Sprint launches HTC Touch Diamond and Pro into officialdom

Yeah, we all knew -- or rather, hoped with all digits crossed -- they were coming, and what better venue to make the announcement than at CTIA in San Francisco. We've talked about these two for what seems like ages so we won't bore you with the tech babble, the important bits are Touch Diamond on September 14th, Touch Pro on October 19th. Pricing? Touch Diamond will run you $249 on two years after $100 rebate and the Touch Pro $299 on the same term after the same $100 rebate. Job well done busting these two out Sprint, we can't wait to get hands-on.

[▀█▀ █ ▀█▀ ▄█▀ @ Sep 10th 2008 10:36AM]

Is it me, or do these look strangely rounder and that much uglier than the proper HTC versions?

[Kris @ Sep 10th 2008 10:47AM]

It's you

[Hush @ Sep 10th 2008 11:21AM]

The Sprint Diamond does however have that much sought after attractive maroon colored battery cover... :sigh:

[Pino @ Sep 10th 2008 11:23AM]

No, rounder, and uglier...although that last part might have something to do with the sprint logo emblazoned on the front. That has a way of just killing aesthetics.

[OneLove @ Sep 10th 2008 12:29PM]

OMG!! OMG!!! (screams like a little girl) ....IT HAS ARRIVED!!!!!!

[Hugh @ Sep 10th 2008 12:59PM]

I agree, around the center button, it looks smooth not diamondy

[boe @ Sep 10th 2008 2:08PM]

Depends - if you are a kansas city boy you might like the lovely red brick design sprint insisted upon. If you are a normal human being though you would probably prefer it witht he default black back.

[Javier @ Sep 11th 2008 12:21AM]

Does anyone know what happened to the second camera supposedly used for video conferencing? It should be exactly were the sprint logo is.

[wud_e @ Sep 10th 2008 10:40AM]

Sprint better cram these down our throats with marketing like they do the Instinct.

[Leindurstit @ Sep 10th 2008 10:42AM]

Reasonable prices. Rebates always suck, but still. I can't wait now to see how Verizon will cripple these phones, along with what inflated prices they will charge for them.

[Sisyphus @ Sep 10th 2008 10:57AM]

Rebates do suck --

But I recently had a Sprint rebate fulfilled, and it was handled well. They have an automated 3rd party service do it, but they allow you to check the status of the rebate online, and they send you updates regarding the status if you want them. I got my check in about three weeks.

Hopefully my experience is indicative of the larger Sprint rebate program, though ironically, the mail-in-rebate was the BEST part of my interaction with the company when I started service.

[tydei8 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:07AM]

I just received my rebate from Sprint too. I didn't bother tracking the status of it though, I was patient until the 4 to 6 week time frame that they told me, and thats when it came.

[Jamesy @ Sep 10th 2008 10:45AM]

Decent prices, but sadly, another good phone that TMobile customers will never get to use.

[Rogue_Genius @ Sep 10th 2008 3:52PM]

You might be in luck dude. Depending on how much you wish to spend (and whether you want to use US 3G) you have options. You could order the Euro-spec Touch Pro (labeled as the MDA Vario IV) and have it shipped to you. However, you run the risk of not being able to use US 3G with it. If AT&T gets it as the 'Fuze', you could buy that version off contract and then pop your TMob sim in there. Or, you can just hope and pray that T-Mob will get a version since AT&T is getting it too. The last option may not be the quickest, but likely the cheapest of the three. Good luck!

[Jeremy @ Sep 10th 2008 10:47AM]

Holy Shit! Good Prices too! Anybody know the pro will work on the sero plan? I've got a mogul right now, but I'm going to ditch it.

[nerdtalker @ Sep 10th 2008 10:57AM]

I think half the installed base is in the same situation. I've got the same situation myself. At the worst, you buy the phone for a higher less subsidized price, and swap the ESNs either in-store, over the phone (ironic?), or online.

