[Monolithix]

[teaser]

The first new device in HTCs 2009 lineup is here! The HTC Touch Diamond 2 is the successor of the wildly popular Touch Diamond, released last year. The device gets a hardware refresh and is sporting the following spec:

• Windows Mobile 6.1
  
• 3.2" WVGA resistive touchscreen
  
• 512/288MB ROM/RAM
  
• 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200A CPU
  
• 7.2MBps HSDPA
  
• 107.85 X 53.1 X 13.7 mm
  
• 118g
  
• Wifi/BT/GPS
  
• 5Mpix camera
  
• 1100mAhr battery
  
• FM Radio
  
• microSD slot
  
• No D-pad
  
• Touch senstive zoom-bar
  [/teaser]

So nothing too ground breaking in terms of specs. Notible mentions though should go to the extra chunk of screen added in the bump up from the original Touch Diamonds VGA part, the addition of a microSD slot and the lack of D-pad. The real step forward is in the design, however. That faceted back is gone and the front facia is a cool looking brushed aluminium. The front panel buttons now consist of the compulsory Start and back buttons (for the upcoming Windows Mobile 6.5 update), Start and End calls and the zoom bar, for use in apps such as Opera. The only other buttons are for volume and standby, so still no camera button I'm afraid!

I'll be putting the device through it's paces over the next week or so. It's worth noting the sample I have is still running a prototype ROM, so a full review will go up once I've got hold of a retail-unit.

In the mean time, if you're interested in the device then ask your questions below!

[Sponsored Links]

[deadphill]

Looks quite retro.

Whats the speed in the os compared to that of say the touch diamond etc? Also does it ship with pie 6?

Cheers

Phill

[mrkbuddy]

hi do u have any idea?
how u will compare it wid touch HD?

[Shuflie]

Got a retail model yesterday and love it. I had a touch HD (which I lost on holiday) and so far its measuring up very well. the screen is obviously smaller and there's no 3.5mm headphone socket, but overall I'd say it feels more like a phone and fits better in my pocket. As far as the production ROM goes there are a few things missing which came along with the HD, these are Worldcard mobile, Jetcetprint and MP3 trim, there may be others but those are the ones I've missed. The stylus isn't magnetic, but the phone still knows when you take it out and put it back in again, in fact the non-magnetic gripping action is actually more secure than the magnetic stylus hold in the HD. Its also nice to have proper clickable buttons instead of the touch sensitive ones on the HD, as they are raised slightly they are easy to locate in the dark and light up when pressed or a call comes in. When the screen is off they don't register as button presses so no accidental calls in your pocket or bag. The flashing indicator LED on the front of the device is much more useful than the one hidden away on the power button of the HD. If you can live with the smaller screen size and lack of 3.5mm headphone socket the diamond 2 is in my opinion a much nicer device. Doesn't look or feel at all retro to me, in fact it feels more Sony than HTC if you understand what I mean.

[awarner]

Does the unit use AGPS or just GPS?

Also any interesting applications included?

[Shuflie]

awarner (MVP), on Apr 22 2009, 17:41, said:

Does the unit ise AGPS or just GPS?

Also any interesting applications included?

I can't find any settings for AGPS anywhere on the phone, but it does have the usual quick gps program that HTC supply. GPS lock is extremly quick in google maps, about 4 or 5 seconds I'd say.

Nothing really excitjng on the included apps front, RSS Hub, teeter, jblend and usual TF3D enhancements already reported everywhere. Pretty much what you get with the HD with the exception of the turee apps I mentioned earlier. Its nuce to get apps included, but you can always add them later yourself. I haven't even checked to see what was on the CDs yet.

[mike-oh]

Hello!

Long time since i visited these forums but ho hum.

Righty! Shiny new gadget got my interest! But what's the real difference between this and the HD other than the buttons?

I saw GPS/Wifi/BT/FM Radion and thought this is what i've been wanting in a device for years. But then I see the HD already has this and will probably be cheaper come my upgrade time in August.

Cheers,

Mike

[olly_k]

Any chance this will be making it to Orange? I am overdue an upgrade and prefer this over the pro 2 any day

[Shuflie]

mike-oh, on Apr 23 2009, 12:51, said:

Hello!

Long time since i visited these forums but ho hum.

Righty! Shiny new gadget got my interest! But what's the real difference between this and the HD other than the buttons?

I saw GPS/Wifi/BT/FM Radion and thought this is what i've been wanting in a device for years. But then I see the HD already has this and will probably be cheaper come my upgrade time in August.

Cheers,

Mike

I've already tried my best to give all the differences there are between the Touch HD and Diamond 2, if there's anything I've left out perhaps someone else could fill in the gaps. The Touch HD is already old enough to have dropped in price, by the time your upgrade is due there may be an even bigger price difference between the D2 and HD as the diamond should have dropped a bit by then.

[rav1patel]

just wondering how long long your battery's lasting in real world use?

