Comments on: The Sprint HTC Touch Diamond Review http://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/ Everyone can understand technology; sometimes it just takes a little translating. Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:16:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: jack72http://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40123 jack72 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:51:27 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40123 Correct some typos itster mentioned one thing which I experienced too. But turned out it’s user error. Every time, after you run a program, you tap the x on the top right corner, the program will disappear. By default on HTC diamond, it only means the program minimized instead closed as on a normal PC. So after running couple of programs, you think you close all of them, but actually, they are still running in the background. You know what that means. You can change default setting through “program -> setting -> system -> task manager” to make the X work as normal. By changing that, then you can't run two programs at the same time, like viewing web while listening to music. Even without change the default setting, you can still close the program by tapping the X, by just tap then hold the X till the program close. To see how may programs are running, you can tap the four stacked level bar icon on the top right corner, it will list all the programs running, then you can close them as you want. Hope this solve your problem. It took me a while to figure out that. I really like the phone. Correct some typos

itster mentioned one thing which I experienced too. But turned out it’s user error. Every time, after you run a program, you tap the x on the top right corner, the program will disappear. By default on HTC diamond, it only means the program minimized instead closed as on a normal PC. So after running couple of programs, you think you close all of them, but actually, they are still running in the background. You know what that means.

You can change default setting through “program -> setting -> system -> task manager” to make the X work as normal. By changing that, then you can’t run two programs at the same time, like viewing web while listening to music.

Even without change the default setting, you can still close the program by tapping the X, by just tap then hold the X till the program close.

To see how may programs are running, you can tap the four stacked level bar icon on the top right corner, it will list all the programs running, then you can close them as you want.

Hope this solve your problem. It took me a while to figure out that. I really like the phone.

]]> By: jack72http://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40122 jack72 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 22:41:49 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40122 itster mentioned one thing which I experienced too. But turned out it's user error. Every time, after you run a program, you tap the x on the top right corner, the program will disappear. By default on HTC diamond, it only means the program minimized instead closed as on a normal PC. So after running couple of programs, you think you close all of them, but actually, they are still running. You know what this mean. You can change this setting through "program -> setting -> system -> task manager" to make the X work as normal. By changing that, then you can run two programs at the same time, like view web while music is playing. Even without change the default setting, you can close the program, by just tap then hold the X till the program close. To see how may programs are running, you can tap the four stacked level bar icon, it will list all the programs running, then you can close them as you want. Hope this solve your problem. It took me a while to figure out that. I really like the phone. itster mentioned one thing which I experienced too. But turned out it’s user error. Every time, after you run a program, you tap the x on the top right corner, the program will disappear. By default on HTC diamond, it only means the program minimized instead closed as on a normal PC. So after running couple of programs, you think you close all of them, but actually, they are still running. You know what this mean. You can change this setting through “program -> setting -> system -> task manager” to make the X work as normal. By changing that, then you can run two programs at the same time, like view web while music is playing. Even without change the default setting, you can close the program, by just tap then hold the X till the program close.

To see how may programs are running, you can tap the four stacked level bar icon, it will list all the programs running, then you can close them as you want.

Hope this solve your problem. It took me a while to figure out that. I really like the phone.

]]> By: Christopher Gavulahttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40084 Christopher Gavula Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:24:01 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40084 @Kismet - thank you for the clarification! I didn't catch that and it's very helpful, but interestingly, it's almost, but not exactly the same as the old memory/apps windows. On an HP device you can use the HP task manager to see other apps that are running, like the open settings window and the today screen that don't appear in the task manager. That said - Wm is still has issues surrounding the general release of resources when an app is closed/minimized. It doesn't do what many people think it does and that's still a problem and should at least be called out better. @Tiberius85 - Keep in mind that the embedded Flash is really Flash Lite so although it's helpful, there are still a LOT of sites that won't display correctly with it. Adobe has already stated they are near ready with a version of Flash for the iPhone (although it's unclear if it's Flash, Flash Lite, or something else entirely). I do like what Opera 9.5 has done for WinMo devices, though! @Kismet – thank you for the clarification! I didn’t catch that and it’s very helpful, but interestingly, it’s almost, but not exactly the same as the old memory/apps windows. On an HP device you can use the HP task manager to see other apps that are running, like the open settings window and the today screen that don’t appear in the task manager. That said – Wm is still has issues surrounding the general release of resources when an app is closed/minimized. It doesn’t do what many people think it does and that’s still a problem and should at least be called out better.

