HTC's Touch HD makes its video debut

We've already heard the good word about the HTC Touch HD's performance and general excellence, but if you're like us you want something more. Specifically, something on YouTube narrated in French. That's just how we roll. Nothing in this video (embedded after the break) we haven't heard before, but make sure to tap that "high quality" button to really taste the magic.

[Thanks, Ghengis]

[andy @ Sep 18th 2008 10:11AM]

I am holding off from buying HTC Diamond because of this bad boy.

[Dave @ Sep 18th 2008 10:47AM]

I just received the HTC Touch Diamond yesterday after using the HTC Touch for the past year. The Touch did not really need to be upgraded since it rocked at all that I asked of it. In fact I had just loaded Vito Technology's Winterface/Contacts/Chat overlay software to it and was feeling like I had a brand new phone. I already walked around town letting all of my iPhone using friends know that I had the iPhone killer. But Sprint was offering me a FREE Touch Diamond and what was I going to say, no?

The Diamond runs the new TouchFlo 3D overlay on top of Windows Mobile which in many ways is more like those Vito apps than the old TouchFlo. Anyways, my point is that the integration of this new TouchFlo 3D into the phone coupled with the faster processor really make for a brand new WOW experience for me. HTC has really outdone themselves! So with the TouchFlo 3D overlay, an even faster processor, and the even bigger screen the HTC Touch HD will go far beyond just killing the iPhone.

One more thought on the Diamond...
With 640x480 pixels packed into the 2.8" screen I'm loving the web surfing. I don't even need to zoom in as much as those little pincher buddies of mine do on the iPhone to read small text.

[Surur @ Sep 18th 2008 11:05AM]

Its interesting when they load their website, the iPhone 3G renders the website wrong, while Opera Mobile on the Touch HD renders it perfectly. So much for Safari being the best mobile browser!

[Andrew @ Sep 18th 2008 11:28AM]

Yeah, I noticed that as well. Safari seemed to render the image headers over the content, whereas Opera displayed it perfectly fine.

I'm not entirely surprised either, Opera has created a great web browsing experience on mobile phones.

[ginger.al @ Sep 18th 2008 11:54AM]

As an iPhone user, I must admit that the hardware on that thing is really nice. What it's missing tho, is a better OS. The custom WinMo that is on the phone makes it look nice in screen shots, but once you are really using the phone you will be meet with the same old WinMo. I'm not saying that WinMo is not good, but it's designed to use with stylus. Therefore, it's really hard to use with your finger, tho it is usable.

My point here is, what make a good phone is not just hardware, but also software. It's the whole user experience that WinMo is missing. The Apps store, for example, does not exist in WinMo. If you really think about it, iPhone is the only phone that a company have been updating and adding new features for. Most other phone when does not improve after you buy them, and some do update firmware for stability, not new features.

I think the real iPhone killer, is the HTC Touch HD + Android. I will be looking forward to that phone!

[sgumer @ Sep 18th 2008 11:56AM]

how did you convince sprint to give u the phone for free. i am coming up to the end of my contract and would love to get this phone free. let me know. thanks.

[jakem @ Sep 18th 2008 12:35PM]

"...the iPhone 3G renders the website wrong..."

Not only that but the colours on the iPhone were really washed out in comparison to the Touch HD. The iPhone displays grey where the Touch HD displays blue.

[roach @ Sep 18th 2008 12:47PM]

@ginger.al

I had an iTouch and I felt it (and iPhone) can use a stylus. There were times I was surfing and wanted to press a link, but it was way too small. I had to zoom in just to click the link. A stylus would had allowed me to directly click link with zooming...time saver!

[Surur @ Sep 18th 2008 12:57PM]

@ginger.al
"If you really think about it, iPhone is the only phone that a company have been updating and adding new features for. Most other phone when does not improve after you buy them, and some do update firmware for stability, not new features."

I don't know why you are highly ranked despite talking such crap. Did the Sprint Mogul users imagine things when they got GPS added to their phones? Thats not a "real" new feature? How about Sprint Touch users who got Opera Mobile with their Windows Mobile 6.1 update?

The only reason the iPhone has so many updates is because it lacks such a lot. I mean, why should getting 3rd party apps be not only an update, but news by itself? A modern smartphone that launches without 3rd party apps is a joke.

[ZSX @ Sep 18th 2008 1:34PM]

I agree with Surur. My HTC Trinity has had at least two official updates, and is still being updated unofficially by the good folks at xda-devs. It is now running WM6.1 with TouchFlo 2D, after having started out with the stock WM5 two years ago, and with every update it is like I have a new phone!

[OneLove @ Sep 18th 2008 2:23PM]

Le iphone se sentent le disque qualités de toucher la HD, sur son âne

[Mark Anderson @ Sep 18th 2008 2:45PM]

I have an Omnia and have never used the stylus. I have, however, used the optical mouse when messing about with the innards or surfing because it's a hell of a lot more convenient than having to do some fat fingered pinching to get a link opened.

