More details on HTC's Touch Diamond / Touch Pro for Verizon and Sprint
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 5th 2008 10:22AM
posted Aug 5th 2008 10:22AM
There's no doubt that both of HTC's forthcoming handsets (yeah, the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro) are coming to Sprint and Verizon. What we're still curious about, however, are the respective launch dates and the eventual names. phoneArena has it that the Touch Diamond will go by HTC Victor on Sprint and HTC Diamond on Verizon, with the former packing a slightly speedier CPU, an aluminum frame, accelerometer, 4GB of internal memory and EV-DO Rev. A support. As for Verizon's, expect it to boast half the RAM (128MB), a wimpier CPU, microSD expansion slot and a stainless steel frame. Moving on, we're told that the Touch Pro will be rechristined HTC Herman for Sprint and HTC Raphael (nice to re-meet you!) for The Network. Finally, we're clued in on a September 2nd release date for Sprint's Victor, while the Herman is expected a month later. As for Verizon? It'll probably be 30 or so days behind in both instances thanks to a presumed exclusivity agreement with its nemesis. Get all that?
Awesome.
The touch pro would be awesome if it just had a 3.5 inch touchscreen instead of a 2.8. I want that added size.
@ Poke4Christ
that's what she said...
I already have the HTC Touch Diamond and so far it's pretty good but there are times when it does run pretty slow. I hope their new firmware will fix it though. I love the weather app =D
The REAL question is, will Sprint let you use Herman (*lol*) with existing Sero plans? My guess is no - they'll try to force you into a ridiculous Everything plan like they did with the Instink. Still, I'm going to keep an eye on this.
You stole my name! And my feelings! CURSE YOU DEREK!!!!!
definantly is coming in august to radioshacks we got that email last week
i work at radioshack we received an email sprint is releasing it to some stores in late august
the email referred to it at htc diamond
why can't we get this phone at AT&T?!?!?! Grrrrrr I want the Touch Pro sooooooo bad!!!! It's the only device I would leave BlackBerry for!
Who says they aren't?
This seems very odd to me, because listed on HTC's Touch Pro spec page, the Euro/Asia versions do indeed have GSM, etc. Come on, AT&T, you gave us the 8125! Keep it going!
Clasifyd:
what year are you in 2005? AT&T has given 8525 and Tilt after 8125
and i dont think they will launch the diamond pro with at&t to rival their own tilt
The tilt has been out since last year. HTC can easily release this with At&T and the price of the tilt will drop while they phase out the 8125 if that's still being sold. Saying they wouldn't want to rival the tilt is like saying HTC shouldn't have released the tilt because AT&T already had the 8125.
:( I love my 8125. Yeah, I know it's an old phone. I wasn't impressed with the differences in the 8525, so I never bothered upgrading, and the Tilt was even bigger in size than my 8125, so I skipped that too. At any rate, I maintain my position that HTC could easily release this on AT&T, given their history.
because you have the iphone, idiot
Yeah...and Verizon will probably lock out the GPS so I can't use Garmin Mobile XT.
Verizon won't do anything for us. That's why XDA exists.
Anyway I'm VERY surprised to hear that verizon is using the HTC branding as they haven't done that in the past. Usually they go by the (incredibly memorable) XV#### series. I'd expect the XV7800 and 7900 or maybe 7000 and 7100.
Also I wouldn't expect them on Vzw for a few months after sprint. There was a *6* month gap between the mogul and the xv6800.
However, Engadgets numbers don't make sense. The Diamond as reported by HTC will have 192MB of RAM. Half would not be 128MB. If sprints does really include 256MB it would be awesome, but no keyboard.
The touch pro is supposed to have 256MB of RAM.
I can't believe they're going to give VZW a lesser version. Maybe I don't read enough cell phone news, but why not just have the same specs? This phone was going to keep me with VZW; now I might as well just jump ship next year for a Tilt after my contract expires. Ridiculous.
Juggernaut: Because Sprint payed more.
Woohoo Victor! I'd say first but I'm sure somebody will have beaten me to it by now.
