HTC Touch Diamond ROM Gives Faster TouchFLO and 850MHz Support

A ROM update from Hong Kong for the HTC Touch Diamond released yesterday adds some fantastic functionality such as the use of the 850MHz GSM band (used by AT&T here in the US) and the improved TouchFLO 3D performance. (For the record, the performance update is great.) There are also a few bug fixes like the "no signal issue" and home page loading. Grab it at the links from XDA Devs.[XDA Devs]

HTC Touch Diamond Becomes a Quad-Band World Phone

When the HTC Touch Diamond debuted last month, it was not officially released in N. America and lacked support for an important cellular-wireless frequency used in this area. Thanks to a new software upgrade, though, this has now changed.



At its release, this smartphone did not support the 850 MHz networks used in the U.S. by carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. A new ROM update released by HTC takes care of this.

Why HTC left 850 MHz support out of the Diamond at launch is unknown. One theory is that in the rush to get this product on the market, testing a frequency that isn't used in the countries where this smartphone is initially being sold was a low priority.

In any case, those who would like to make their Diamond into a quad-band world phone can download the latest ROM from HTC's web site. Because this smartphone still hasn't been released in N. America, this ROM is coming from HTC's Asian website.

More about the HTC Touch Diamond

This smartphone is an upgraded version of the very popular HTC Touch, and targeted at the pro-sumer class.

Like its predecessor, it doesn't have a hardware keyboard, but instead is focused on its touchscreen. It has a number of upgrades, like a VGA display, a 3-megapixel camera, and Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro.

There will eventually be both GSM and CDMA versions with 3G support, and some of these will include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 and/or GPS.

iPhone 3G SIM unlock demoed on video, zero details given

We've already seen the iPhone 3G got unlocked to function on any carrier (and you can already buy unlocked versions in several countries), but we haven't seen a locked handset get unlocked via software only, and the folks at gsmphone-unlocking have the first video we've seen of Steve's newest baby doing the SIM swap dance without any adapters. Yep, there it is, going from Rogers to Fido. Sadly, the video is more of a shameless ploy for publicity than actually useful information, and until we're told otherwise, we're just going to assume that they've just gotten hold of an early copy of the Dev Team's unlocking tool -- which should be free to the public sometime soon. So, you know: video after the break, but feel free to ignore the obnoxious phone numbers and URLs.

Raleigh, NC's WRAL testing MPH mobile DTV system

Although Raleigh, North Carolina is set to become one of the first DVB-SH test markets in America, WRAL is already testing out yet another standard. The station known nationwide for taking its local newscasts to the world of HD while everyone else sat and moped in their SD control rooms is currently teaming with CBC in order to test out the ATSC-compatible MPH mobile television transmission system. As we've seen before, the system enables "local broadcasters to deliver digital television to mobile devices including cellphones, laptops and personal media players," all while moving quickly in vehicles, hoverboards, rocket-powered scooters -- you name it. There's no word on what exactly will happen once the trials conclude, but we'll be keeping an ear to the ground just in case it's something big

BlackBerry KickStart 8220 gets really early review

The Bold is still stealing the overwhelming majority of RIM's spotlight at the moment for a handful of pretty good reasons: one, it's actually been announced; two, it's 3G; and three, it falls in line with the traditional (and loved) BlackBerry form factor. Lurking in the shadows, though, is the KickStart, RIM's very first flip phone, and a device that could end up making a huge splash if it actually manages to launch at the sub-$50 price point that's been making the rounds on the rumor circuit. CrackBerry got a way-early peek at the 8220 version of the device, which follows RIM's typical naming convention by packing WiFi while an 8210 will hold up the GPS side of things (seriously, RIM, how hard can it be to do both?), and overall it seems that the R&D team did its homework from the quick impressions. The SureType keyboard is huge and apparently quite easy to use without making the phone excessively large, though the trackball rests deeper in the shell making it a bit trickier to operate -- you win some, you lose some. The QVGA display is said to be just shy of Bold quality (which is a compliment, considering the killer screen on the Bold), and it's always hard to argue with a 3.5mm headphone jack. Come on, T-Mobile, let's make this happen.