• Make/Model: HTC Touch Diamond
• Network: GSM/HSDPA: 900/1800/1900 and 900/2100, respectively.
• Data: GPRS/EDGE/W-CDMA, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth 2.0
• Carrier: Unlocked
• Size: 102 X 51 X 11.35 mm
• Weight: 110 g
• Form Factor: Candy bar with Touchscreen
• Display: 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with VGA resolution
• Memory: 256 MB ROM, 192 MB RAM, Internal storage: 4 GB
• Notable Features: Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, TouchFLO™ 3D, GPS (A-GPS-capable with additional free software),
• FM Radio,
• 3.2 MP camera with auto focus, and a secondary VGA CMOS cam for video calls.
  

To preface this review, and hopefully prevent some confusion, I need to clarify some differences in the three versions of the Touch Diamond that are available at the time of this writing (thank you, Noah). There is the European 3G, unlocked device, which I used in preparation for this review; there is a North American 3G, GSM unlocked variation, which is identical to the European version, outside of frequency band usage; and there is Sprint's CDMA phone, which does introduce some minor changes in form and function to the Diamond line-up. One of my complaints regarding the European Diamond is battery life, which has been addressed in the Sprint release. A trade-off is that the secondary camera for video calls is missing from Sprint's phone.

You can catch Noah's full video review of the Sprint Diamond here: Part 1, and Part 2.

The emulator is pretty cool, and honestly got me a little more jazzed to try out a G1 in person.  Don't get me wrong, I was jazzed already - but the emulator made me forget about the phone's perceived hardware shortcomings and instead focus on the Android user experience, which seems pretty cool.  I'm liking the whole window shade thing, and eager to try out the browser and GPS-related functions for real.  And Kudos for Google and T-Mo for making some of the emulator's hardware buttons functional as well as the touchscreen.

Oh, and Bob, apparently there will be "dire" consequences to face if you miss that board meeting on Friday the 13th.  Or at least the fake Email on your fake G1 says so.  Too bad that got leaked to the Web, huh?

Got an Instinct?  Upgraded it?  Hit the Web and let us know how it is!

The red version is pictured below.  Click through to Phone and Phone's site to see pink, purple, white, brown, blue, and jaune ... that last one means "yellow" to all you English speakers out here.

 Noah, maybe you can answer this for me: Why is it when people praise the iPhone, they're viewed as either blind fanboys, or on the Cupertino payroll, and when people praise 'any' other non-Apple phone, they're viewed as sensible, informed, etc types?

Within the phone world specifically, I think there are two things at work. First, you've got the history of what I just mentioned - years of "Mac vs PC" arguments and years of Apple's history of generating hype like nobody else in the biz can. Between fans religiously making Photoshop mockups of what the next Mac *might* look like and Steve Jobs being a master of design and marketing, Apple's perfected the formula for on-demand creation of consumer desire. Add to that the iPhone itself - it's a state of the art device that's hugely popular but also lacks some "basic" smartphone features (stereo Bluetooth, MMS messaging, voice command, etc) - and that's more fuel for the "Mac vs PC" (iPhone vs Windows Mobile) debate. 

Now add to that Apple's policy of controlling everything from the packaging to the features to the store where you buy music and applications for your phone, and it just makes the whole argument that much more "interesting" for the people already arguing.  And as we all know, debates sometimes have a way of breaking down from discourse to name calling, especially online ;-)  So that's my take on it.  Hope that answers your question or at least gives you some food for thought.

Thanks for the question - I'd love to hear other people's thoughts, too. -- Noah from PhoneDog

But, hey, it's not like I haven't been trying all along.  In the meantime, here's a teaser:  The Sprint Touch Diamond runs WM and TouchFlo 3D like a champ, but it gets quite warm and I had a few reception/call quality issues with it.

