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Filed under: Cellphones

To be fair, Continental Mobiles’ diamond-encrusted Nokia N95 is a real bargain at £10,000 ($19,813) when compared to Amosu’s &pound12,000 alternative, but seriously, real richies should be holding off for the evolutionary N96, anyway. For those with enough cash to care, this particular handset / status symbol packs a Sterling silver front-panel stacked with “4.42ct of brilliant-cut, VS1 quality, color G-H, naturally mined diamonds.” If you’re craving one, you’d better get your order in now, as it takes the British craftspeople crazy enough to sell these things three full weeks to whip one up.

[Via Pocket-lint]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Right, so it’s not like we didn′t know a CDMA version of HTC’s hotly anticipated Touch Diamond was headed to Sprint, but who can honestly argue with in the wild photos proving that said assumption is true? What we have here is a bona fide Diamond in Sprint garb, although eagle-eyed readers will likely notice the mildly tweaked TouchFLO interface (which reeks of Bold there at the bottom, no?). At any rate, you can peek one more (blurry, of course) image of this bugger in the read link.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Oh, snap. Just the other day we were bemoaning the fact that the Touch Diamond sent to us courtesy of HTC lacked both HSDPA 850 / 1900 and GSM 850, but according to the product page at CompUSA, the version it’s selling has all of those. Yep, a purported quad-band Touch Diamond is seemingly in stock right now for Americans willing to part with $779.99, but remember, all those bills nets you a 2.8-inch VGA display, HSDPA 7.2, Windows Mobile 6.1 and oodles of sexy. Go on, help HTC get one closer to two million this year.

[Thanks, Tom]

Update: Hey look, UKers can get in too. Just £463.99 including VAT. Thanks Leigh!

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Oh, snap. Just the other day we were bemoaning the fact that the Touch Diamond sent to us courtesy of HTC lacked both HSDPA 850 / 1900 and GSM 850, but according to the product page at CompUSA, the version it’s selling has all of those. Yep, a purported quad-band Touch Diamond is seemingly in stock right now for Americans willing to part with $779.99, but remember, all those bills nets you a 2.8-inch VGA display, HSDPA 7.2, Windows Mobile 6.1 and oodles of sexy. Go on, help HTC get one closer to two million this year.

[Thanks, Tom]

Update: Hey look, UKers can get in too. Just &pound463.99 including VAT. Thanks Leigh!

Update 2: For shame! HTC just pinged us and said this thing is the same as every other Touch Diamond, meaning that North American 3G is not supported.

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

LG’s Xcanvas line of LCD HDTVs look mighty sexy as-is, in our humble opinion, but we’re certain a little extravagance can′t hurt. The 1080p 47LB90FD has a surprisingly sparkly base that’s doused in Swarovski crystals, and as you can likely glean, it’ll only be released in limited quantities. Sadly, the nitty-gritty details on this thing are few and far between, but when you’re talking about a ritzy ₩3.3 million ($3,204) HDTV, who needs a contrast ratio?

[Via CNET]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

The good folks at HTC left this little gem (pun totally intended) on our doorstep today, but as cool as it sounds to have one of the world’s great Windows Mobile torchbearers just drop off its hottest new handset to us like it’s an extra large pepperoni and mushroom, it’s a bittersweet gift at best. Why? The Touch Diamond lacks both HSDPA 850 / 1900 and GSM 850 in its current incarnation, leaving it to cling to what 1900MHz EDGE towers it can find. That makes it an untouchable product for all but the hardest-core North Americans who are willing to throw both high-speed data and maximum signal coverage out of the window just to be able to put the pinnacle of WinMo 6.1 engineering in their pocket. Are you in that one percent? Or perhaps even better, are you in Europe where the usable 3G flows like running water? Click through to Engadget Mobile’s hands-on to get the lowdown!

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

For those of you who absolutely, positively can’t wait to see more of the Touch Diamond in action, the folks over at pocketnow are giving you a taste of what it’s like to hold one in your hands. Apparently, when you boot up the phone you’re greeted with a helpful video showing you how to navigate the heavily-skinned version of Windows Mobile (AKA Touch Flo 3D) that it sports. Needless to say, it’s smoother than a baby’s bottom. Not that we′d know. Video after the break in its full 640 x 480 resolution.