What makes me happy is that the Victor is going to nearly match the specs of the Pro save for the keyboard, since the Pro was always slated to get more memory. And of course, I'm glad Sprint's version is better than Verizon's, though I expect it may be at the expense of a few millimeters of thickness. Still, I'll be getting one of these babies as close to launch as possible.
Well if you think about it this way the Sprint version gets more ram while the Verizon version get the option of having more space that 4gb.
Nothing inspires confidence more than the name Herman.
Seriously- You're gonna dump "Touch Pro" for Herman? That's like The Beatles changing their name to... Herman. Why screw up a good thing?
What's wrong with the name Herman? Why u bashing on ppl with name Herman?
Just to add a pinch of salt in the name 'Herman.' This might very well be HTC's codename for the different styled Raphael, like how the name 'Victor' is the codename for the different styled Diamond. Both the 'Victor' and the 'Herman' have the same curved edges and softtouch back. Also notice how both names are people's names... Heck they also are probably using them in this document to differentiate from Verizon's lineup.
My guess is that this is a codename internal document only and the 'official Sprint names' might not be used here. Here's to hoping they stick with the Touch Pro and Diamond names.
And to all you who doubt this because 'how would Sprint know what Verizon's phones are going to be?' Well Sprint has a 1 month exclusivity on the device, and that might include HTC disclosing to Sprint the models they are using and vice versa. I feel so bad for you Verizon folk.. unfortunately for me im moving to another state that has no Sprint EVDO service and only verizon EVDO. I dont care, im still getting a Sprint non-gimped version.
Nothing is wrong with Herman for a person or a Munster, but for a phone? I can't wait till people ask "me what phone are you carrying?" "Oh the HTC Herman". Hopefully the name Herman is not etched anywhere on the front of the phone.
@Herman- Sorry dude. Your name's lame.
Believe me, Anthony's not winning any sexy guy awards either so don't get all crazy on me.
The 8800 GT will be renamed 9800 GT for everyone. (you will get nothing and like it!)
HTC Herman starting at $1000 without 3 year slavery and $100 a month plan.
This may be a stupid question...but why are the specs different? Why not make the Verizon phone just as powerful as the Sprint phone?
they muck up the specs of the phone so they can buy them from HTC for a cheaper price.. thus making more profit when they unleash the phone on the unsuspecting public, where the majority can't tell the difference from 400mHz and 528mHz.
they profit, they win, you lose.
I was considering getting one for Verizon, but not if I'm going to have an inferiority complex regarding the Sprint phone. Lame. I was so excited for the HTC Touch (or Herman or Raphael or whatever uninspiring name they give it) but now I'll either have to switch carriers or go with the blackberry...*sigh*
400 mhz isnt that bad, if thats the true value. Also, what you lose in CPU you tend to gain in battery life and in the HTC touch's case, this can only be a good thing as it's shit.
For the price though, you'd kinda hope for a micro / mini / anything SD card slot
I have the htc 6800 (mogul) right now. It has a 400mhz and 64mb ram. You can overclock the processor with software to either 520 mhz or 624 mhz. The device does not get hotter or have any noticeable affect on battery either when over clocked.
That said, there is a really noticeable difference between 400mhz and 520 mhz. So those saying that the average joe wont notice, put them side by side and its much much snappier.
The only reason i would switch to a new phone from my 6800 (mogul) is the amount of ram in it. That seems to be the weakness of this phone. Having 128mb or more will really help. With only 64mb i constantly have to close down programs if i have too much running.
I might consider renewing my 2 year slavery for a cheap Herman .
@ipubs bastard child
The article says the Verizon one does have a microSD slot. I'm thinking they lowered the other specs to fit that in? I think it's a good move
@nizzy: What program do you use to overclock your Mogul? I think you're mistaken: the Mogul, as far as anyone on ppcgeeks and xda-devs can tell, cannot be overclocked at the moment. The Apache (6700) can.
But if you somehow found a way to overclock the Mogul, how do you do it? I'd like to do it, too.
I find it funny that Sprint somehow knows what versions of the phones verizon is going to have.. Anyone else think that smells fishy?
