Telus announce the HTC Touch Diamond

When HTC unveiled the HTC Touch Diamond in May, they promised that it would be coming to North America later this year. Today Telus is announcing it will be the first carrier on thoe other side of the pond to carry the HTC Touch Diamond. With this announcement; "HTC continues our tradition of creating a family of devices, bringing the HTC Touch Diamond's unique style and exceptional features to a number of form factors and wireless protocols."

Telus will launch a CDMA version of the HTC Touch Diamond later this summer for $149.99 with a 3 year contract. To make the HTC Touch Diamond even more attractive, they offer subscribers very affordable unlimited data plans like $15 per month for unlimited email and IM, or $30 for unlimited email, IM and web browsing.

You can learn more about Telus and the HTC Touch Diamond at: http://promo.telusmobility.com/smartphones/index.html?landing=product&sku=DIAMOND

iPhone 3G vs. Samsung Instinct vs. LG Dare

Several of our readers wonder which all-touch phone is the better fit for them. We take a look at what to expect from the iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct and LG Dare.
The iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct and LG Dare all rely on finger-based interaction, but that's also pretty much the only thing they have in common. Said in short, the iPhone 3G represents a concept for the prosumer multimedia smartphone market, the Samsung Instinct represents a concept for the high-end multimedia phone market, while the LG Dare gives a taste of the future touchscreen phone mass market.

Apple iPhone 3G

If you love to play around with your phone and enjoy discovering new applications, as of July 11, there'll only be one obvious choice: The Apple iPhone 3G (comare it to other multimedia smartphones). It comes at a cost though, so if you don't think spending $200 a month and a significant amount of hours a day on a "mobile lifestyle" sounds like a good idea, move on to the next item on the list.

Samsung Instinct

Sprint has put some really hard work into the Samsung Instinct, and combined with its $100 "Simply Everything" plan, it's a good choice for those who don't want a smartphone with a ton of options, yet likes the idea of owning a phone that can do stuff that most other cell phones can't. If this does not sound like you, move on to the next item on the list.

LG Dare

The LG Dare gives a good clue of how the future touchscreen phone mass market will look like. It's simply a standard multimedia phone with a touchscreen. For Verizon Wireless customers, the LG Dare is probably as good as it gets for a while (unless the rumored Motorola Blaze shows up soon with a blazing performance...who knows?), while T-Mobile and AT&T customers will soon have a pile of similar offerings from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG to choose from, at least when shopping at Amazon and other online stores.

AT&T 2008 Smartphone Roadmap Leaked

Believe it or not, AT&T actually does have other smartphones coming this year besides the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Bold. Four sequel-y Windows Mobile phones all slated for winter, and 6.1 updates for existing ones. Besides the Pantech Tech Duo 2, there's the BlackJack 3 (with a better cam and a little faster hardware), Tilt 2 (Update: BGR says Tilt 2 is probably the Touch Pro), and another unnamed Sammy, possibly the Omnia. There's also a "non-QWERTY" LG phone of some sort and a Wi-Fi version of the Curve (8320). Since these are all smartphones, we're guessing there's another consumer roadmap.

Touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder Is BlackBerry 9500, Has Higher Res Screen Than iPhone

A bit more tricklage on RIM's "Apple Killer," the touchscreen BlackBerry Thunder: The official model number is the BlackBerry 9500, and the touchscreen is a bit higher res than the iPhone's (360x480 to 320x480). It'll be running OS 4.7.0 (the Bold runs 4.6). As we inch closer to the September release date expect to hear a lot more, since RIM's ship ain't exactly the tightest one on the seven seas.

A First Glimpse of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint?

Whenever the U.S. launch of the HTC Touch Diamond is being talked about, often the first name that comes up is Sprint. Rumors that this wireless carrier will be offering this Windows Mobile smartphone date back to April.

But pictures of the Diamond with a Sprint logo on it haven't leaked out... until now.



A user in the PPCGeeks forums has posted a couple of typical blurry spy shots that supposedly show HTC's latest emblazoned with Sprint's branding.

While pre-release photos are notoriously unreliable, the fact that the device in these images isn't an exact copy of the GSM version of the Diamond with a corporate logo pasted on them gives it some credibility.

If these pictures aren't part of a hoax, Sprint's version of this smartphone will have curved top and and bottom edges, while the GSM version is rigidly angular.

In addition, the version of HTC's TouchFLO 3D looks slightly different from the standard one. The clock has been changed and so have the icons.

This carrier's logo appears where the front-facing camera is on the European version of this phone, but few Windows Mobile models with dual cameras have been released in the U.S.

The source of these images, who claims to be a Sprint employee, says the Touch Diamond is currently undergoing carrier testing. He did not say when this model will be released.

According to a separate unconfirmed report, Verizon also has its eye on the Diamond.