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

HTC today unveiled its new flagship phone, the HTC Touch Diamond, featuring the Taiwanese manufacturer's new captivating 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. HTC has recently improved its original TouchFLO interface (Compare HTC's Touch phones), and with the introduction of the new 3D touch interface, the company aims to provide animated access to people, messaging, e-mail, photos, music, weather and more. In addition, HTC is introducing a new touch-sensitive control for interacting with the Touch Diamond.

With the introduction of the HTC Touch Diamond, the manufacturer hopes to deliver a new mobile Internet experience that utilizes broadband-like speeds with European 7.2 Mbps HSDPA and HSUPA wireless connectivity (a version supporting North American HSDPA will be released later this year). HTC provides a new customized mobile Web browser that should enable easier viewing and navigation of websites. As part of this experience users can zoom and pan websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that has been specially created to fit the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view.

In addition to web browsing, the Touch Diamond includes a customized new, HTC-developed, YouTube application for watching user generated video content as well as utilizing Google Maps for mobile. The HTC Touch Diamond's 2.8-inch display provides VGA resolution, and a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera includes auto focus. The smartphone also offer auto sensor screen pivoting.

Measuring 102 by 51 by 11.33 mm and weighing 110 grams, the HTC Touch Diamond is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional. The smartphone also sports 4GB of internal storage, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and AGPS. HTC claims a talk time of up to 4 hours on GSM networks and up to 4 days of standby time with push e-mail activated.

The HTC Touch Diamond will be available to customers across all major European carriers in June. It will be available later this quarter in Asia and the Middle East. The North American and Latin American versions of the HTC Touch Diamond will be available in the second half of 2008

Windows Mobile 7 May See Release Later This Year

According to a roadmap from device manufacturer MWg, the company plans to have a Windows Mobile 7 device on the market some time in the fourth quarter of this year. That's earlier than this version of this operating system had previously been expected.


The revelation came during a press event to announce the launch of the MWg brand in Europe, which was previously marketed as O2 Asia. At this, the company displayed a roadmap listing a number of smartphones and handheld devices. On this was a smartphone scheduled for release in Q4 running Windows Mobile 7.
Previously, Windows Mobile 7 wasn't expected to be seen until some time in the first half of 2009, having been pushed back when Windows Mobile 6.1 was created.

This was the second delay that the new operating system, reputedly code-named "Photon," had suffered, also having originally been planned as the next version after Windows Mobile 5.

The device, listed as the Flame II, was described as having a 3.5 inch or larger screen and being multimedia oriented, as well as including GPS.

Details On Windows Mobile 7 Scant





Very little is known for certain about Windows Mobile 7. However, leaked reports state that it will focus heavily on touchscreen and device gestures, such as swiping a finger to scroll or skip, and shaking the device to wake it up.

It will also radically overhaul the existing interface, following the patterns started in Windows Mobile 6 Standard, with increased use of scrolling, tiles, and visual aesthetics.

It has also been previously reported that Windows Mobile 7 is intended to merge the touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions of the operating system, creating a single common platform, though whether this is still planned is unclear.

HTC Touch Diamond in action (Video)

From http://www.tracyandmatt.co.uk/blogs

HTC Touch Diamond promo video

A NEW AGE FOR MOBILE PHONES BEGINS

HTC's Offical Touch Diamond press release
May 6th, 2008


Here we have the official preess release from HTC:

A NEW AGE FOR MOBILE PHONES BEGINS; HTC UNVEILS ?TOUCH DIAMOND?

Debut brings breakthroughs in size, style connectivity and overall user experience, leaves compromise at the door.

LONDON ? May 6, 2008 ? Born from a unique heritage of innovation and a deep desire to blend design with simplicity, HTC Corp., a global leader in mobile phone innovation and design, today unveiled its new flagship phone, the HTC Touch Diamond. Delivering unmistakable style and meticulous craftsmanship the HTC Touch Diamond is defined by its compact size, game-changing Internet and its new captivating 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. The result is an uncompromising mobile phone that sets a new benchmark for phone sophistication and shapes consumer expectations for how a phone can be used.

?Today we mark a new era in mobile phone evolution, an era where beauty and size integrate with uncompromising innovation at broadband speeds,? said Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp. ?The HTC Touch Diamond will make browsing the Web and using Web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making calls.?

A New Dimension To Touch

HTC has taken a great leap forward in touch screen innovation with the introduction of its new 3D touch interface called TouchFLO 3D. TouchFLO 3D provides animated access to people, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more. In addition, HTC is introducing a new innovative touch-sensitive control for interacting with Touch Diamond.

Making The Mobile Internet Fun

With the introduction of the Touch Diamond, HTC delivers an entirely new mobile Internet experience that utilizes broadband-like speeds with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and HSUPA wireless connectivity. Committed to improving Web browsing, HTC provides a new customized mobile Web browser that enables easy viewing and effortless navigation of Websites in the way they were designed. As part of this browsing experience users can zoom and pan Websites with one-hand and automatically view optimized content that has been specially created to fit the display. Turning the device sideways automatically rotates the web page view from a portrait to landscape view.

In addition to Web browsing, the Touch Diamond includes a customized new, HTC-developed, YouTube application for watching a variety of user generated video content as well as utilizing Google Maps for mobile for mapping and traffic data.

Unmatched Style and Size

The Touch Diamond is crafted with precision to fit comfortably in a user?s hand without compromising on features or functionality. Blending contrasting design elements of metal and unique geometric facets, the Touch Diamond complements a user?s personal style.

Bursting with Innovation

The Touch Diamond delivers an unrivalled combination of features and functionality that set a new standard for integrating mobile phone innovation into a small package. The 2.8 inch display provides near-print quality viewing that enables beautiful Web browsing and viewing of photographs. The built-in camera includes an optical auto-focus lens that ensures the photos you take will be clear and consistent. Advanced wireless and auto sensor screen pivoting are just a few of the features that make the Touch Diamond experience a stand out.

Availability

The HTC Touch Diamond? will be available to customers across all major European carriers in June. It will be available later this quarter in Asia and the Middle East. The North American and Latin American versions of the Touch Diamond will be available in the second half of 2008.

?Our long-standing relationship with HTC meant they shared their phone concept and worked with us from the earliest stage. This early collaboration is important to us because at Orange, we know that the right multimedia experience is about more than just the phone,? said Olaf Swantee, EVP of Orange?s global mobile operations. ?Our approach is to select and test the best phones and integrate our applications, combining them with access to the Orange World portal, the best tariffs, integrated billing, a user-friendly interface and excellent customer support. With the Touch Diamond from Orange we have created a unique phone which has taken advantage of our latest service innovation to build upon the consistently rich experience customers expect from Orange.?