HTC has unveiled the HTC Touch Diamond, an update to its popular HTC Touch smartphone. The device packs 3G data capability, the company’s TouchFlo touch-screen interface designed to be used with just one finger, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional for enterprise-class communications and integration needs. And the HTC Touch Diamond sports a distinctive look, with gem-like geometric facets and a large, 2.8-inch display.
“Today we mark a new era in mobile phone evolution, an era where beauty and size integrate with uncompromising innovation at broadband speeds,” said HTC president and CEO Peter Chou, in a statement. “The HTC Touch Diamond will make browsing the Web and using Web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making calls.”
Under the hood, the HTC Touch diamond offers 192 MB of RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, an integrated GPS receiver, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless connectivity, a combined USB and audio jack, a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus plus a second VGA-resolution video camera for video conferencing applications. The phone also features an integrated FM radio receiver, a built-in mic, speaker, and a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. And that 2.8-inch touch screen display? It’s full VGA resolution: 640 by 480 pixels. And, of course, Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional provides mobile versions of Microsoft’s Office productivity suite, Internet Explorer, Windows Media player, and Mobile Outlook, which can hook into Microsoft’s Exchange server for email, calendars, contact information, to-do lists, and more. And users won’t be lacking for connectivity: the Touch Diamond supports 3G WCDMA/HSPA 900/2100 MHz thanks to a chipset from Qualcomm.
The HTC Touch Diamond aims to improve the Web browsing experience by using a customized Opera-based browser that enables users to zoom and pan across Web pages with on hand, as well as view pages optimized to fit the display. Like an iPhone, turning the Touch Diamond sideways rotates the page from portrait to landscape view. The Touch Diamond will also ship with a custom YouTube application and tie into Google Maps for mapping and traffic information.
HTC has not released pricing information, but plans to begin offering the Touch Diamond in all major European markets in June, and with debuts in Asia and the Middle East later this quarter. The Touch Diamond should reach North America and Latin America in the second half of 2008.