WinMo has been skinned so heavily that the regular user isn't going to see WinMo and, hey, that's just the first generation of well skinned phones. What do you think the next ones will be like?

[Dave @ Sep 18th 2008 4:37PM]

ZSX - you really ought to go checkout the Winterface/Fun Contact/Chat applications by Vito Technology. Load these apps and you'll feel like you got a whole new phone one more time. Their website is VitoTechnology.com. They have a 14 day full trial just so you can see how good it really is before you toss down your 40 bones.

sgumer - good luck getting Sprint to give you the Touch Diamond for free...It's not easy. You might have better luck asking for one of the original HTC Touchs they're probably trying to unload. Last year they hooked me up with that one for free too when it launched. If you go that route give those Vito Technology apps I referenced above a shot as you'll most likely be impressed.

Good luck

[John @ Sep 18th 2008 6:14PM]

After using my Touch Diamond for 1 day, and WM for over 3 years between 3 devices, HTC has really done a good job in making the standard WM menus WAY more usable by adding larger pop up menus that are finger friendly, finger swiping through the programs, contacts, emails and texts, and file explorer. As of now, i have maybe pulled out the stylus once or twice, but the TouchFlo 3D interface absent from the equation, WM on the Diamond or Touch HD for that matter as well is 10x easier to use with your fingers now. The interface outside of TF3D just isnt as visually appealing, but definitely NOT unusable without a stylus.

[burnblue @ Sep 19th 2008 1:32AM]

@ginger.al, I disagree about other phones not improving after you buy them. iPhone may be the only particular _phone_ one company is developing new features for, but Windows Mobile is an _OS_ that many companies are continuosly developing new features for. You can bet that a day after getting a new WinMo Phone, I'll have dramatically improved it with software not from one centralized app store, but all over the web. A couple years later, I'll have improved the phone by loading an upgraded OS on it.

TouchFlo is OK, but if I get a Touch I won't be using that because I don't like that interface. The good news is there a jazillion other apps I can install in its place.

[loosely_coupled @ Sep 19th 2008 11:59PM]

Looks really nice for HTC... Usually their interface is slow and laggy, not to mention the whole "didn't include video drivers" fiasco. What they really need to do is get Android on that bad boy. I don't care what kind of shiny slap-on "TouchFlo" nonsense you put over it, Windows Mobile is still a POS. Email, SMS, Web browsing, Google maps, etc on WinMo just can't compare to the iPhone, no matter what you do with it. That new version of Opera does look like a giant improvement over mobile IE which is just pathetic.

[Adam @ Sep 18th 2008 10:12AM]

Looks so nice!

Makes me want one!

O wait the rip off data plan that costs $80+ a month no matter what smart phone you buy is not worth it lol.

[Neeko @ Sep 18th 2008 10:20AM]

NOT TRUE.. im on SPRINT and i pay $7 a month for unlimited data and text message COMBINED.. And a tether all the time. for the past year. you just gotta kno NEVER talk to LEVEL one customer support they have no POWER.

[From My Cube @ Sep 18th 2008 10:38AM]

@neeko

buy you get billed 5 times a month for it...so your really paying $35.00


Ive honestly never delt with a company billing me three times in one month like sprint did

[JerryA @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

I've used Sprint for the past 6 years and never had any of those billing issues you mentioned. I don't have a SERO plan and just pay the regular-person rate of $15/mo for unlimited 3G and it's easily the fastest 3G in my area. Either way it beats the $30-45 you would pay with VZW or ATT and I can roam free on VZW in the odd event I'm out of town in an area with better VZW coverage.

[DssTrainer @ Sep 18th 2008 10:58AM]

Thats only for the Instinkt

[Kris @ Sep 18th 2008 12:46PM]

Adam is just a troll. For the record, Sprint offers unlimited data plans as low as $15 (even lower if you're on SERO or an older plan). The SEP plans offer unlimited data, SMS, video and navigation plus minutes ends up being cheaper than both Sprint's regular plans and AT&T's plans.

SEP 450 - 450 minutes, unlimited weekends, unlimited nights (starts at 7pm), unlimited data, unlimited SMS, unlimited navigation and unlimited Sprint TV. Show me an AT&T plan that can do all of that for anywhere near the price.

[rand0m @ Sep 18th 2008 10:10PM]

I think you must be confused Adam. I have a smartphone and I pay $10 a month for unlimited data. All I did was use the e-chat and ask the agent for a cheaper than advertised data plan. If you can't get it for $10 than it's still $15 for everyone.

[David @ Sep 18th 2008 10:16AM]

Fitting the bigger screen in about the same overall phone form factor makes for a really slick looking HD. The chrome trim on the iPhone is also beging to look dated.

Bring the HD to the US Please.

[rock99rock @ Sep 18th 2008 11:58AM]

I concur. I want one for each day of the week.

[ZSX @ Sep 18th 2008 1:30PM]

Watching the video the one thing which impressed me was the sheer size of the screen. We are finally getting to the stage where the LCD panel is almost "frameless". It looks especially great when taking photos. The high resolution of the display means that it seems like you are looking through the phone!