Looks like Verizon Wireless is aiming to change all of that with the introduction of the Krave ZN4 sometime between now and the end of 2008.  The Ming-styled ZN4 has been spotted by PhoneArena in a VZW ad that shows a launch price of $149.99 after rebate with a two-year contract.

Your buck-fitty will get you a unique-looking device with a clear plastic flip cover and touchscreen underneath, and all sorts of features.  There's a 2MP camera, VCast Mobile TV, HTML browser, VVast Music with Rhapsody, VZ Navigator, and EV-DO Rev A data speeds to power all of those services.

So stop complaining about this "lack" of Verizon devices, everybody!  There's all kinds of stuff coming from Big Red this holiday season, don't you worry ;-)

The 5800 also features a 3.2MP Carl Zeiss Tessar camera with dual-LED flash and full 640 x 360 video capture at 30fps, 3.5mm headphone jack, WiFi, and Stereo Bluetooth connectivity.  Speaking of connectivity, the device will come in three variations including one with North American HSDPA banding (yay!).  The 15.5mm thick candybar phone will be available in red, black, and blue for just shy of $400 USD when it ships later this year. 

That 400 bucks will get you the phone and a punch of pack-ins including an 8gb memory card, portable stand (for video watching), and both styli and a plectrum (seriously) for your inputting pleasure.  A Comes With Music version of the 5800 will also be made available early next year, though as a yet unannounced price.

The question is: what additional apps will come pre-installed on the G1, and what will be available to users post-purchase via the Android Market? It's impossible to accurately forecast which programs will make the final cut for the initial release without some inside info, which I don't have. But we can make educated guesses about which ones are likely to be the first to hit the marketplace, and glimpse potential marketing points for the G1 and future Android phones.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Google has allocated 10 million dollars to motivating developers to come up with unique, useful software that will exploit and showcase the strengths of Android. At the end of August they divided $ 3.75 million in prizes amongst the top 20 contestants in the Android Developer Challenge. Clicking that link will take you to a page filled with screenshots of the winning apps, as well as links to the developers' websites. Most of their homepages have extensive information with cool demos, so it's definitely worth your time to study them. These are the projects that excited Google, and these are the types of programs we are likely to see them pushing to the end-user. While none of them are sure to ship with the G1, you can count on hearing more about (at least) the top ten, very soon.

The pricing structure and business model of the Android Market is a bit hazy at this point, but it is clear that Google's inspirational techniques have encouraged developers to think different (yes, I did that on purpose). I suspect that Google's monetary rewards, in conjunction with what is widely expected to be a free and open marketplace, will result in highly competitive pricing and product development. I think we will see the cell phone reinvented in many ways; with coders conjuring up new uses for the ubiquitous handset that are sure to please the most cynical and demanding consumer. Just a cursory examination of the top 20 applications provides the distinct sense of a unique, progressive and eye-popping identity for Android:

• Think social. Most of these programs are focused on interaction with other users, based on location, interests, tastes, and other personal characteristics.
• GPS isn't just for finding restaurants; these programmers have come up with some nifty uses for it, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with navigation.
• When is a camera more than a camera? It depends on the way software interprets visual data. The Bar Code Scanner app is already in the sample market. Is a retina-scanning phone lock beyond the realm of possibility?
• Is that a Babblefish logo I see at the bottom of the pic? It's listed as being free. How many more of those free applications will turn up? I suspect many.

Put it all together, and the future unveiling of the true Android has the potential to be the mind-blowing announcement we had anticipated for the G1; the phone I now see as a sort of stepping stone for Google. Perhaps the blow-your-head-back revelation will occur when the Android Market revs up and, maybe, takes center stage. So far, the options look great: programs that facilitate comparison shopping; a Google talk-capable messaging client, which also allows posting Blogger entries; and an application that coordinates races between athletes at opposite ends of the Earth.

