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Phone guitar: iPhone OS, Windows Mobile and Android got all night to set the world right (video)
What can you do when no one's got a phone to jam with you? Why, you can be a geeky one-man band, of course! Web developer Steffest (just one name, like Sting or Madonna) managed to do just that by strapping a couple of Android devices (possibly an Archos 5 and a HTC Desire), a couple of WinMo handhelds (looks like a HP iPAQ h1940 and a HTC Touch Diamond), and an iPod touch on top of a portable speaker. All this just for a forthcoming presentation on mobile cross development -- Steffest had to painstakingly write the same audio program "in Java for Android, in C# for Windows Mobile and in Objective-C for iPhone." Oh, and it doesn't just end there -- turns out this dude can also pluck tap away a good Neil Diamond classic on this five-way nerd-o-strummer. Get on board and check out the video after the break.
Windows Phone 7 Series screwed and chopped onto HTC Touch Diamond (video)
If there's any better argument for rigid spec requirements for Windows Phone 7 Series hardware, it's this video of an HTC Touch Diamond running the OS at an especially syrupy pace. Indeed, the lag is so severe that it could very well be some trickery in the form of a RDP client running on a 7 Series emulator, which is in turn running on a PC -- which, now that we think of it, is a pretty good possibility. Whichever way they achieved this feat, it's certainly not a recipe for a viable handset. But we do know that these sort of "ports" are only going to increase as time goes on. See for yourself after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: Sure enough, the author of the video has fessed up that this is an RDP hack job -- in other words, it has absolutely zero bearing on how WinPho 7 would actually perform in some post-apocalyptic future where it's been successfully ported to the Touch Diamond (that being said, we certainly wouldn't be surprised if the herky-jerky action ends up being just about accurate).
Verizon: Touch Diamond, Touch Pro now $99 with contract
Looks like Verizon's up to something (and we're not talking about Sholes). A quick trip over to VZW's site has confirmed that $99 -- and a two-year contract -- will land you just about any smartphone that they offer (one notable exception being the Samsung Saga), including HTC's Touch Pro and Touch Diamond. Could this mean that the new Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are soon to rear their pretty little heads? We'd be down with that.
Windows Mobile 6.5, HTC Touch Diamond2, and Flash collide on video
Remember that pretty Windows Mobile 6.5-ish skin for AT&T's Warhawk (a.k.a. HTC Touch Diamond2) we saw last week? Looks like it (or another very similar skin) is ready to make another appearance. The Inquirer managed to get a walkthrough of what's being called the final build of WinMo 6.5, and while there isn't a lot of new functionality shown -- large portions of the video are devoted to My Phone syncing and QR codes -- we do get to seem a few Zune inspired ideas and a brief glimpse of how it handles flash. It's still on track for release by Christmas, and if you want your glimpse now, check out the video after the break.
Touch Diamond updates come in twos -- at least, these ones do
Hey, you... yes, you, the Touch Diamond user over there -- listen up. If you'd take your eyes off the Touch Diamond2 for five seconds, we could point you in the direction of a couple fixes for your still-awesome phone that might give it a little more staying power for you and keep your hard-earned dollars (or pounds, euros, whatever) stowed in your pocket for at least a few weeks or months longer. First up, we've got a hotfix for eradicating skipping audio, which is about the most annoying thing imaginable when you're trying to chill out to some tunes, drift away, and just forget the Touch Diamond2 for a few frigging minutes, right? Next up -- and this probably isn't something you've ever noticed -- there's another hotfix for fixing an incorrectly grayed-out Repeat option in the Sound & Notifications control panel. Go on, make it happen. [Via pocketnow.com] Read - Hotfix for skipping during audio playback Read - Hotfix for resolving grayed out Repeat option for reminders
HTC Touch Diamond2 hitting Taiwan this month
According to MobileTechReview the HTC Touch Diamond2 is due out this month in Taiwan. Local price is NT$21,900 (US$648.93) and it'll come with a 8GB memory card inside the box. Still no US release date, but with the UK version reportedly launching next week, we wouldn't be surprise if April was the lucky month for a stateside debut, as well.