Wow, verizon blows, molester of phones.
God Verizon sucks. And I'm a customer.
But an interface circa 1993 is good for everyone!
these will have WinMo 6.1 so why is everyone bitching about the vzw interface? null argument here.
Can someone please explain to me Verizon's train of thought? I've been with Verizon for about 5 years and I will never understand their complete lack of effort to get a full featured phone. I wrote it off as them being a CDMA carrier and all of the higher end phones going to the GSM market, but there is simply no excuse for this garbage. As for HTC, I think they have some serious marketing issues that they need to address. Giving your phones 50 different names across carriers does not create brand name recognition - it only confuses consumers.
C'mon dude, everybody knows what the big V is ALL about.....
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
By crippling phones they:
Force you to use their proprietary software/features and pay for them (when the phone has them uncrippled for free)
By offering a crappier version of the Diamond (and I BET you, even with those specs, it will be priced the same.... if not MORE than Sprint), they force you to upgrade sooner cause you're just that much closer to obsolecence with your phone.
Now the software crippling I can deal with. Annoying as fuck but that's what the amazing folks over at xda developers are for.
Crippling the hardware? Fuck you VZW.
Wow I totally agree! I think the Touch Pro is a suitable name. Why give them names like they're pets or humans?? I understand the "development" codename but when it hits the market it should be called the same thing.
It's not like the Moto Razr kept changing names on different networks when it first came out! Personally I don't like "human names" used as the official names for cell phones... that's for me to decide what to call my baby! haha
Can you cripple me now?
Good!
Verizon ain't the greatest carrier despite their ads, but both Sprint and Verizon have full featured phones! I have carried a Sprint phone for the past 5 years and a Verizon phone through work for the past 4. I have yet to find a GSM phone that does anything my CDMA phones won't. My Mogul has wi-fi, blue tooth, infrared, voicedialing, GPS, Word, Excel, Sprint TV, and Powerpoint. It connects to my slingbox with no problem whatsoever. I've got everything. Even Nokia's communicators don't have as much. I'm stumped as to what you think a full featured phone would have because both Verizon and Sprint carry a fair assortment.
Wow, I might actually switch carriers based on Verizon's crippling the phone so bad. I was hoping to run WinMo until Android went mainstream. But I don't think I would be able to on the Verizon version of the Touch Pro.
HA! Dyson could learn a few things about sucking fro verizon. I never thought i'd say it, but I sure am glad that I'm on sprint.
But seriously, Herman?! How could the phone replacing the "Mogul" be called the "Herman" ?! These have to be code names. If not, I promptly plan to de-brand this phone as soon as sprint lets me get my hands on it.
Agreed, what will i tell my friends when i show off my new phone?
"Hay, what kinda phone is that?"
"Its the Sprint Herman."
"Oh... I feel sad for you."
ええ赤ん坊、私は第1!である!!
お客様のラメない！
HTC Touch Pro
I cant stand the awesomeness of this device... really its too awesome to be true!
too bad i'm a music enthusiast (Black Metal bwahahahaa! Rap is crap!) , I would've really Honored a 3.5mm jack.
I'm with you on this.
I wonder if there will be a dongle that adapts to 3.5mm. Hope so.. usb headphones are cheesy.
Also, as a mac user, I wonder how tricky it will be to get this thing to link up to ical, itunes etc...
I'm in canada, and Telus promises to lauch the Diamond in August. It's a slightly different design though: it's got a bulkier battery pack, no front facing camera, and a slightly curved contour at the top and bottom of the camera-face. It's a bit uglier, for sure, but I welcome the bigger battery. What's the point of all these great features if your phone has conked out by lunchtime?
They have a usb to 3.5mm jack dongle for $5 al over the internet. I would really like to know if the a2dp works well out of the box. Adding the profiles on older HTC phones resulted in the most craptastic choppy audio even after countless registry edits to tune performace.
Hopefuly this won't cost too much. I really want the victor or herman.
Anyone know what "32MB ISM" means? VZW's has "64MB ISM".
