HTC Touch Diamond boot video, for your eyes only
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted June 6th 2008 3:55PM
posted June 6th 2008 3:55PM
posted June 6th 2008 3:55PM
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I dont really get you guys why you whinning about iphone cant do this and that... iPhone is Apple first mobile and it can already do so much and beat many mobiles production houses outthere who have even been on the market for years! it cant do video recording, cant do mms..hello!! this is just a great way of doing business! They dont wanna just give you everything at one time, take it little by little! afterall it is Apple Inc.! HTC has nothing to compete with Apple thats why they just throw everything they have got to compete with the iPhone! isnt that clear enough already? Just think that if iPhone didnt exist, how long you people will have to pay for upgrading your phone? iPhone is a great kick-off, and push other mobile company to produce something better! instead of wait another 5 years to get such great UI!
Sure, they want to do it bit by bit so muppets like you will fork out $500 every year for there latest model which just so happens to be a year behind everyone else's.
I'm waiting on google android!
damn zak when are yu gonna get off steve jobs' nuts man, Iphone is hyped beyond belief its an ok phone, browers ok( opera mini 4 is way better 3rd party browser), itunes sucks, no keyboard, 3g iphone isnt gonna be anything to go crazy over unless you liek to lick jobs' nuts. Hey to each his own
is it wrong that that vid gave me wood?
I have to be honest - I think this is worse than the iPhone's UI (and I'm not a big fan of that either).
It's pretty - sure - but it misses the point of a UI: to present information in an easy to understand and easily navigable form.
I'd really need to see, for example, how easy it is to see the from/subject lines on each email, especially now that it's rotated in 3D like that. Worse, I can't see all my email and quickly sort through it - I have to flick each email to walk through it all. Think about all the yelling the lack of bulk erase on the iPhone caused - this is actually *worse* than that.
Less glitz and more substance with a pleasing, but subtle UI please.
You can just press the right soft key and use the WinMo email program...
yawn...
They have managed not to resemble Apples Touch/iPhone.
It looks very intuitive.
Totally agree with you Wes! That was an immediate major turn off. The lag on the touch responsiveness was so bad sometimes, I almost thought the device was having an error.
Oy vey...Here we go:
"That's funny, I thought Apple already announced 3rd party support on the iPhone. Yeah I know WWDC is sort of obscure and there's been absolutely no news about it at all. Your ignorance is completely understandable."
That's funny, I thought I said *actual* third party support. Not some half assed corporate-directed walled garden.
"And sure, video recording is the only difference between an iPhone and a smartphone. That makes perfect sense. I mean please ignore the fact that the iPhone has a real email client, a real web browser (not a "mobile" browser", the best ui by far on any phone (gosh you would think that would qualify it for smartphone status) and of course all the features coming in the 2.0 update, which apparently you've never heard of."
No phone out there right now has a "real" web browser. The iPhone doesn't support Flash and the fact that it, along with all other mobile phones, really works best with mobile-versions of sites really says something about how "real" its browser is. This isn't a criticism of it; it's just the practicality for a small and convergence heavy device like the iPhone or the Nokia N95 or the HTC Touch Diamond.
The closest thing to a real browser would be the MicroB on the lovely Nokia N810, but sadly, that isn't exactly a phone (although it can be). And I'm not even sure what you mean by "real email client."
Oh, and the world's nicest UI is useless if there isn't the hardware and actual third party software support to take advantage of it. Think of it like putting the dashboard, steering wheel, and interior of a Maybach into a Geo.
I'll try and find some more information on this obscure "WWCD" or whatever thing you're talking about, but I don't think I'll be interested in the new iteration of iPhone unless it has more than just the smartphone features of 2006.
Damn it Engadget; this comment was to Zak on the previous page.
Looks awesome I must admit.
BUT the navigation with its lovely transition animations seems very slow to me.. unless there is a way to change the speed of them a user that has gotten used to this phone and wants to look for something specific fast is going to be annoyed..
Then again, this is a video, I haven't used the actual thing..
Does the whole phone look this good or is it just initial screens? Once you get past these lovely looking views are you back to looking at standard WM6 explorer etc?
Not really. All of WinMo is there, but settings, programs menu, pictures and videos etc have all been replaced. You can still use it. But you don't have to.
And of course this will never been seen sold by T-mobile. DAMN YOU TM! Where are the touch phones?!?
@Zak
I think it's the Iphone users that have to dumb down. The whole ecosystem is controlled by Apple. If you deviate from that path (ie jail broking) you get punished (lose of waranty). Yes you have 3rd party apps, but only what Apple tells allows you. If I remember correctly this is the very thing that a lot of Mac users used to bash Microsoft for. And yet they willingly/blindingly accept it from queer old Stevie Jobbs..