HTC Touch Diamond lands tomorrow on Verizon: $299.99 on contract
It seems the rumblings and rumors were true -- every last one of them. HTC's now-aged Touch Diamond is indeed hitting Verizon Wireless this month, bringing with it the same 2.76-inch touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera, TouchFLO interface and Windows Mobile 6.1 OS that we've seen ad nauseum on carriers around the world (though it does boast a microSD card slot). We're pretty baffled by the immensely large $299.99 on-contract sticker (after $70 mail-in rebate), and honestly, we just don't see VZW moving too many of these before a price drop. In fact, are you even giving this a second thought?
Software dumps bring a taste of the Touch Diamond2 to the original
No quantity of illicit CABs will grant your Touch Diamond a 5 megapixel camera or touch-sensitive zoom bar, but at least you can get some of the Touch Diamond2's software goodies ahead of time. everythingdiamond.info is hoting a plethora of binaries ripped from a Touch Diamond2 ROM, including several versions of the new on-screen keyboard, the photo album app, calculator, volume control, and more, all just waiting for a lovely Touch Diamond to call home -- especially cool considering the sequel's screen resolution has changed. Odds are we're just weeks (if not days) away from a full cooked 6.5 ROM with all of the Touch Diamond2's features for the Diamond, but if you're really into living on the bleeding edge, your playground awaits. [Via WMPoweruser.com]
Verizon's Touch Diamond in the wild
"Better late than never," so they say. Perhaps -- but with Sprint's version of this in the rear view mirror for half a year now, just how relevant is a Touch Diamond on Verizon these days? Odds are we'll find out next month -- or, at least, that's where the latest rumors have it lined up for launch -- but in the meantime, we've got one floating around in the wilds looking pretty much like any other Touch Diamond you've seen in the past. Like its Touch Pro, it seems Verizon went ahead and nerfed the Diamond's memory down to 128MB of RAM and 256MB of ROM (why is anybody's guess), which only serves to reinforce our concerns that this thing is being launched months too late. We love you HTC, seriously -- but with the Omnia at $99 on contract right now, we're not exactly seeing the line starting to form at 8PM the night before release, if you know what we're saying.
Touch Diamond XV6950 finally hitting Verizon next month?
It's sort of baffling that Verizon Wireless has yet to launch HTC's now aged Touch Diamond, and honestly, we're not even sure that late is better than never in this scenario. While Sprint has had the thing out for a good while now, Big Red has been lallygagging around while staring aimlessly at those spectacular BlackBerry Storm sales figures. Now, phoneArena has it that the XV6950 could finally be arriving on the carrier's airwaves next month, and while it has yet to be confirmed, we're hearing that it shouldn't vary from the Sprint edition in terms of specs -- something that conflicts with information we heard about a century ago. At any rate, we'd ask you to just be patient here, but chances are you're already over this thing, anyway.
Keepin' it real fake, part CLXXXIX: meet the HTC A296 -- and its gaping maw
We can totally picture this scenario at a bar, party, or Engadget reader meetup: "Hey, check out my Touch Diamond... oh, oh, wait, what's this? Wha-BAM!" Out comes the numeric keypad, right out of nowhere, accompanied by a sickeningly bad S60 knockoff interface. Observers are stunned, dumbfounded; some even pass out in shock. Babies are crying, you can hear the forlorned wail of sirens in the background, and mass riots ensue. Put simply, the world was never designed to handle a fake Touch Diamond with a slide-out keypad -- but you had to cross the streams, didn't you? Jerk.[Thanks, Jack G.]
HTC's Touch Diamond2 adds zoom bar, mega screen, surprisingly few diamonds
HTC is following up on its ultra-sexy touchphone, the Touch Diamond, with the new Touch Diamond2, which seems quite worthy of the title of successor. This time around there's much more room for screen, with a huge 3.6-inch 480 x 800 LCD up front, and around back there's a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus. The other main addition is a "touch zoom bar" below the screen -- just like on big brother Touch Pro2 -- which we presume provides expected (and welcome) functionality. There's also the new version of TouchFLO 3D running on Windows Mobile, but under the hood there's the same old 528MHz processor, and the whole kit is actually a tad thicker a 0.54-inches. Still, memory is up to 512MB ROM and 288MB RAM, and if HTC keeps hoisting pixels and sexy on us at this rate we can hardly complain. This phone should hit major markets in Europe and Asia in "early Q2 2009," with more spots to follow later in the year.
