Nov 20 2008
HTC Touch Diamond hands
The good folks at HTC left this little gem (pun totally intended) on our doorstep today, but as cool as it sounds to have one of the world’s great Windows Mobile torchbearers just drop off its hottest new handset to us like
it’s an extra large pepperoni and mushroom, it’s a bittersweet gift at best. Why? The Touch Diamond lacks both HSDPA 850 / 1900 and GSM 850 in its current incarnation, leaving it to cling to what 1900MHz EDGE towers it can find. That makes it an untouchable product for all but the hardest-core North Americans who are willing to throw both high-speed data and maximum signal coverage out of the window just to be able to put the pinnacle of WinMo 6.1 engineering in their pocket.
The box is… well, interesting. You’ve got to give them that, anyway. The outer cardboard trapezoid peels away to reveal a glossy black inner one, foretelling the polished sheen of the device itself. We recommend you stay
pretty at all times when using this phone, because you’ll see yourself constantly reflected at virtually every angle. Haircuts, teeth whitening procedures, clean shaves for the men, you know the drill.
Firing up the phone for the first time takes you through the typical customization procedure that owners of most Windows Mobile handsets will be well-acquainted with; it’s an annoying but seemingly necessary procedure that just delays your impatient soul from exploring your purchase for yet a couple additional minutes while HTC sprinkles some flavor on the default Windows Mobile shell.