@Tiberius85 – Keep in mind that the embedded Flash is really Flash Lite so although it’s helpful, there are still a LOT of sites that won’t display correctly with it. Adobe has already stated they are near ready with a version of Flash for the iPhone (although it’s unclear if it’s Flash, Flash Lite, or something else entirely). I do like what Opera 9.5 has done for WinMo devices, though!

]]> By: Judie Lipsetthttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40083 Judie Lipsett Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:09:51 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40083 @Kismet - if I were keeping the Touch Diamond, I would most certainly be applying that hack. Thanks for the link! :-) @Kismet – if I were keeping the Touch Diamond, I would most certainly be applying that hack. Thanks for the link! :-)

]]> By: Judie Lipsetthttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40082 Judie Lipsett Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:08:44 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40082 @Tiberius85 - I suppose that like many things, my preference for the iPhone's browser is a personal thing. I like the way Safari renders the pages, the general browsing experience, and the multi-touch zooming, scrolling, etc. Being able to run embedded flash is a definite plus, and I am glad you pointed it out. :-) @Tiberius85 – I suppose that like many things, my preference for the iPhone’s browser is a personal thing. I like the way Safari renders the pages, the general browsing experience, and the multi-touch zooming, scrolling, etc.

Being able to run embedded flash is a definite plus, and I am glad you pointed it out. :-)

]]> By: Kismethttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40081 Kismet Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:59:46 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40081 Chris, under WM 6.X they've split the Settings->Memory app into Memory and Task Manager. The Task Manager is native to 6.x and not a third party add-on. It'll allow you to close out all apps or individual apps. That said, a third party option with 'X' to close is still the best option for WM phones. It seems most phones are coming with such software installed as part of the ROM. I agree that the absence of a card slot on the Diamond just plain sucks. Mass storage compatibility is huge in terms of ease and speed of file transferring. Judie, there have been hacks in the past to add smaller and more local cities to HTC apps, so I'm thinking that there is or will be a 'hack' to add yours... actually a quick search and again XDA has the answer: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=408918 Chris, under WM 6.X they’ve split the Settings->Memory app into Memory and Task Manager. The Task Manager is native to 6.x and not a third party add-on. It’ll allow you to close out all apps or individual apps.

That said, a third party option with ‘X’ to close is still the best option for WM phones. It seems most phones are coming with such software installed as part of the ROM.

I agree that the absence of a card slot on the Diamond just plain sucks. Mass storage compatibility is huge in terms of ease and speed of file transferring.

Judie, there have been hacks in the past to add smaller and more local cities to HTC apps, so I’m thinking that there is or will be a ‘hack’ to add yours… actually a quick search and again XDA has the answer:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=408918

]]> By: Tiberius85http://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40079 Tiberius85 Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:28:18 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40079 Could you clarify the pro's and con's of the iphone browser over Opera Mobile 9.5 on the Diamond? I have used the iphone browser a few times in passing but it doesnt support flash. Opera Mobile 9.5 runs embedded flash content. Overall though good review. I need a WM device for my job and this one seems to fit exactly what im looking for. Could you clarify the pro’s and con’s of the iphone browser over Opera Mobile 9.5 on the Diamond? I have used the iphone browser a few times in passing but it doesnt support flash. Opera Mobile 9.5 runs embedded flash content.

Overall though good review. I need a WM device for my job and this one seems to fit exactly what im looking for.

