The HTC Touch Diamond2 is a Windows based phone that runs the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating system (can be upgraded to the new Windows Phone – WM 6.5 OS). It was launched earlier this year although we still thought we would take a look considering it can run the latest Windows Phone operating system.
The new Diamond2 is a little larger than the original HTC Touch Diamond smartphone although we are only talking a few mm on each of the dimensions that make it 108 x 53 x 13.7mm in size. The phone it’s self looks sleek with the smooth front face surrounded by a by a thin bezel around the edges. On the front of the device you’ll find 4 buttons below the screen allowing you to send/end calls along with a dedicated Windows key and a back key. Just above those keys there is a touch sensitive scroll strip to be found. A forward facing camera can also be found allowing you to make video calls where the network permits.
The HTC Touch Diamond2 has an LCD screen measuring 3.2 inches that is also touch-screen as to be expected from a phone in this class. The screen is in WVGA format and capable of displaying 480 x 800 pixels making it very nice to work with.
On the rear of the device you’ll find a 5 megapixel camera although there is no flash with this camera.
To the left side of the Diamond2 there is a single metal strip that acts as the up and down volume while on the right of the phone there is loud speaker as well as the top side of the stylus that slides out from the bottom.
The top side of the phone houses the power button while the bottom side there is a USB connector for syncing and charging along with the mic.
Opening the back you will find an 1100mAh battery and under that a SIM card slot can be found. A microSD card slot is also available on the side of the phone although the back cover does need to be removed for access. However, you do not need to take the battery out to get to the microSD card.
Overall the handset is built very well and is just the right size to work with. With it running the Windows 6.1 operating system as default, the stylus also comes in handy due to some of the menu’s being a little small for using your finger to control although TouchFLO does fix a bit of this by creating an easier to use system.
The operating system works very well on the phone. Rather than being just the standard Windows Mobile 6.1, HTC use TouchFLO. TouchFLO is an overlay that works on top of Windows Mobile replacing the home page as well as various programs such as messaging. Text messages on TouchFLO can be threaded. The OS is more geared towards people. When I mention it’s an overlay, I’d actually say it replaces a lot of the standard features and is fantastic to work with.
In conclusion, the Touch Diamond2 was a great phone to use for a few weeks for testing and although I would like to test with Windows Phone (6.5) installed, TouchFLO on this version works very well.
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