Very impressive HTC!

[Hush @ Sep 18th 2008 1:51PM]

Yeah I hate that chrome. So 80/90's.

[M3Ls @ Sep 18th 2008 10:17AM]

That looks so sexy...

[Totalfixation @ Sep 18th 2008 10:54AM]

its so sexy i just have a orgasm watching the youtube video. =D

[Steve Childs @ Sep 19th 2008 4:29AM]

Hope you cleaned your keyboard, if you get a stuck key, you know you missed a bit!

[Purple Haze @ Sep 18th 2008 10:18AM]

That was a quick three minutes right there.

[Neeko @ Sep 18th 2008 10:18AM]

Iv been waiting MONTHS..MONTHS for the touch Pro and now in 3 weeks you have totally killed my DESIRE to get that phone. NOW I WANT...MUST have the touch HD. im even willing to jump SPRINT and get it. finally i can get ride of my Mogul and ipod Touch combo and get an all in one device without having to sacrifice usability or PLAY by JOBS rules.

Damn you HTC. Now can someone please find out what carrier is getting this?

[Aaron @ Sep 18th 2008 10:42AM]

NO carrier has BEEN named YET that we KNOW of. I'm sure WE'LL hear something as SOON as someone KNOWS anything.

[JerryA @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

It's a high end 3G GSM phone so chances are it will be on ATT in the US as a WM alternative to Apple's iPhone. Odds are low that it will be TMo but it's possible.

[Neeko @ Sep 18th 2008 11:12AM]

yeah i got a little CAPS happy. i can laugh at myself. (-1) for me...

[deepBLUE @ Sep 18th 2008 4:43PM]

Orange is getting it.

AT&T is thinking whether or not to take it (leaning towards no at the moment), they (att) are thinking of a packaged plan (like iphone plan) for it if they do, but they want to charge a lot more fo rthe phone even subsidized. they plan to court apple so they get the exclusive again on the next gen iphone.

[rock99rock @ Sep 18th 2008 10:21AM]

I want this. They BETTER throw some US 3g up in there pronto.

[iEye @ Sep 18th 2008 10:29AM]

Awesome Screen
Awesome Speed


And this is not even the final version!

Xperia who?

[TareX @ Sep 18th 2008 2:44PM]

Magnus had the slowest build for Xperia X1 on the webcast. Here's video on unwired showing the latest AND FASTEST Xperia ROM:

http://www.theunwired.net/?item=videoview-hands-on-with-sony-ericsson-s-latest-xperia-x1-built

It's surprisingly fast. Look how fast the orientation changes, compared to the 6-second lag on the webcast video.

[Ron @ Sep 18th 2008 10:32AM]

WOW, As an iPhone 3G user I was very impressed. The screen resolution is amazing!

My iPhone might be going on sell soon... lol

[Snitch @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

That's because your iphone 3G is 2+ months old and this is not even out yet, the screen does have a little bit higher resolution but is not that much

[Surur @ Sep 18th 2008 11:11AM]

"That's because your iphone 3G is 2+ months old and this is not even out yet, the screen does have a little bit higher resolution but is not that much "

Thats hilarious. Not only does this phone have a screen with 2.5 times the resolution of the iPhone, it also fits a removable battery and 5 megapixel autofocus camera in a device the same size as the iPhone.

It seems Apple is falling 5 years behind, doesn't it...

[skant @ Sep 18th 2008 1:12PM]

Please don't forget the FM radio. Some of us actually find it useful for our audio players to actually have a feature that has been included in mobile devices for decades. Apple still hasn't gotten the message.

[maveric101 @ Sep 18th 2008 3:14PM]

i may also look at selling my iphone, but how would you work out the sim card stuff?

[Steve Childs @ Sep 19th 2008 4:32AM]

@Skant, you can't - you're tied in with the iPhone until the contract ends. There is no removable sim card with the iPhone, so you can't just sell it, remove the sim and use it in a new phone. Don't blame your provider, blame Apple.

[muzhik @ Sep 18th 2008 10:34AM]

blah... blah... blah...

[S @ Sep 18th 2008 10:34AM]

THIS IS TRULY THE FIRST LEGITIMATE IPHONE KILLER!!! THIS MIGHT BE THE PHONE THAT CAN SAVE SPRINT FROM A MERGER OR ACQUISITION!

[Loki047 @ Sep 18th 2008 10:45AM]

I hope so. I jumped from Sprint to AT&T for iPhone 3g. Within a week i was back to sprint asking for my old contract. If spring can get their act together no one has better service in chicago. I hope this Touch HD comes to sprint. If only it had a user replaceable battery. But then again if the battery can least a real work day, then who needs the extra battery.

[absinthe party @ Sep 18th 2008 10:48AM]

LOUD NOISES!

[itsmiguel @ Sep 18th 2008 10:49AM]

It's not gonna touch the iPhone but it's some high quality competition.