The techno elite just couldn't wait for Sprint to make an official announcement about the new touch screen, potential Apple iPhone-competing phone joining its line-up.
Say, "hello" to the HTC Touch Diamond, a phone that reviewers say Sprint consumers can expect to meet in a week or so. Fierce Wireless already is offering a slide show of the much-anticipated device.
The reviewers at HTLounge said "It looks like a good choice for those not in the right position to get an iPhone or who would just like some of the features of one without the high price tag and AT&T contract."
Walt Mossberg's sidekick, Katherine Boehret, correctly notes in this review, that for all the hype about the iPhone, it's not really just about the phone. It's the software.
And after spending some up-close and personal time with Sprint's new phone and its software, she didn't offer her unconditional support.
"After using the Diamond for a week, I can say that despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons like photos that flip from one to the next with a flick of finger, this device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for my taste," Boehret stated. "It reminded me of the brown paper bag book covers my Dad helped me make for schoolbooks when I was a kid: They looked great on the outside, felt sturdy and clean and created a blank canvas for homemade doodles that were often more interesting to me than the books they covered. But my book covers couldn’t change what was underneath; pages of frustrating algebra were just a flip away."
The book cover metaphor is apt, she stated, because overall navigation on the Diamond "isn’t as intuitive as on the iPhone or iPod Touch, nor was it as easy as on a touch-screen Windows Mobile device running the Kinoma Play application."
The CNET team has reviewed the Touch, but not the same version that will be offered by Sprint. Their reviewer liked the TouchFLO 3D interface, "which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more."
Sascha Segan of PC Magazine said, like Sprint's Samsung Instinct, designers of this new phone clearly intend for it to "ride the iPhone wave."
"The device is designed to showcase Sprint's data services, such as its streaming live Sprint TV, Sprint Radio, downloadable music store, and YouTube over Sprint's high-speed EVDO Rev A network or Wi-Fi. The phone also comes with Sprint Navigation for GPS navigation; Handmark's Pocket Express news, weather, and information app; and all the usual WindowsMobile solutions, including Microsoft Office Mobile and Outlook Mobile. The phone has 4GB of on-board memory, but no memory card slot."
And it doesn't appear that AT&T executives are intent to rest on their iPhone laurels.
The nation's largest wireless company appears ready to offer its own new HTC phone, the Touch Pro, which AT&T apparently will market as the Fuze.
The Engadgeteers included some of what appear to be AT&T-written marketing touts that emphasize the ability of AT&T subscribers to enjoy all the wonders of touch-screen multi-media capabilities and "access to the world."
"Going on a trip? Whether it's a spring break cruise to the islands or a business meeting in Hong Kong, AT&T has you covered with the HTC FUZE. With the largest international footprint of any wireless provider and the powerful HTC FUZE, only AT&T customers can make and receive calls in more than 200 countries and on 75 major cruise ships. The HTC FUZE for AT&T also offers e-mail and Web browsing capabilities in more than 145 countries."
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Say, "hello" to the HTC Touch Diamond, a phone that reviewers say Sprint consumers can expect to meet in a week or so. Fierce Wireless already is offering a slide show of the much-anticipated device.
The reviewers at HTLounge said "It looks like a good choice for those not in the right position to get an iPhone or who would just like some of the features of one without the high price tag and AT&T contract."
Walt Mossberg's sidekick, Katherine Boehret, correctly notes in this review, that for all the hype about the iPhone, it's not really just about the phone. It's the software.
And after spending some up-close and personal time with Sprint's new phone and its software, she didn't offer her unconditional support.
"After using the Diamond for a week, I can say that despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons like photos that flip from one to the next with a flick of finger, this device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for my taste," Boehret stated. "It reminded me of the brown paper bag book covers my Dad helped me make for schoolbooks when I was a kid: They looked great on the outside, felt sturdy and clean and created a blank canvas for homemade doodles that were often more interesting to me than the books they covered. But my book covers couldn’t change what was underneath; pages of frustrating algebra were just a flip away."
The book cover metaphor is apt, she stated, because overall navigation on the Diamond "isn’t as intuitive as on the iPhone or iPod Touch, nor was it as easy as on a touch-screen Windows Mobile device running the Kinoma Play application."
The CNET team has reviewed the Touch, but not the same version that will be offered by Sprint. Their reviewer liked the TouchFLO 3D interface, "which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more."
Sascha Segan of PC Magazine said, like Sprint's Samsung Instinct, designers of this new phone clearly intend for it to "ride the iPhone wave."
"The device is designed to showcase Sprint's data services, such as its streaming live Sprint TV, Sprint Radio, downloadable music store, and YouTube over Sprint's high-speed EVDO Rev A network or Wi-Fi. The phone also comes with Sprint Navigation for GPS navigation; Handmark's Pocket Express news, weather, and information app; and all the usual WindowsMobile solutions, including Microsoft Office Mobile and Outlook Mobile. The phone has 4GB of on-board memory, but no memory card slot."
And it doesn't appear that AT&T executives are intent to rest on their iPhone laurels.
The nation's largest wireless company appears ready to offer its own new HTC phone, the Touch Pro, which AT&T apparently will market as the Fuze.
The Engadgeteers included some of what appear to be AT&T-written marketing touts that emphasize the ability of AT&T subscribers to enjoy all the wonders of touch-screen multi-media capabilities and "access to the world."
"Going on a trip? Whether it's a spring break cruise to the islands or a business meeting in Hong Kong, AT&T has you covered with the HTC FUZE. With the largest international footprint of any wireless provider and the powerful HTC FUZE, only AT&T customers can make and receive calls in more than 200 countries and on 75 major cruise ships. The HTC FUZE for AT&T also offers e-mail and Web browsing capabilities in more than 145 countries."
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