I'm really considering dropping my iPhone for one of these or a BB 9000. All these new phones are secks! I'm waiting on Apple to make the announcement on the 3G iPhone to see if it's really worth the wait...
I couldn't stand not having the physical keyboard... right now, i've got Apache 6700 on Sprint, and i'm holding out (trying to , at least) until the Raphael comes out...that thing just looks amazing.
i FAIL at the on screen keyboard. i'm still in love with my i760, recessed screen and all.
Same here. The Raphael (or even better, Titanium, with the FRONT qwerty slider) will be a favorite.
This phone UI is amazing. They really did an extraordinary job with WM6.1. I didn't think this could happen, but now I am considering this phone OVER the HTC Dream (even though that would mean, NO ENKIN).
If they fix the "slowness", that is.
I just don't think the Dream's UI could top that one.... honest to God I don't.
Looks like a iphone competitor, looks like it does alot of the stuff of the iphone, right down to the keyboard, pluse it has some hard buttons... yea i like them hard
So the HTC Artemis which came out years ago can also do the same thing this phone can does that make it an iphone competitor also? To me I think HTC is not competing with the iphone really as they have been doing all touch screen based phone for years. It is just more recently steped up their game as competition became better.
That's what she said
The VGA screen is really a big thing. It's hard using Pocket Quran with a resolution so low. It looks so much better on my iPhone then on my 8525.
that keyboard is the pinnacle of fail.
Not sure why you got voted down--you're absolutely right. I mean, people don't have preexisting finger memory of a QWERTY phone (unless they have a Blackberry), but the Diamond's keyboard is gonna take some getting used to. At least they include T9, I know some people who wish their iPhone had it (Not me, I never could text very fast on my PEBL).
The on-screen KB? I think the on-screen KB engadget showed is extwemely nice compared to the ugly stylus-only KB imitation on my FS (like fudjitsu-siemens) 718 (WinMob 2003 SE). Its small, creepy and finger-unfriendly.
The KB on Diamond looks more usable on 2.8" VGA screen compared to 3.5" VGA screen on my device. "Looks like" because I need to touch the device to say for sure. Big "buttons" look nice.
I totally agree. But I want buttons. Watching that pathetic "scroll down" where the user decided to click on a video instead just illustrated that fact.
Fucking pretty.
Saying that with a Fabio avatar would have been better yet.
God, I hate being called that.
Guess its a good thing I wasn't calling you Fabio then. Don't worry though, I had longer hair than yours not one year ago so I was used to it as well.
The resolution is impeccable, makes the screen on my Zune 80 look pre-historic.
It's always been prehistoric.
I think I'm calling Angela :)
Already done!
Good looking UI, but I wonder how well it will perform, afterall it is WM...
The interface looks good, but, if you watch the demo videos on YouTube the interface is not as responsive and you'd think and the animations (i.e., zooming in, flipping pictures, scrolling etc, are quite stuttered). Why couldn't they get a decent graphics processor in there? Not to mention that the lack of multi-touch makes for some pretty zany gestures - I don't think my thumb is that dextrous.
Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJtmnsHDVbk
I'm not to sure what you're talking about not being responsive. On the videos the only thing that isnt that smooth is when they were zooming in on a picture. For all you know that was a 3.2 megapixel picture too which would take more graphics power to zoom in on. Every other animation looked real smooth. Did you look at the video for the Weather? This is definitely the phone that's replacing my Sprint Touch. Unless I decide to go with a Raphael for the keyboard.
@DonatoM3
Which is why I said the features that were stuttered involved pictures (i.e. flipping, zooming, etc.). A high resolution picture is no excuse for a poor use interface experience. It is this kind of foresight that is required when designing a product like this. Artists need to collaborate with the hardware people.
Also, you can't ignore the fact that the device is not responsible. He flips a picture, pulling his thumb all the way across then returns his thumb before it flips to the next picture. Similarly, when scrolling through Icons you can see them lagging behind his thumb motion (although when they do go, they are smooth). Again, seemingly minor things, but, these are important things that contribute to user experience. You can't just have pretty graphics if the hardware cannot keep up with what is being displayed.
Wow why are people voting you down for expressing a valid opinion/concern?
The guy is doing a lot of things with his thumb...a lil TOO much is going on there...
Plus you're right about responsiveness. ESPECIALLY at the pictures part...it looks like its slow or something.
it was a little stuttery at times, but (for example) for flicking through images, really it's not exactly that it's slow....