[VampireHunter Z @ Sep 10th 2008 12:38PM]

I have the Mogul too. I'm not sure what to do yet. The Mogul is killing me right now because of the lack of RAM. Everytime I browse a "full" site in Opera 9.5 I get the Out of Memory pop up. At the same time The Touch Pro is a tad short of my dream phone. Why didn't they just make the screen bigger??? I'll probably stick with the Mogul until the first WinMo 7 phone comes out.

Come on HTC give us a bigger screen, everything else is perfect about the Pro.

[g00n @ Sep 10th 2008 5:13PM]

Same boat - when do the WinMo 7 phones arrive? I havent seen any Sprint roadmaps.

[Poke4Christ @ Sep 10th 2008 2:51PM]

VampireHunter,

I'm right there with you. I absolutly love the touch pro and it really disapoints me that they kept the 2.8 inch screen. That high resolution really beggs for 3.5. I don't mind going a little bigger. I never have.

Also, I've said this before and I'll say it again. Please stop the trend of ditching the buttons that was started by the iPhone. Just because it's the way the iPhone does it doesn't mean everyone loves it.

[jeeter @ Sep 10th 2008 10:49AM]

Looks like (according to the Sprint web site) that it comes with a 1GB microSD card. :)

[B.Cherry @ Sep 10th 2008 10:51AM]

If that's the case, then the SE Xperia X1 has to about $299 after mail-in rebate too! All I know is, the Xperia X1 better have a folder that I can toss in a 30 sec mp3 and use it as a ringtone! That and another folder to toss in 2-5 sec mp3 as a ringtone for incomin' sms/mms/im messages!

[B.Cherry @ Sep 10th 2008 10:57AM]

Oh yeah, and since the SDK was released, I hope the make a panel for AOL/Yahoo Messenger similar to the SideKick where you can leave long custom away messages with all the cool symbols and be able to load up any picture you transfer or take on your phone as an icon. That and Opera 9.5 we browser. Hey, I can dream can't I?

[Jason @ Sep 10th 2008 10:53AM]

Looks like the Touch Pro has had its front facing camera removed.

[Level 5 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:02AM]

I'm not surprised. I'd wager we STILL won't get proper MMS just like all the other HTC PDA's (well.. without loading the ArcSoft MMS stuff)

[kjb434 @ Sep 10th 2008 10:53AM]

So in about 6 months when the exclusivity contract ends ATT or T-Mobile will get the GSM version, Yippy, I'll upgrade from my wonderful Tilt (which it is wonderful!) to a the next order of evolution.

I know, I could get one now, but it won't be subsidized and I'll have to get it Overseas.

[Dave @ Sep 10th 2008 10:55AM]

Hopefully Verizon gets it soon....and I hope they don't rape us on the price.

[Leindurstit @ Sep 10th 2008 11:11AM]

Don't worry, they will.

[MastrCake @ Sep 10th 2008 6:01PM]

I'm guessing that you are saying that they will on both...

[Derek @ Sep 10th 2008 10:58AM]

Being on the Employee plan, I don't qualify for the $249/$299 price tags and have to buy them right out. There's no word on the price without a plan that I've see, but I'm betting its somewhere in the $500-$650 area. /sigh.

[Shahryar @ Sep 10th 2008 11:12AM]

haha, I just complained about the same thing. I don't know what it
is like when the phones are brand new, but I know that phones that
are a little old, the price on ebay is very close the price new w/ 2
year contract - I'm surprised people don't go the ebay route more
often to avoid a contract since the equipment subsidy isn't much (or
can you not go w/ sprint without taking a 2 year contract period?)

[Brad @ Sep 10th 2008 1:41PM]

No, you can get a Sprint contact for two, one, or zero years. They just effect the price of your phone. If you bring your own phone, they should not require you to sign up under contract. If they try to, argue with them. The sales person is just miffed because they don't get any commission because you didn't sign a contract.

[Shahryar @ Sep 10th 2008 11:00AM]

I just lost my Mogul somewhere too so these came out at just the right time. I'm on an old retail plan which means I can't sign a contract so I will be looking to ebay to get these - hope they're not too much more than going the "official route" 2 yr contract.

I would still prefer a phone like this coming out from Sprint with a numeric keypad on the front in addition to a pullout QWERTY. The pullout makes it harder to do stuff on the phone while you're driving (which is wrong, I know).

