HTC Touch Diamond

HTC Touch Diamond

The Touch Diamond is a beautiful, if imperfect, smartphone that makes more sense in this 3G-enabled, subsidized incarnation. Just be sure to stay near a power outlet.

Recently, we reviewed the HTC Touch Diamond, an overachieving smartphone with plenty of killer features. It packed a full-blown VGA LCD, a beautiful TouchFLO user interface shell, GPS, and Wi-Fi into a small, sleek form factor. Unfortunately, poor battery life, plenty of bugs, and the inability to hook into U.S.-based 3G networks sank the handset. Sprint has now released a CDMA version of the Touch Diamond that addresses several of the unlocked version’s flaws.

Sprint’s version be better than the unbearably slow unlocked Touch Diamond we reviewed back in late June? And the answer is yes. The Sprint Touch Diamond is noticeably snappier, though the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone can still get bogged down when too many applications are running. You do get the boost of Sprint’s EV-DO Rev. A network and wireless options aplenty, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. There’s plenty to keep you entertained, too, with support for the carrier’s multimedia services and a dedicated YouTube application.

Now, whether we like it or not, the Touch Diamond will and already has drawn comparisons to the Apple iPhone. Is the Touch better? Well, it has many good points. The TouchFlo 3D interface is cool and helps make the Windows Mobile device more intuitive, but you still can’t beat the iPhone‘s ease of use and Web browsing. That said, for Sprint customers looking for a smartphone to balance work and play (serious business users may want to hold out for the HTC Touch Pro) and want more functionality than the Samsung Instinct can provide, the Touch Diamond is a good choice.

By name, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint is the same as the unlocked GSM version. However, a number of design changes inside and out make the Sprint model almost like a new device. First, the smartphone has more rounded edges and gets a splash of color with a burgundy back cover that features a smooth soft-touch finish. We were a little torn since we liked the cool prism effect of the GSM version, but also liked the color and feel of the Sprint model. Obviously, style is subjective so your preference may differ, but in general, we’d say both are attractive devices.

The Sprint Touch Diamond retains its black, glossy plastic front panel, but the jewel-like asymmetric angles and cuts of the original plastic battery cover have been replaced. Sprint fashioned the back of its Touch Diamond with a smooth, rubber grip in a burgundy color. The device measures 4.0 by 2.0 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.1 ounces. The top of the handset features a power button, while the left side includes hardware volume buttons and a silly “HTC Innovation” logo. The right side is clean, while the bottom features a mini USB jack that fits the Touch Diamond’s included wired earbuds, USB cable, and AC power adapter.

That said, we recommend using some kind of carrying case in order protect the gorgeous 2.8-inch VGA that dominates the front of the smartphone. The touch screen displays 262,000 colors and has a 640×480 pixel resolution for an extremely vibrant and crisp screen. It was definitely easy on the eyes whether we were viewing images, e-mails, or Web sites.

The TouchFLO interface is both an asset and a liability on this phone. It’s beautiful, with crisp, colorful graphics, and a scrollable application bar across the bottom of the screen. We found, could perform many regular tasks, such as flipping through photos, dialing numbers, and adding contacts, by using my fingers instead of the stylus, provided moved slowly and deliberately. On the other hand, this is no iPhone, and around every corner lurks a Windows Mobile dialog box with tiny buttons and too many choices. The TouchFLO interface does a better job than most Windows Mobile shells, but anyone coming from an iPhone will likely experience frustration, especially when the on-screen keyboard covers an important chunk of a Web page. In addition, the less expensive Samsung Instinct, which has a lower screen resolution and isn’t as pretty, responded more accurately to my finger touches.

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Of course, the allure of the Touch Diamond is the 3D TouchFlo interface. In general, it works the same way as the unlocked Touch Diamond. There is a toolbar along the bottom of the screen that lets you scroll left to right and launch applications with one touch. In several of the programs–more specifically e-mail, the camera, and music–you can go through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen, all with a cool animated 3D effect. Next