It's that it's based on Gestures, which is different than whatever the iPhone is - I'm not sure what it would be called, but the iPhone strives to feel physically correct: you touch-and-drag an image on the iPhone (and flick it off the screen to see the next one) whereas this type of gesture-based control just listens for the gesture then does the corresponding action.
So on the iPhone, you're actually sliding the images, and on this, you're *gesturing* that you want to see the next image and a little "slide" animation makes it seem a little more fancy.
I, personally, prefer the physical feel as opposed to gestures, because it feels more natural (and responsive) to me, and gestures seem to be an extra level of removal that never quite feels right, and seems MUCH less "discoverable"
@catachip
I do agree with you that it looks like it takes a moment for the picture to move after flicking through this but like Jeff said this is more due to the way the Touchflo system input is setup. The animations themself are very smooth which would indicate good video hardware. Trust me this is much smoother than anything my current Sprint Touch does. I would be interested to see how fast it responds if you were to use the d pad to scroll through pictures.
Thanks for the video link... were the circles to zoom the "zany" gestures u speak of? I don't like the iPhones multi touch to zoom because it requires two hands.. one to hold the phone and one to pinch and spread, or maybe you could do it one handed but it'd probably look pretty zany.
Dude are crazy, the link you just provided shows how smooth it is. Are you honestly that much of a fanboy to not admit that HTC did a good job. Can't waait for this phone on Sprint.
Try watching more than the first 30 seconds.
@catachip
Try watching all the different videos. I can't see this lag except for when he zoomed in on a picture.
Here people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5fetcaQIaA
Now drool! Seriously, new batch of WinMo phones are to die for: Sony Xperia and this! Damn!
Xperia FTW!
beautiful, simply magnificent
I think Xperia looks better (keyboard) but I look foward to Raphael. When do we see the Android phone HTC?
No video means that it probably sucks!
I scrounged around about a year ago and found a video of the Prada phone and boy did it suck! Funny how Engadget doesn't have their staff do a video showdown of these phones in ONE PLACE! But that's asking too much. Wink wink.
And how many iterations of these iphone knockoffs are going to rear their tired heads? Loads! iphone hasn't changed a bit in the last year and there are way over 150 different iphone killers that have hit the market. Ok, I made that number up but we know it's over 30. Same goes for he ipod, except when the buttons were in a row.
And ah, how sweet it is that Apple doesn't have to wait for MS like the pc beige box guys and the phone folks. That's the power you have when you make the HOLY GRAIL of computers: The OS.
Yes, I'm a Mac fanboy.
xoxoxo
No your a DOUCHEBAG who likes to blog on tech sites..
OK OK name calling isnt nice but hey it is what it is.. I wouldve taken you a little seriously if you dont go into a fanwoos RANT about how Apple is the best..
Thats aside the videos on youtube look amazing.. That animated weather app was great. 1st of its kind that i know of.. And yes there a a half a second lag but cmon.. Why does everyone expect perfection. For the amount of animated screens iam pretty impressed. I cant wait for the keybaord version.
Yeah this a iphone knock off when htc has been for years making phones that have been touch only. yeah.
Sweet. Can't wait for the other version with the slide out qwerty. That'll be the shizzle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJtmnsHDVbk
Live UI demo good quality video too straight from HTC
interface does seem somewhat slow.
there's a couple vids official viddeos on youtube. this phone looks incredible
Honestly though, I have to agree that the interface (especially when you watch the video where there is someone actually using the phone) isn't anywhere near as small and precise as the iPhone's.
And what is with the drawing a circle to zoom in .... slooooooooow.
I've heard complaints about the iphone keyboard being a little cramped, so i'm wondering how on a screen that is .7'' inch smaller, that the keyboard is even close to nice in comparison. Any comments on keyboard compared to iphones?
If you look at the keyboard there is a button to switch it to XT9 which is a 20 key keyboard with predictive text. That keyboard works great on my current Touch with a 2.8" screen.
It is just another gimmick from HTC. Let it run well without trouble for a while and we'll see. A flashy UI doesn't mean it will win. Users will declare its success. HTC units have a bad history of frequent product problmes and are plauged with user complaints.
Apart from the recent video driver issue, I haven't heard of very many complaints about HTC devices. Now if you're speaking of carrier-specific complaints in regards to HTC devices, then yes, I agree completely. Example: Every carrier and their mother updating the HTC Titan to WM6.1 except Verizon.
Dude I'm totally gonna call Angela Wang.
SEXY CAN I!?
why the f**k is the iphone brought up in EVERY forum? is it necessary to compare every device to the iphone? PHUCK IPHONE!! :o)
Wanna see a McFan have an episode? Call it OS Eks.