[famm113 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:09AM]

@ jeeter Where did you see this on the sprint web site?

[donald @ Sep 10th 2008 11:38AM]

If you click on the link to the story, it is in the press release that the Touch Pro comes with a 1GB microSD card.
"...expandable storage capabilities with a microSD card slot (1 GB card included)..."

[Forrest @ Sep 10th 2008 11:28AM]

I have a Touch right now, and I'm starting to hate it. It's SLOW. The clock display freezes all the time. Sometimes it won't stop vibrating when I get an email until the stupid sound plays too, and that can take upwards of a minute. The on-screen keyboard lags horribly at times. I've installed only a few apps and the thing is behaving very strangely, so I think it's just flaws in the software and hardware.

I was thinking of blackmailing Sprint into letting me switch to a Pro for the 2 year contract price until I saw the fully-touch HTC model a few posts ago. Gah! Now I'll probably have to wait to see them both and compare.

[iTunes+iPod @ Sep 10th 2008 1:10PM]

Same, i have found that htc and winmo still have a long way to come before they can compete

[XenoX101 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:28AM]

I prefered the square edges, round edges are pretty much the norm now. (Besides, cut diamonds aren't round)

[Platinum_Skeet @ Sep 10th 2008 11:30AM]

When will Verizon get the HTC's? I WANT ONE!!@!111

[Brad @ Sep 10th 2008 2:40PM]

Typically 30 days after Sprint, though these may lag a full quarter.

[Brett @ Sep 10th 2008 11:32AM]

Well now I can't decide whether to get a Touch Pro or continue to hold out for Android. My current phone is slowly dying.

[Rudolphe @ Sep 10th 2008 11:46AM]

I'm sorry but i refuse to be part of a first gen google OS phone. I wait till 2.0 lol

[iTunes iPod @ Sep 10th 2008 1:17PM]

same here, it will probably fail anyways lolz :)

[famm113 @ Sep 10th 2008 11:34AM]

HTC messed me up by showing that fully touch phone today with the large screen. I wanted the diamond to be that phone. Just now when the diamond is coming out they add this and now I have to consider waiting to see if Sprint will get it. Wack sauce

[Rogue_Genius @ Sep 10th 2008 4:02PM]

I have some doubts about seeing the full-screen Touch on Sprint. The pics we've seen so far have "3G" on the screen and those are usually seen on GSM carriers. Sprint being CDMA, it is unlikely that we will see it on Sprint soon. If we do get a CDMA version I am going to bet it will happen in the next quarter after some sort of exclusivity runs out.

[Achilles @ Sep 10th 2008 11:44AM]

I like the Pro, especially cause it has the expansion slot which allows for the work-around for Winmo. However, it's so damn thick. That's what is keeping me from buying it compared to the Diamond, then again, the Diamond does NOT have the expansion slot.

:(

[Achilles @ Sep 10th 2008 11:46AM]

I really like the Pro because of it's expansion slot but damn it's a brick of a phone. The Diamond does NOT have the expansion slot but it's not the brick that the Pro is. This bytes!!!!!

[donald @ Sep 10th 2008 12:07PM]

brick? ha! coming from a Treo 755p, I am excited about the dimensions and weight. At least I will be able to put this one in my pants without looking like I have a goiter. *no offense to anyone that has a goiter. just an analogy.*

[Bakk @ Sep 10th 2008 12:25PM]

Coming from a Treo 755p, Im going to get the Diamond and hope I can live without a keyboard. I want the thinness even more so since ive been using the goiter like Treo.

[Neeko @ Sep 10th 2008 12:14PM]

proud mogul user. Installed plenty of cool ROMS on it. Even got the GF to get the same phone..(big mistake) But depending on how this phone feels compared to my mogul i might pass. i dont need a thicker phone then my current MOGUL. and that New HD HTC phone has not sparked my interest. Damn you Engadget you ruined all the hype i had for the PRO when u showed me that dreamy fullsceen phone this morning.

[MasterCKO @ Sep 10th 2008 1:26PM]

what? where did you get that that pro was thicker than the mobile??