I don't have any real input regarding a response, I just wanted to let you know that your name and photo are amazing.
htc victor = no diamond back for the sprint version. (look at the telus one)
congratulations sprint, youve done it again.
Looks like I will be switching to Sprint and their unlimited everything plan for 99 bucks a month. I think I'm paying 129 now with AT&T for 1350 minutes and unlimited internet. I wonder how much the touch pro will cost? I've been with AT&T for quite awhile but their high prices and shady plans have done it for me.
This is ENORMOUSLY disappointing.
WHY Verizon, WHY?! Ivan Seidenberg is a joke and a half. "The iPhone isn't going to go anywhere" and now you're castrating one of the best viable answers to it?! Were you HOME SCHOOLED?!
I want a Windows Mobile phone with GSM, WiFi, and no locked bluetooth profiles... is that so damn much to ask!?
It's like there are two competing components at Verizon: one is in charge of "The Network", and one is in charge of phones. Group A is always doing its best to improve the customer experience while group B is furiously trying to squeeze its customers for every dime of profit.
Verizon, you have a great network - give us some decent, unmolested phones to use on it!
Yeah, i get a kick out of phones that don't accept mp3 ringtones over bluetooth to curb competing "pirate ringtones" or custom ringtones. I'm a musician that uses my own music as my ringtones, Apparently it's foreseen as illegal to share my creations with people from verizon.
Sprint ALMOST had a killer with the Victor. Just needed the microSD slot. Guess i'll just have to live with 4 gb.
If I'm reading this right Sprint's Diamond will pack 256MB RAM. That's amazing. The biggest complaint I have with my Mogul is the meager 64MB of RAM. I'll still hold out for the Touch Pro for the keyboard.
I bet this thing is faster than the OQO 02 and looks just as cool.
This is just ridiculous. Yes VZW, we GET IT...you can make money and keep customers no matter how much you screw the customer over. But this? This is just insulting. You've taken a phone which is designed for more educated consumer and DELIBERATELY turned it into a POS. Like we aren't going to notice?
You'll need the frackin' alltel merger at this rate to make customers, because even though you bow down to the almighty data customer claiming them to be your most valuable customer, you continue to encourage them to go else where for the best hardware.
Seriously, you appear as an idiot when you make these decisions. Seriously. Where the hell is your open-network so I can get a decent phone and still use it on a decent network? Man I'm pissed!
I was amused by the picture: this new one looks like a umpc with the small hand held on the poster under it! Reminds me of the celebrity faux pas shots on tabloid covers. You know that's what we are, we hang on every rumor just like our wives do about celebrities. And I laugh at the slip up.
In terms of being disappointed about something that should be awesome, this is the new Indiana Jones.
Is that Sprint SERO plan still kickin around?
Many early SERO adopters are grandfathered into existing plans ($30 for 500 anytime, unlimited data/text, etc.) but new SERO hopefuls need not only the sprint email but the employee ID numbers. Still, it is possible. I have seen a few floating around. It makes me wonder as to the future of these employees. In other sad news, the SERO plans are no longer as spectacularly cheap as they used to be. It is more like a $99 everything unlimited type of plan.
For me, the $30 500 anytime, unlimited everything else was just too good to pass up. However, while SERO is still around, the golden days of super value are gone.
What else can I contribute? Oh Yes, the HTC Touch Pro is an amazing phone and I would rather pay for it than use an iphone for free. Engadget needs to chill on the BS iphone hype. We are not all soccer moms and 13 year old kids who dont know any better. Until the iphone becomes less restrictive in its software and OS it is worthless to real power users.
To Clarify, the SERO deals are basically dead. Its still a referral program that authenticates with an employee ID and email. However, it just gets you a deal equal to "Everything Plus" plan these days. They dont even refer to it as SERO anymore.
The new SERO is called Everything Plus... it's not $100, it's $60 a month for unlimited data, unlimited txt/pic/video, gps, sprint premiere tv/radio, black berry service (which was $40 extra a month for SERO -- not really apart of SERO before).
So, the Everything Plus is still quite good, but most people don't need all of that --- so in a way it is also worse.