Because everyone wants to compare "wishlist pretender phone" to "wishlist phone" :) because many ppl want iPhone
Ah... damn you HTC now I have 1 more alternative to decide... sigh...
SE XPERIA
iPhone 3G
Nokia N96
and now this HTC Touch Diamond...
I looked at many Youtube video for this phone and the only time it slows down is when looking at pictures, otherwise during the phone operations, it doesn't slow down as much. I think HTC is pretty good at masking the stupid WM interface.
Ugh...that Nokia looks ugly. Like most Nokias though so I guess it shouldn't be surprising.
However I'm also lookat the Xperia also. Although its from sony...
Nokia N96 while ugly, it actually in the form factor that I like (slider). Plus, Symbian is the BEST mobile OS compared to WMo or (yes I say it) OSX Mobile. Afterall 70% marketshare for Mobile OS in the world will tells it all.
I am currently using both N81 and iPhone, both phones are great on their respective field. Symbian is awesome because they have huge arrays of 3rd party MATURED applications whereas iPhone is great in multimedia capabilities and browsing.
SE XPERIA, while branded as Sony Ericsson, it is actually made by HTC so yeah lol
Also, not to mention the YOUTUBE interface is awesome... I wish Apple will improve the interface on the iPhone Youtube Apps
The interface looks pretty good and the design is not bad either.
T-Mobile: please releases this with AWS. Thank you.
Engadget is such a iphone fanboy. Notice on their engadgetmobile site there isn't a single mention of the diamond all day? But there are a few posts about the iphone. Hmmmmm
Look again. Not only is there a story about the Diamond on Mobile, there are THREE stories about it on the front page of Engadget.
Oh yeah, clearly Engadget are iPhone fanboys. What with all the stories about the Diamond on the front page. I mean THREE STORIES. Holy crap, you idiots throw a temper tantrum if three iPhone stories ever appear anywhere. You want to talk about fanboys? Look in the mirror.
Yummy but the responsiveness isn't 100% perfect which is quite a drawback for me.
This phone is hilarious. Can you imagine Apple having a "Start" button on the screen?!? Everything is so nicely done, and there has to be a "Start" button? Windows Mobile is really an awful OS.
i swear sprint better get this phone i got the htc touch but this phone is a true worthy upgrade
Say what you want about Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, but one thing that you can't deny is these two products have basically reached into the pocket of AT&T and Apple and stolen millions of dollars that would have been theirs. I was going to jump the (sinking) Sprint ship for the 3G iPhone, but now I won't, and I can assure you I'm not the only one thinking like this.
ON SCREEN KEYBOARD?????
What the shit.
Hm. Give it a full side-slide qwerty keyboard, Android, and either Sprint EVDO-rev-A, or T-Mo-USA UMTS versions, and I'll probably buy it.
Leave it as a WinMO phone, and I won't touch it.
That's the Raphael which is coming to Sprint. It's the same phone except no 4gb of internal memory but it does have a micro SD card slot and slideout keyboard. If it isn't much thicker than the Diamond I may go with that.
ooh! Good to know! Thanks :-)
The second video here includes a walk-thru by Horace Luke, HTC's Chief Innovation Officer...
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2008/05/htc_touch_diamo.php
Josh Rubin, you are the man for this one. That vid... skeet skeet.
Well I just phoned Orange... 1 the sales person knew nothing about this phone.... 2 They dont have them in stock nore do they know when there in stock...
Any one know if they really have been released voer here in blighty yet?
I am seriously considering this phone now.
dude it was just unveiled today.. Sprint personell didnt know about the HTC Mogul even after they were selling it on their own website.
Se tiennent-il une seconde, jouera-t-il Crysis ?
Looks nice but I'm waiting for serious reviews. I want to see how it holds up on a daily basis. The interface speed looks a bit slow.
My favorite part: "Stopping..." I do not want this.
Can't wait for a US launch
just saw more videos on it, it's looking much better with not much lag to it.....
Very nice! Someone has finally realized today's phone success stands and falls with UI (not hardware or OS)!
According to HTC.com the phone is just tri-band! :( Is there a separate quad-band version?
I might have to pick one of these up if ATT carries it, don't want to buy a feature locked phone from anyone
Any dates yet as to when this bad boy is hitting the US stores??
Did anyone catch if this has a MicroSD slot or are we tied to 4gb only?
3rd qtr for Touch Pro and 4th qtr for Touch Diamond. Both on Sprint