]]> By: alesehttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40072 alese Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:57:41 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40072 Quite a few of my co-workers already have Diamonds - the European versions of course and with the last ROM updates the speed of Touch Flo is just fine and so is the battery life. Actually Diamond is probably the hottest device in my company at the moment, you see it everywhere you look. I was thinking of waiting for Touch PRO to be officially released here, but at the end I don't really need the keyboard and extra thickness so I ordered a Diamond for me. I want a small phone for a change and when I'll need "something more" I always have my MID - the Advantage nearby... Quite a few of my co-workers already have Diamonds – the European versions of course and with the last ROM updates the speed of Touch Flo is just fine and so is the battery life.
Actually Diamond is probably the hottest device in my company at the moment, you see it everywhere you look. I was thinking of waiting for Touch PRO to be officially released here, but at the end I don’t really need the keyboard and extra thickness so I ordered a Diamond for me. I want a small phone for a change and when I’ll need “something more” I always have my MID – the Advantage nearby…

]]> By: Christopher Gavulahttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40069 Christopher Gavula Mon, 13 Oct 2008 00:50:16 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40069 No, I guess I'm not making myself clear. The software is coded to the card it comes on. Without a card slot you could never use it. You can't copy it to another space or card - it MUST be run from the card it ships on. The license key is tied to that card. So again, without a card slot there's no way to run it. Having said that, there was a deal made in Europe to pre-install the software to the 4GB area in the Diamond, and tie the license to that device, but that's only one carrier and you have to buy the Diamond from that carrier with it pre-installed. No way to get there if you already have a Diamond or your carrier doesn't pre-install it. I don't know why HTC chose to release a WM device without a slot. Seems a little short-sighted to me, especially in an otherwise nice device. No, I guess I’m not making myself clear. The software is coded to the card it comes on. Without a card slot you could never use it. You can’t copy it to another space or card – it MUST be run from the card it ships on. The license key is tied to that card. So again, without a card slot there’s no way to run it.

Having said that, there was a deal made in Europe to pre-install the software to the 4GB area in the Diamond, and tie the license to that device, but that’s only one carrier and you have to buy the Diamond from that carrier with it pre-installed. No way to get there if you already have a Diamond or your carrier doesn’t pre-install it.

I don’t know why HTC chose to release a WM device without a slot. Seems a little short-sighted to me, especially in an otherwise nice device.

]]> By: Judie Lipsetthttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40067 Judie Lipsett Sun, 12 Oct 2008 14:11:56 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40067 It does. Here is a screen shot showing how the memory is displayed: <a href="http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_33.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-14729" title="geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_33" src="http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_33-261x500.jpg" alt="" width="261" height="500" /></a> And the 4GB storage: <a href="http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_34.jpg"><img src="http://www.geardiary.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_34-261x500.jpg" alt="" title="geardiary_sprint_htc_touch_diamond_software_34" width="261" height="500" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-14730" /></a> It does. Here is a screen shot showing how the memory is displayed:

And the 4GB storage:

]]> By: Mitchell Okehttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40066 Mitchell Oke Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:24:23 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40066 Chris, I don't have the Diamond any more, but I think the 4GB storage showed up as a memory card, separate from the regular storage memory. Chris, I don’t have the Diamond any more, but I think the 4GB storage showed up as a memory card, separate from the regular storage memory.

]]> By: Christopher Gavulahttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40065 Christopher Gavula Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:19:31 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40065 I'm about to release a review of a piece of software that is tied to the memory card it comes on so titles like this will be impossible to use on the Diamond. Interesting for HTC to have chosen to release a WM phone without memory card support. Also - the interface and apps WILL slow down over time on a WM device because, to this day, WM still doesn't manage memory very well. There are leaks etc. and apps do not close when you think your closing them (they minimize rather than quitting). Under WM 6.x they've even removed your ability to manually close them through the Memory control panel. This means a 3rd party memory management app/task manager is a MUST or you must resign yourself to soft resetting the device regularly. WM advocates will regularly go on about WM doing a good job managing memory, but it just isn't so in reality. Run more than one or two apps (and the Touch Flo interface IS an app) and it WILL slow down over time. That said - the latest HTC devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Touch HD) still make me almost want to make a WM device my daily driver again. I’m about to release a review of a piece of software that is tied to the memory card it comes on so titles like this will be impossible to use on the Diamond. Interesting for HTC to have chosen to release a WM phone without memory card support.

