Finally I can get my hands on the HTC Touch Diamond

HTC Touch Diamond

I have been a huge fan of HTC (or HTC-branded, if you will) devices for a while ever since the release of the famed O2 Atom. For the last 8 months or so, I have been inseparably using, customizing (ROM-flashing & unlocking, included) and even selling many of them AT&T Tilts (HTC Kaiser, TyTn II). The Tilt has always been the undisputed champion in my PDA-phone world….But that’s before the Touch Diamond.

• Appearance:

Per HTC’s very own words: “Style and substance in a phone are no longer mutually exclusive. The HTC Touch Diamond has arrived.” Exactly….. Female friends of mine could hardly find my recent HTC phones appealing no matter how hard have I tried to show off the ultimate functions of my modded Tilt, such as: GPS, TouchFlo and so forth… But seeing the Diamond, they all go like: “Wow, that looks better than a LG Prada” or “The rear is a real diamond”….Yup, the design was given a whole lot more attention this time with the Diamond, judging should be an easy job for you, looking at those pictures.

• Specifications & Functionalities:

“HTC’s Touch Diamond will hit European store shelves in June, while a North American version will follow later this year.”

Now that’s a bad news for us, the US market, since for now the Euro-edition Diamond is merely triband-GSM (GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900) vs Quad-Band for the Kaiser. But while came equipped with every whistles and bells as its predecessors, the prominent improvements, which are first in its class by HTC, including:

1. Better screen resolution (480 x 640 VGA vs 240 x 320 QVGA).
2. Sexier and more functional firmwares (latest TouchFlo 3D with Manila interface utilizes Professional WM 6.1)
3. Faster processor (Qualcomm® MSM7201A™ 528 MHz vs Qualcomm MSM7200 400 Mhz processor)
4. First HTC device ever with internal 4Gb hard drive.

My modded AT&T Tilt, flashed to Dutty’s WM 6.1 ROM and beyond!

The phone has just been unlocked and flashed to New CE OS 5.2.219716 latest leading-edge VW 6.1 Build(credits to Dutty)from the AT&T’s firmware (which is very slow and full of bloat-wares.) Being flashed to this superb ROM, the phone has shown significant improvements in terms of battery life and performance as well as GPS signal.

Read on below for a list of benefits. Please keep in mind that to maximize the device’s performance, only the ROM Applications were installed to the device’s memory, while extra bonus softwares have been installed to the Storage Card.

Rom Applications Included Below:

• ArcSoft_MMS_5_0_31_7 [EDITED VERSION]
  BT BPP_1_6_3_0 [Updated]
  BT SAP_2_02_b0925_r3
  FTouchFlo [Thanks to Efrost]
  TFloCubeCtrl [Thanks to Kona_Mtbkr + Raven_coda]
  HTC Action Screen_1_0_1020720_0 [Updated]
  [HTC Album 1_0_1030_720
  HTC AudioManager_1_2-1017.717 [Updated]
  HTC Bluetooth Quick link
  HTC Camera_5_0_4_2915_00 [Updated]
  HTC CommManager 6 Buttons [ Shaps STYLE]
  HTC ConnectionSetup_1_0_31261_1 [Updated]
  HTC Endkey_1_0_31235-1 [Updated] [Mapped to Red end key]
  HTC EnlargeStartMenu_1_0_31261_1 [Updated]
  HTC Field Test_2.15
  HTC GPSTOOL_0813 [NEW]
  HTC Home_2_0_814722_0
  HTC NetworkPlugin_1_0_30468_1 [Updated]
  HTC Quick GPS_1_00_919_717_01 [Updated]
  HTC Random Access_4_0_1009_721 [Updated]
  HTC RSS Hub_1_0_07 [Updated]
  HTC Sim Manager_6.36 [Updated]
  HTC SymbolPad
  HTC TouchFlo [Incredible speed] *With HTC’s TouchFlo technology, users simply sweep their finger up the screen to launch a 3D animated interface to access Contacts, Media, and Applications. TouchFlo technology also enhances finger touch scrolling and browsing of webpages.*
  HTC StreamingMedia_3_00_1001_711_00 [Updated]
  HTC VoiceRecorder_1_10_907716_0
  Microsoft NetCf 3.5 RTM
  Microsoft Office 2007
  Microsoft Sqlcemobile 3.0 [NEW]
  Microsoft Windows Live 10.6.34.800[NEW]
  Clear Temp
  Gps test
  PIM Backup 2.8 [updated]
  Pocket RAR
  Total Commander
  Group SMS
  Flash Video Bundle (YOUTUBE, anyone?)
  TCPMP (way better Windows Media Player)

BONUS PACKS:(all are Retail version and installed on the 4GB microSD, click on the name of the software for more infos)

S2U2 (Slide 2 Unlock) w/animated wallpaper and Movado-styled clock (even better and cooler than I-Phone’s)

Sprite Backup v6.10 * Take advantage of automatic data protection features. Set your backup schedule and let Sprite Backup automatically protect your data. The self-restoring files will provide a fast recovery in the field when you need it. Backup data is also compressed to reduce the storage used.*

Destinator 7(better than TomTom6 or Garmin XT in our experience) with maps pre-installed in the microSD card

MSDict Concise Oxford American Dictionary and Thesaurus v5.40

Conversions In Hand

WorldCard Mobile

Resco Explorer 2007

Brain Master for Pocket PC

Namco’s Ms. PAC-MAN®

HandMark’s Tetris®

Infinite Dream’s SkyForce: the best-selling games for PPC, check out the screen-shot!

We have tested making/receiving calls using T-Mobile SIM card without any problem!

• AT&T Tilt’s Original Hardward Specifications:

The AT&T Tilt, also known as the AT&T 8925 with Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 Pocket PC phone is the latest QWERTY-keyboard device from AT&T. With its compact size and unique tilting 240 x 320 display, it has the technical specifications to be a worthy successor to the HTC TyTN. Sit the unit on a table and tilt the screen for perfect viewing of applications such as Word Mobile or Outlook Mobile.The 8925 offers a complete mobile office solution. Roam anywhere in the world and use HSDPA for high speed Internet access, Bluetooth® and Wi-Fi®. It gives you more control than ever over the way you work.It also features assisted GPS (sat-nav), a 3 MegaPixel camera, Bluetooth and a microSD card expansion slot. Wireless cellular connectivity comes in the shape of UMTS and HSPDA, as well as GPRS and EDGE.Features:Operating System Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6 ProfessionalDimensions 110mm x 58mm x 18mmGSM/GPRS Quad-band GSM/GPRS, also includes UMTS and HSDPABluetooth 2.0Camera 3.0 MegaPixelsMemory Card microSD Slot