What's funny is Iphone users willing spend there hard earned money for this dumbed down piece of technology. WinMo may not be perfect but at least you can customize your phone a 1000 different ways with it. Andriod and Ubuntu mobile are only going to open things up even more open. So before you bash everyone else, remember that your precious comes at a price. Numb nuts.
while it's cool looking....it just seems a little too slow and superfluous to be more useful than just eyecandy
If it wasn't for Google's Android platform, I'd be all over this (assuming it doesn't share the carrier lockdown the iPhone does).
It's nice but the lack of an SDHC slot is a real turn off.
Looks a bit laggy - just like my WinMo 6.0 !
Good to see that most of the lag is gone.
Hi Again,
A few more points...
- Touch Diamond is really light weight. You barely notice it in your pocket in comparison to iPhone
- Addition of microSDHC will make the HTC Touch PRO (a.k.a. Raphel) but it'll make the phone a little chubbier.
- TouchFlo 3D can be disabled but I tried it once and you just don't like it without it. It makes all the necessary features more accessible.
- It is almost impossible to keep it clean, prepare your cleaning kit :) Once it is clean it is so pretty though ;)
- Ow.. one lovely feature taht I can't get over, when it is hooked-up to the charging station, the round button in the middle glows clock-wise. It is very neat.
- The white backlight for the buttons and center button is just the right amount and looks great.
- The phone comes with a spare stylus.
- I've ordered the cradle and carrying pouch but cradle is kinda expensive and I think for $750 price tag, it should have been included. I'll be getting it for about $60 from UK. HTC should start selling tehse on their site.
- You won't beleive how great that 640x480 screen until you see it. It is very much bright and colors are so beautiful.
- The phone comes with lots of applications loaded. Opera is great plus.
- Unlike the previous WM devices, I didn't need to configure Rogers settings, it was done automatically.
Cheers,
Mert
Mert -
Thanks for all your review info!!!! Since you actually have one it is nice to get the facts - looking forward to something like this on the iPhone2
Can you please verify -
1 - does it have an integrated GPS - and if so does it work well with live search or google maps?
2 - It has no expansion micosd or anything like that?
3 - does it have wifi?
THanks again!!
1) Yes. It works fine. see http://www.coolsmartphone.com
2) No, no expansion
3) Yes.
Oh, and Mert, it's not the MicroSDHC that's making the Raphael thicker, it's going in because it's already thicker due to the keyboard
i dunno, the animations slow everything down. the response time is fine but the animations seems unnecessary
it seems like it would get annoying after a while
Looks cool though I don't think my thumb is THAT opposable. It seemed unnatural at times.
I will agree looks cool, but way way to complicated. Turn on the iphone and you can figure out everything simply, very intuitive... this on the other hand. What the hell are all those gestures, how did you get from photo's to messaging with a twirl, makes no sense. Looks pretty but just pure crap.
Very nicely done.
I really hope that version of TF gets extracted from the Diamond, I'd love to see if it works decently on my Titan!
So this should be an iPhone killer???
I mean, eye-candy is there, but nobody seems to understand what makes an Apple product so good.
It's not that expose-animation or the stacks coming up like a fan. It's Safari with it's zooming feature nobody really got it (allthough Opera Mini approaches). And the consistent user interface. I don't want to read my mail halfways packed in an envelope to see that it's actualy an e-mail (ok perhaps when I'm high) and I want to see those photos in full-screen. This is just such a waste of space on the screen.
Just some cents
gentux
PS: Why the hell do you all have problems seeing this video with Quicktime? I had no problems at all, worked as expected!
Just tap the email or photo. For crying out loud.
Oh and the server was down before.
Dumbsses arguing over mac and Windows again. Nobody convinces anybody anyways. Nobody makes money arguing too.rotflmao
I'm impressed with how much thought went into one handed navigation on a touch screen, which the iPhone is almost incapable of. Unfortunately, It seems a bit unintuitive and the perspective on the objects like the email messages in envelopes borders on unusable. I'm concerned about the lag time seems a bit severe, but it still looks far more usable than any WinMobile phone I've ever seen. I'm still on Palm, but I'll have to try out this and a the new iPhone to decide, but I'll definitely be getting one of the two.
@zak apple is NOT a hardware company they make ZERO components and have ZERO manufacturing plants.
they are middle men, they conglomerate hardware from other companies slap a crusty apple on it and call it i*(tm) ... i think you need a lesson in business management and leave the fanboyism in the DMZ ppl here know whats going on.