BlackBerry Connect support comes to smattering of HTC devices
Looking for a bit of BlackBerry love on your new (or old, as the case may be) HTC handset? Fret not -- so long as you're the proud owner of an HTC TyTN II, Touch Diamond, Touch Pro or Touch HD -- as your phone has just picked up BlackBerry Connect support. The read link directs you to a download where you can suck down the necessary bits and bytes and proceed to installation, but we'd make sure everything was backed up before forging ahead. Give it a go and report back, will ya?[Via phonescoop]
Verizon's Touch Diamond, Versa, Intrigue, and Pearl 8230 take a family photo
Aww, isn't that cute? Everyone got together for one last picture before graduation -- that magical time everyone goes their separate ways to retail shelves across the country where they'll be picked up by subscribers and adopted into loving families of their own. Here we've got four hotties that are due on Verizon in the next few months: the Touch Diamond and Versa, both of which we expect by mid-March, the Nokia 7205 Intrigue, which we've expected for over a frigging year now, and the BlackBerry Pearl 8230, which will launch when it damn well feels like it. Nothing particularly amazing about this shot, but we've got to say, the Intrigue looks absolutely stellar -- assuming it actually comes off this good in the flesh.
Sprint's HTC Touch Diamond firmware update leaks, definitely brings joy
It seems that early '09 has been the time of firmware updates for all kinds, and now Sprint's Touch Diamond has had its moment. At a quick glance, this isn't just a few bug fixes to keep the squeaky wheels smiling, but rather some major reworking of what's going on under the hood. Changes are rumored to include Internet Explorer 6 --and we thought they weren't going to do this -- new Radio, Opera, YouTube, and a pile of other treats. If you're inspired and can't wait for the inevitable, we're sure with some diligent searching you'll get your mitts on, for the rest of you, we're sure it'll pop up soon enough.[Thanks, Malatesta]
HTC's Touch Diamond / Pro, how would you tweak 'em?
Once again, this week's How Would You Change over at Engadget Classic pertains to the Mobile realm, so we're pleading for your sure-to-be-insightful input on the matter. The question is quite simple, really, so head on over to read it and toss in your two pennies.
How would you change HTC's Touch Diamond / Pro?
HTC's Touch Diamond and QWERTY-packin' Touch Pro have run into some stiff competition here in the US of A, but as Adam Smith would certify, all that competition is only for the best. Now that you've seen what these two can do, not to mention their rivals, we're wondering how you would change whichever handset it is (of these two, obviously) that you own. Implement a Touch HD-style display? Load it up with Android? Round those edges a bit more? Add a bigger battery at the expense of style? Say it loud, say it proud, say it down in comments below.
White Touch Diamond now on HTC's website
We understand that there's a snowstorm underway at HTC's website, but we're pretty darn confident that the HTC Touch Diamond there in the middle is white not from hours under the powder, but from a certain hue of paint. 'Course, it's no surprise to find that this beauty is real, but there's nothing quite like the sweet, sweet taste of official confirmation. Now, about a US release date...[Thanks, Robert]
Cellular South hosts HTC Touch Diamond for $199.99
Last we heard from Cellular South, it was making waves by offering to pay early termination charges in order to hook new subscribers. Now, it's trying to lure even more paying customers in with the launch of the HTC Touch Diamond. The carrier, which serves much of Mississippi and portions of surrounding states, is now offering the touchscreen-based handset for $199.99 on a 2-year agreement, or if you're not really down with a data plan, it'll cost you a stiff $449.99. We're also told that a few new service plans have emerged, with family plans starting at $50 and packing in 700 to 1,400 nationwide minutes along with unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling with other CS users. Also of note, the Total Unlimited plan includes unlimited talk, text, mobile web and email for $80 / $100 per month for featurephones / smartphones.[Via phonescoop]
Rogers launching HTC Touch Diamond at $199.99 on contract?
Not that you can't snag an HTC Touch Diamond in Canada right now, but those loyal to Rogers are still waiting. As of this moment, we still can't locate the WinMo 6.1-based handset on the outfit's website, but MobileSyrup has it that the phone will soon be released for as low as $199.99 on a 3-year contract (with a minimum $45 voice / data plan). Oddly enough, we're also told that it'll be available with voice-only plans for $449.99 (3-year), $549.99 (1 to 2-year) and $599.99 (month-to-month), while a data-only plan is available on the $499.99 handset (3-year). Weird, we know -- which makes us all the more anxious to hear this gibberish from the horse's mouth.