Also – the interface and apps WILL slow down over time on a WM device because, to this day, WM still doesn’t manage memory very well. There are leaks etc. and apps do not close when you think your closing them (they minimize rather than quitting). Under WM 6.x they’ve even removed your ability to manually close them through the Memory control panel. This means a 3rd party memory management app/task manager is a MUST or you must resign yourself to soft resetting the device regularly. WM advocates will regularly go on about WM doing a good job managing memory, but it just isn’t so in reality. Run more than one or two apps (and the Touch Flo interface IS an app) and it WILL slow down over time.

That said – the latest HTC devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, Touch HD) still make me almost want to make a WM device my daily driver again.

]]> By: Judie Lipsetthttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40060 Judie Lipsett Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:17:17 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40060 @ister - You just <em>had</em> to rub it in about Syracuse being on the list, huh? ;-) :lol: Thanks for the tip on the photo review; how many photos do you need to have for reviewing before you notice it? Ah yes...the camcorder on the Touch Diamond versus the one on the iPhone. Ha! Nice one. ;-) @ister – You just had to rub it in about Syracuse being on the list, huh? ;-) :lol:

Thanks for the tip on the photo review; how many photos do you need to have for reviewing before you notice it?

Ah yes…the camcorder on the Touch Diamond versus the one on the iPhone. Ha! Nice one. ;-)

]]> By: Judie Lipsetthttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40059 Judie Lipsett Sat, 11 Oct 2008 14:03:53 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40059 Thanks Mitchell. ;-) I'm glad to hear that the Touch Pro is testing so much better; what is the battery mAh on it? Thanks Mitchell. ;-)

I’m glad to hear that the Touch Pro is testing so much better; what is the battery mAh on it?

]]> By: itsterhttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40058 itster Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:32:54 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40058 Thank you for the review.. i thought it was very good but you failed to mention something that i found extremely annoying. by the way, syracuse is on the list :) the one thing that really annoyed the living day lights out of me is when after reviewing your photos, the device becomes sluggish when trying to use the touch flo. the way to stop the sluggish action is to hit the hard home button and the device resets somehow and sluggishness is gone. im sure a patch will be out for that if they get enough complaints thank you for the great review ps: dont forget to review the camcorder option against the iphone (cough) Thank you for the review.. i thought it was very good but you failed to mention something that i found extremely annoying.

by the way, syracuse is on the list :)

the one thing that really annoyed the living day lights out of me is when after reviewing your photos, the device becomes sluggish when trying to use the touch flo. the way to stop the sluggish action is to hit the hard home button and the device resets somehow and sluggishness is gone.

im sure a patch will be out for that if they get enough complaints

thank you for the great review

ps: dont forget to review the camcorder option against the iphone (cough)

]]> By: Mitchell Okehttp://www.geardiary.com/2008/10/10/the-sprint-htc-touch-diamond-review/#comment-40056 Mitchell Oke Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:38:33 +0000 http://www.geardiary.com/?p=14658#comment-40056 Great review as always ;) I really like the look of this version, the one I tested just looked too blocky. I'm using a Touch Pro at the moment and I have to say I am LOVING it. It's really quick, Touch Flo 3D works fluidly, battery life is significantly better and the touchscreen seems to be more sensitive. It's fatter, but honestly it's a worthwhile tradeoff. Review of it is coming as soon as I get the Bold review posted. Gah! Great review as always ;)

I really like the look of this version, the one I tested just looked too blocky.

I’m using a Touch Pro at the moment and I have to say I am LOVING it. It’s really quick, Touch Flo 3D works fluidly, battery life is significantly better and the touchscreen seems to be more sensitive. It’s fatter, but honestly it’s a worthwhile tradeoff.

Review of it is coming as soon as I get the Bold review posted. Gah!

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