Just remember, you will be paying almsot 2x on any other carrier to get those services.
If you don't have the employee number/id, just go into a store and politely ask... nine times out of ten they will be very nice and give you the info.
The real question for me is how long am I going to be able to milk SERO for before I'm forced into another plan? I want to be able to buy new phones and such, but will I be forced to change plans if I upgrade my phone? How long does sprint have to keep me on sero?
Once you are locked into a plan I dont think they can force you out without clear cause. I also dont think they can force you to upgrade your plan either. This is why I said current SERO account holders are "grandfathered" in. I had an original older Cingular plan long ago that I never changed way after they redid their entire plan scheme and it was also a better value. I havent heard anything about existing SERO users getting converted. I would personally raise hell.
Poke4,
You can keep SERO for life as long as you don't change your plan. If you upgrade to a new phone, keep the same type of phone you have now (i.e, if you have a PowerVision phone, upgrade to that, if you have a Vision phone, upgrade to that). As long as you upgrade your phone at the 1 year or 22 month mark each time, you are under contract and can extend it. They cannot force you off your contract unless you agree! Do not agree! lol They may try to trick you or something, but just make sure to always say NO to any plan changes.
Seriously, if you follow that -- you can keep SERO for life.
Goon,
Well said on....well....everything.
Hey PekosROB! Eat shit! AT&T has the fuc*!n iphone! Why dont you let Sprint customers get some god damn glory huh?.......SHUT UP!
Yeah, and so do a whole boatload of other carriers across the globe. What's your point? Perhaps not everyone wants an iPhone. Why are you telling me to eat shit? Maybe the fact that AT&T has the iPhone, first had the Razr, and has a decent selection of Palm Treos (although Sprint's selection is pretty nice with the new 800w), I figured it would make more sense to have at least AT&T or T-Mo to have an HSDPA version of either of the two.
Instead HTC decided to partner with Sprint and Verizon. I'm surprised at the decision with Sprint. Sprint just sold off ALL of their cellphone towers and now leases them... most of my friends with Sprint hate it, although for whatever reasons they don't make a switch...
Oh yeah, and Sprint also had a $73 million lawsuit for early terminations? At least they have WiMax... assuming the company is still around to see it materialize nationwide.
I guess the guys at HTC don't read Engadget.
http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/13/sprint-to-sell-off-assets-due-to-subscriber-defections/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/24/sprint-nextel-sells-off-nearly-all-of-its-towers-to-towerco-fo/
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/29/sprint-loses-early-termination-lawsuit-ordered-to-pay-73m-b/
Maybe HTC is not playing the favorites game. They have had a good relationship with Sprint for a while. Also, the deal with the towers may be a good thing as it gives them capital that they need immediately to be reinvested in wimax build out, advertising, possible even improving current coverage for voice and evdo. Lease vs. Own is a double edged sword in almost every business venture. It can be good or bad, and depends on how you work it. I would not expect the average engadget reader to understand business principles though.
peko
Ummmm, EVERY single carrier leases the vast majority of their cellular towers.
It's all about opportunity cost, and initially it made sense for Sprint to make the investment in owning them, but for the forseeable future, they want to concentrate on their core business (i.e. providing a service, rather than maintaining that service), so they fell in line with what all of the other carriers are doing -- leasing the towers they once owned and turning a red division of their business into a black one.
It's really not that difficult to grasp from a managerial perspective, provided that you actually read more than a few sensational links decreeing "Oh MY GODX0R TEH SPRINTS ARE DYING!" ...
@0157h7
I agree, most readers online (but I would think Engadget readers are a bit smarter than the average bear... :-) would not know the differences between the lease vs. own... BUT when a multi-million dollar company has to liquidate almost $700 million for whatever reasons, it makes me think they are going (or already have experienced) some difficult financial times.
@ hamidxa
You're right. Carriers do a lot of leasing... to other carriers and cell phone tower companies! How else would we have no roaming charges? It's one thing to focus on your core business (which I agree makes sense), but it seems a bit odd that Sprint would sell off nearly all their towers rather than a few at a time. They would've had more money to play with (long-term) had they sold to more than one buyer and in smaller quantities (I'm sure the sale price was discounted for the number of towers).
