CDMA versions of the HTC Diamond and Touch Pro are reportedly due to land at both Sprint and Verizon before the end of this year according to web site Phone Arena. If you’ve been thinking of buying one of these models check out Mitchell’s Touch Diamond review review that he just updated his this morning with concerns about the RF capabilities, battery life and display quality.

Phone Arena via Gizmodo

Just thought I’d post an update on my experience with the Diamond after using it as my main phone for the last few days. My first impressions report wasn’t particularly positive, and while some things have been slightly better with some tweaks, it still just doesn’t perform as you’d expect it would.

First off I’d like to tip my hat to the guys over at XDA-developers. Somehow, they manage to take devices and software developed by massive corporations with millions and millions of dollars, and make them better in their basements. Every HTC device I have owned and used has been adorned with some kind of wiz-bang modifications that improved it, and the Diamond has been no different. Several registry mods have been suggested to improve performance of TouchFlo 3D (increasing cache sizes and such), and while they certainly did pickup the speed a little bit, it is still not fast. There are still stutters and pauses, which while not as irritating as before, still detract from the experience.

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I’ve been looking forward to the arrival of the Touch Diamond for quite some time. Windows Mobile used to be my mobile platform of choice, but since using the Nokia N95 and N95 8GB, I have been swayed over to the Series 60 OS. The N95 8GB has been my main phone for about 6mths now, and it’s been great. It was faster, more stable, had much better signal and camera than any Windows Mobile device I had used. My hope with the Diamond was that Windows Mobile had caught up to provide the easy and speedy experience that other phones provide these days.

Straight out of the box the Touch Diamond feels special. It’s not only small for a Windows Mobile device, it is small full stop! It is absolutely tiny, yet still packs in HSDPA, WiFi, BT, GPS and FM radios, underneath a VGA display! It is a fanastic achievement, and shows that a Windows Mobile device can be good looking, thin and capable at the same time.

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First Impressions coming up shortly…

While Judie is at Mobius getting here hands on Zincs and Advantages, the guys over at ePrice have managed to get hold of a HTC Diamond, and have photographed the unboxing for all of us to peruse.

Seems the wacky angles theme not only encapsulates the device but the box as well! I’m looking forward to giving one of these a go!

[via Engadget]

Eric Lin, who is himself a former member of Mobius, spoke to us about the new HTC Diamond’s evolution, as well as his new role with the company. Eric said that we can expect to see many more innovative devices coming from HTC, but the Diamond is their first foray into the fashion phone market. After handling the phone, I have to say that the UI is gorgeous, and the phone is much smaller than I expected. The facets on the back are not as pronounced as I thought they would be, and overall, it’s not a bad looking device…but it is a total fingerprint magnet.

Still getting milage out of that picture of Eric in a suit

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Vincent Nguyen was one of those invited to London for the recent HTC event. While there, he got to enjoy some one-on-one time with Horace Luke (HTC’s Chief Innovation Officer), and the HTC Diamond. I’ve met Horace at various Mobius events, back when he worked for Microsoft, and I have got to tell you that this is one scarily-brilliant man. He is the type of guy that imagines it, then makes it. I have been expecting to see interesting products come from his move to HTC, and the Diamond will be the first of many, I am sure.

Anyway! This video is amazing for two reasons: The first is that it is a candid discussion between Horace and Vincent about the thought process that went into various features of the HTC Diamond. The second reason is because they caught my friend eric Lin in a three piece suit. I think that’s a first.

Photo Via: HTC Diamond Web Site

Vincent at PhoneMag.com posted some great pictures of the new HTC Diamond taken at the London press conference earlier today. Check out his full live summary of the event here. Then read Vincent’s excellent writeup about the event here. Finally, join me in the comments as I wonder aloud “Holy Cow - Did HTC Just Reinvent the iPhone on Windows Mobile 6.1? How do these guys stand up in front of a press conference with a straight face…in front of a sign that partly reads - HTC INNOVATION…”. Update: This only has 4GB of internal storage, includes a GPS, 3.2 megapixel camera, 900 mah battery. More stats on the next page.

Link: via PhoneMag - Summary of HTC Diamond Press Conference
Link: HTC Image Gallery
Link: HTC Diamond Specifications

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Note: The press conference has ended - read about it here. Vincent Nguyen of PhoneMag is on the ground in London providing live coverage now (7:00 am EST) of the long awaited HTC Press event. View his updates here. Once the event is over we’ll summarize and post the news. Update: Vincent confirms that the HTC Touch Diamond images floating around the web are valid, Touch Flo 3D, HTC is talking about being first to introduce 3D touch flo, about the future being usable mobile Internet.

Link: PhoneMag Live Updates- HTC Press Event London UK
Link: PhoneMag’s image gallery of the HTC Media Event