[Shuflie]

rav1patel, on Apr 23 2009, 23:30, said:

just wondering how long long your battery's lasting in real world use?

I've been putting mine on charge every night so not really sure, its usually about 50% at that stage but I've been playing around with it quite a bit. Doesn't seem to be any worse than any other smartphone I've had to be honest. I always give it a couple of weeks before I even think about looking at battery life, by that time I should have dropped back to my normal usage pattern.

[crafty]

Does the new HTC Contact screen include the Facebook integration?

@Shuflie How do you find the screen size vs the Touch HD? Do you miss the extra size or is it worth it for a smaller device?

thanks!

[Monolithix]

mrkbuddy, on Apr 22 2009, 14:02, said:

hi do u have any idea?
how u will compare it wid touch HD?

The spec is pretty much the same and it's not massively smaller than the HD. However, it DOES feel faster (even on the pre-prod ROM) and it's more comfortable in the hand due to being slightly narrower.

[Monolithix]

deadphill, on Apr 22 2009, 13:30, said:

Looks quite retro.

Whats the speed in the os compared to that of say the touch diamond etc? Also does it ship with pie 6?

Cheers

Phill

As above, generally feels snappy to use - faster than the HD. I'll reserve judgement until I've used a production ROM though. No IE Mobile 6 yet, that'll come with the 6.5 upgrade in the next couple of months.

[Monolithix]

awarner (MVP), on Apr 22 2009, 17:41, said:

Does the unit ise AGPS or just GPS?

Also any interesting applications included?

It is AGPS, got a first lock in a few seconds (once I'd updated with QuickGPS!).

Nothing that interesting in the apps, just the standard fare including Opera, Youtube, Teeter (and now magic eight ball ;p). What is interesting on the software side is the new Touchflo3d. HTC have gone even deeper into the OS now, removing more and more of the WinMo interface for the majority of common functions. The start menu is gone, replaced with an apps matrix (a la WinMo 6.5, conveniently ). Other enhancements include "people", a management interface for your contacts, condensing all your contact information for them with your communications (email, sms, calls etc) into a tabbed interface. Quite swish really...

[Monolithix]

mike-oh, on Apr 23 2009, 12:51, said:

Hello!

Long time since i visited these forums but ho hum.

Righty! Shiny new gadget got my interest! But what's the real difference between this and the HD other than the buttons?

I saw GPS/Wifi/BT/FM Radion and thought this is what i've been wanting in a device for years. But then I see the HD already has this and will probably be cheaper come my upgrade time in August.

Cheers,

Mike

The spec is basically the same (see http://pdadb.net/index.php?m=pdacomparer&a...0&id2=1469), with those real buttons of course. The benefits will be an official Windows Mobile 6.5 update and a far more compact design. Horses for courses, depends on your preference!

[Shuflie]

Monolithix, on Apr 24 2009, 09:47, said:

It is AGPS, got a first lock in a few seconds (once I'd updated with QuickGPS!).

Nothing that interesting in the apps, just the standard fare including Opera, Youtube, Teeter (and now magic eight ball ;p). What is interesting on the software side is the new Touchflo3d. HTC have gone even deeper into the OS now, removing more and more of the WinMo interface for the majority of common functions. The start menu is gone, replaced with an apps matrix (a la WinMo 6.5, conveniently ). Other enhancements include "people", a management interface for your contacts, condensing all your contact information for them with your communications (email, sms, calls etc) into a tabbed interface. Quite swish really...

All right you've got me, where's the mythical magic eight ball? Is it something built into teeter? Can't say I've played it much since it seemed to be the same as the HD version to me.

[Shuflie]

crafty, on Apr 24 2009, 09:26, said:

Does the new HTC Contact screen include the Facebook integration?

@Shuflie How do you find the screen size vs the Touch HD? Do you miss the extra size or is it worth it for a smaller device?

thanks!

No contact integration with facebook as standard, although there are references to it in the registry and someone over on XDA developers is trying to re-enable it.
Can't say I really miss the extra screen area, other than when I'm web browsing as it can be difficult to read smaller text as the same level of zoom. If you've got fatter fingers though you might find it easier to type on the HD, but the improved full qwerty keyboard on the D2 makes up for by poping up the letters as you type like the iPhone does (it also does the fullstop space thing that the iPhone does when you press space twice) which helps you to see what key you're actually hitting. Haptic feedback is good too.

EDIT: Almost forgot your original question, yes. To me the smaller screen is worth it for the smaller device and feel of the phone in the hand, especially when making a call.

This post has been edited by Shuflie: 24 April 2009 - 11:12 AM

[crafty]

thanks for the reply.

Any ides when/if Orange will release this?

[Shuflie]

crafty, on Apr 24 2009, 14:02, said:

thanks for the reply.

Any ides when/if Orange will release this?

Sorry no idea, I left Orange a long time ago and haven't seen anything that makes me want to return any time soon.

[Sponsored Links]