The thing is gorgeous but its a shame the TouchFlo3D interface is not extended to all parts of the Windows Mobile platform. For instance, the entire PIM suite: calendar, notepad, calculator, etc. is not skinned with TouchFlo3D.
Check out phoneArena's indepth review: http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/HTC-Touch-Diamond-Review-review-r_1956.html
http://toxic-penguin.com
http://oftheshrub.org
My Tilt Weeps.
[This was originally targeted as a person, but with then # of fanbois coming out to shovel shit....]
Typical Apple fanboi,
Shooting off his/her mouth before using their damn brain. do you actually think that that is the extent you could view an e-mail? This is no different then Apple's icon view that shows previews of files in Finder. Oh and as for consistent UI. Please. OS X is a perfect example of a nonconsistent UI. Shit it has taken Apple how long just to get their color scheme synced between their OS and their apps?
I love it when I see user's of Apple's products show the ability to actually THINK for themselves. Critisise Apple when they really are screwing up. Praise them when they ocasionally do something right. But NEVER just swallow the pill and say yes sir may I have more.
Then there are people like you. Follow the party line to the bitter end. If it doesn't have an Apple logo on it it is inconsequential and not worth even evaluating beyond an cursory overview via a damn video.
You want to know why people hate Apple? They are scared to be associated with such rabid Jihadists.
Yes in a perfect word its just a computer, its just a Phone, its just an MP3 player, but you people have turned it into more then that. I pull out my MBP and I almost immediately get the rolling of eyes because YOU people have turned it into a fracking religion where common people need to let people know we aren't one of those fanatics.
fanbois are annoying no matter what genre they come from. Chevy vs. Ford, Nintendo vs Sony vs MS, etc. But you PEOPLE have taken this crap to a whole new level. Its rather pathetic and IMNSHO is the reason for Apple's QC issues over the last decade. Unadulterated faith, without question. Apple knows whatever they feed you you will swallow like the good pets that you are. And they know they have you. Sad. Very sad.
PS- Go ahead and rate me down. It simply proves my point, and doesn't erase the post. It will be here festering like the splinter of truth that it is, and always will be, and that is this: You are creating a monster worse then MS ever could have been. Congrats.
I have try this phone. The touch flo is slow and unresponsive. You have to often touch twice to get the thing to flow. Not too impressive.
I have look at the iphone as well but did not try too much, not sure what is so special yet, except it seem to have a lot of third party game that looks sort of fun. Overall it looks good but not sure what other things it can do?
@Jon Doe
Well said. I totally agree and feel the exact same way as you do. Because of these vicious and close minded Apple fanbois (mind you, obviously not all Apple fanbois are bad) people that are brand neutral like myself have to think twice about purchasing an Apple product for fear of being associated with those vicious fanbois.
Also, Jon Doe's reference to when he takes out his MBP and is greeted with the "rolling of the eyes" reaction is typical and I see it all the time. This reaction was inadvertently created by bad Apple fanbois which ruins it for the rest of us, non Apple fanboy and good Apple fanboy alike.
So please lay off the rabid fanaticism and though this is aimed squarely at the bad Apple fanbois, I think every bad fanboy of any company/brand should take note.
"You are creating a monster worse then MS ever could have been" - Nicely put and enough said.
Peace everybody=)
I still can't understand why HTC came up with this complex user interface.
I Really get the feeling it's completely random, which ofcourse it isn't, but it's a bad thing when it does feel that way.
Also the screen is too chaotic, there's tooo much being displayed.
I don't want fancy animations, I just want an easy to use and clear interface.
And when I read I'd rather see it flat, like paper, than 3D like a video-game. That's the reasons why people still read newspaper on paper you know.
Those mail and text views are previews only. You can of course view them full screen.
Ok, I think this is a great device. I'm holding out for the Raphael (qwerty slider version). BUT there is one thing that's REALLY annoying.
They still havnt skinned the bloody calculator!! Now this really lies in the MS ballpark, but HTC...considering they created tehe new UI etc...they could have at least put a nice skin on it.
Quite a bit of delay there between swiping and the UI actually changing...
So overdone. I don't wanna watch half an hour of animation every day.
the price of htc touch diamond in hk:
5680 hkd for non subscription
3680 hkd for 2 year subscription
to get usd price divide by 7.8
A low-latency user interface is much more important to me than fancy moving graphics, perspective, etc.
Would be OK, if there were an option to turn off all that crap, and present a plain utilitarian layout like Blackberry.
Wow this thing looks slow. I have it's great great great grandfather blue angel, but might switch to iphone 3g :(