Cloud-based file-sharing, environmental responsibility tracking, collaborative art projects - these are forward-thinking endeavors for a smart phone. Locate a taxi or take a guided walking tour of a strange city, focusing on attractions that fit your unique tastes. Android is designed for the person on the move who likes to stay in touch with their schedule-driven friends and family. And now you can tag your contacts with interests, so you can very quickly send a hot new story you came across in an RSS feed to each of your friends who happen to be proponents of bio-diesel. Dope. (At what age do I have to stop using that word... or was it a year?)

There's one aspect of Android's Linux roots that deserves brief mention here: virtualization. Linux is legendary for it's virtualization capabilities. While this sort of thing is currently of interest only to the geekiest of geeks, it could eventually shake things up a bit for the rest of us. Virtualization is when an operating environment, like Windows, is emulated within another OS. For example; I use Linux for my laptop at home, but can easily run most Windows programs with a sort of emulator called Wine. I can even run an entire Windows desktop via programs like Qemu or VMWare. Parallels for Mac is probably the most widely-known of this type of software. In researching this article, I ran Android on my laptop within Eclipse - the program coders use to test their Android applications. (Not recommended for most readers.)

An ardent tinkerer and Android Market content provider could make virtualization as easy for all of us as installing any other Android application - a few clicks, and it's done. And while I can't guarantee anything, I wouldn't be surprised if we eventually saw a vid or two on YouTube featuring an Android phone running a Windows Mobile app, or (gasp!) an iPhone app. Honestly though, with the stuff we're about to see the hitting Android Market, who needs 'em? Android is open to all, and there will be an equivalent for every smart phone program you can imagine, along with plenty of originals you can't.

A. I'm amped up about the Touch HD, as well.  So far there's no word - or even whispering - about a US carrier. 

I know HTC is interested in bringing the phone to the US and will do so at least in an unlocked version, but that won't be until sometime in 2009.  What I can tell you is that over the past year or so Sprint has been getting most of the HTC phones first in the US - Touch, Touch Diamond, and (coming soon) Touch Pro all went to Sprint first.  So if I had to bet I'd put my money on them.    Although T-Mobile is going to be stepping it up with the launch of their 3G network, and they don't have an iPhone/Instinct/Dare all-touch device yet.  Maybe Touch HD on T-Mo?  You never know.  I'll keep you updated on the site as soon as I find anything out.

Funner?  Did I just say funner?

BGR's got the scoop on Matrix, complete with a Spec Sheet, and it looks like this could be a nice QWERTY non-smartphone for that special tween texter in your life.  Seriously, AT&T needs some messaging-centric devices and if this thing isn't as gargantuan as the Duo, it could shape up pretty nicely: 3G data speeds, Mobile Email and IM, 1.3 MP camera with video capture and Video Share, media player with AT&T Mobile Music, XM Radio, and CV (video) support, Stereo Bluetooth, and that special dual-sliding design that affords dedicated numeric and QWERTY keypads. 

Interested?  If you live in one of the cities below and are free on the specified date, hop on over to the event page to watch the promo video and register for a Bold party.

• Chicago, IL  - October 15
• Dallas, TX - October 16
• Atlanta, GA - October 21
• Miami, FL - October 22
• Washington, DC - October 28
• NYC - October 30
  

What's also true is that Facebook launched version 2.0 of their iPhone app yesterday, and I downloaded it last night and promptly tagged myself in a photo of someone else's pregnant wife.  Oops.  The good news is that Facebook 2.0 adds a bunch of popular FB functionality (including, apparently, photo tagging).  The bad news is, well, that while trying to figure out how to use the app I tagged some pregnant woman as "Noah Kravitz."

Actually, that's pretty funny, isn't it?

In addition to the promise of more stability, FB 2.0 adds a slew of new features including:

- Notifications
- Full News Feed
- News Feed story comments
- People search
- Friend requests
- Photo tagging
- Photo captioning
- Photo posts to friends' Walls
- Full Mini-Feed, now combined with The Wall
- Your entire inbox, plus the sent folder and updates tab
- Inbox search
- Message attachments