Sprint is probably re-focusing on their core business because their overall bottom line is TERRIBLE. Almost a $30 BILLION loss last QUARTER alone???
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87823963
Take your name off the NASCAR "chase for the cup" and invest those millions somewhere else!
wont you just be able to buy the unlocked version of the sprint phone and put it on the verizon network?
wait...what I want to know is why VZW took out the accelerometer...isn't that half of the functionality to the phones....to be able to rotate the screen view for web surfing, etc?
The 4GB's is really disappointing. Just having a GPS app like TT7 takes up almost 2GB's. I had to get a 8GB MicroSD in order to store basic apps, a few ebooks, GPS and some tunes.
The Diamond is nearly perfect. Why oh why didn't they include an expansion slot?
Yes! Someone feels like I do---however, the Verizon version does have a slot for expansion minus the 4GB. Regardless, I'm done with Verizon. (Check out the rant on YouTube about the legal way to get out of your Verizon contract without an early termination fee.) The cripple every phone, including the PDA. I get a corporate discount and I would pay more with Sprint just because it has a better version of the 'Herman'. The name sucks. God, I thought I was through the phrase 'playing with my Herman' after high school.
The last straw was how VZW crippled or removed the motion G sensor/ accelermeter. For those that don't know--just look at the Jesus Phone apps and the Wii controls. Same technology. Thanks Verizon. Back to Sprint!
How in the FCUK are neither of these phones slated for a GSM version release?!? CDMA is utter garbage and both of these phones which were originally designed to be GSM are now having a DUAL launch as CDMA in the states?
FCUK HTC, FCUK Sprint, FCUK Verizon...
And FCUK T-Mob for not launching 3G sooner, or having any balls when it comes to snagging decent phones!
Dude I agree. CDMA sucks. It doesn't make your speakers go crazy when you get a phone call or text! :-)
Tell that to Tim. He told me to eat feces and shut up. At least someone agrees with me that it's ridiculous AT&T or T-Mo didn't get at least one of them!
I haven't had that speaker buzzing problem since the late '90s...
What kind of phone do you have?
I have a BlackBerry Curve. When I had Verizon awhile ago it never happened, but when I switched to AT&T it buzzes. All of my friends' phones on GSM networks all buzz too.
@Pekos
Wait a sec you make no sense. You said F CDMA cuz it makes your speakers buzz but then you say later your GSM phone makes your speakers buzz. I don't know about you, but my Sprint phones have always gotten better reception than any of my friends on other networks. Especially the GSM ones.
@donatoM3
I said "it doesn't" as in "does not make your speakers..." because that's an annoying trait about GSM phones.
screw Verizon and sprint im buying this unlocked and using it on AT&T
The phone is CDMA. AT&T only supports GSM phones.
He can still buy it unlocked. GSM Touch Diamonds have been available for a while.
But he won't be able to use it in the US. It doesn't have the GSM bands needed.
Yes it does. They just need to be unlocked. It's a software restriction, that is easily solved by the guys at XDA forums.
Wow, I am slightly in disbelief right now. I don't understand, Sprint is getting something cool, and it's getting something cooler than Verizon Wireless? What has the world come to!? Sprint never gets cool stuff!! Oh the joy!
Dear VZW,
I have been a loyal customer since you acquired Ameritech Cellular back in the late 90's. I have had every top of the line PDA phone you have released from the Samsung line of phones. The news you were going to bring the HTC over to the VZW roster gave me great joy. But now I find out you're going to degrade it's performance/storage by 50%?!?!
That's it! After this contract or depending on if you piss me off with next months bill. I'm jumping ship and move on to Big Blue [AT&T] for some iPhonage. Thanks.
Your loyal but disrespected customer for over 10 years.
it might be useful to also send this to verizon instead of just posting it here.
*Looks at Sprint Touch* Waaaah I want the Touch Pro!! Oh Well maybe I can swithc phones next Tax Return. Or just wait out my 2 years with the Touch.