Continue reading HTC Touch Diamond boot video, for your eyes only

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones

We don’t know what it is about Nokia’s 8800, but fashionistas and high-end designers just can’t seem to keep their fingerprints off of it. Enter Thomas Heyerdahl, the same artisan who gussied-up an iPod shuffle earlier this year. This fellow has crafted a version of the handset laced with 112 authentic diamonds, and it’s said that only 100 of the coveted (and individually numbered) mobiles will be made available. All told, you’ll find 0.7 carats of United Nations-approved diamonds per phone, and while the bulk of these things will be sold in select outlets for 30,000 Norwegian kroner ($5,933), numero uno is set to be auctioned for charity to the highest bidder. Pony up, son!

[Via LuxuryLaunches]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

DigiTimes has it that HTC has already shipped its first batch of over 10,000 Touch Diamond mobiles to Hong Kong CSL, which has consequently sent our saliva glands into overdrive. The report continues on to say that deliveries to European / Asia-Pacific operators should get going in June, though no further details were mentioned. Meanwhile, North Americans are left to weep softly to keep from embarrassment.

[Via SlashPhone]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Would you look at that: a thick slab of iPhone meat in a Sony Ericsson and HTC sandwich. The iPhone’s big screen is nice and all but the device is starting to look a bit portly given that the Xperia X1 sports a QWERTY with chewy HSDPA data, the latter shared with the Raphael Touch Diamond. Tasty, regardless.

Update: Er, that’s not the HTC Raphael, it’s their Touch Diamond.

[Via WMExperts, thanks Al]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones

We’re not sure how they pulled it off, so kudos to CNMO for snapping the HTC Touch Diamond up against the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. Undoubtedly the world′s most hotly anticipated cellphones this side of the still fictional 3G iPhone and Nokia Tube. While the Xperia X1 definitely sports some extra chub, remember, there’s an arc sliding QWERTY tucked beneath that VGA display. Hit the read link for bigger pics.

[Via Engadget Spanish]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Handhelds

Harris Corp’s HTC-made Census handheld may only be a shadow of its former self now that the Census Bureau has decided not to use it for any actual census-taking, but that doesn’t mean it can hang its head in shame forever, and it’s now popped up to make an encore appearance at the FCC. Thankfully, this time around the FCC folks have snapped plenty of pics of the device, including a look at its innards, which you can find at the link below. Otherwise, the device appears to be mostly unchanged, with it still boasting the same fingerprint security, and EVDO and WiFi connectivity, albeit without any voice capabilities. One of the few things getting changed, it seems, is the device’s battery — which, given recent developments, is likely one of the last upgrades it needed.

[Via Register Hardware, thanks Michael]

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Original post by Donald Melanson

We know what you’re thinking: Jeebus, not another Bluetooth adapter Engadget, slow news day? But if you check that snark for a moment, you’ll notice that this ¥2,280 (about $22) Logitec adapter is a Bluetooth 2.1+EDR + Class 1 device. That means an operating range up to 300 feet and all the goodies that come from 2.1. In other words, easier pairing and up to 5x longer battery life for like-speced Bluetooth keyboards and mice. It also supports 15 different Bluetooth profiles (9 on Macs) including your favorites for stereo audio and handsfree devices. Now that Bluetooth 2.1 is beginning to trickle out into retail, you won’t be buying 2.0 gear anymore will you?

[Via Impress]

 

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

As of this morning you can add Hitachi to the list of cohorts IBM has gathered in its quest for sub-32nm circuitry. Hitachi’s 2-year semiconductor research agreement — a first between IBM and Hitachi — puts them under a loose-knit alliance with AMD, Chartered, Freescale, Infineon, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and STMicroelectronics. The notable, non-member here is of course, Intel; that little company making “45-nm processes” and “Hi-K metal gate” house-hold terms amongst geeky, type-A adopters of consumer electronics. Yes, we’re looking at you.

 

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Lally Singh sends us to the inside-the-Beltway blog Wonkette for a quick take on a letter Ron Paul sent to his supporters. In this analysis, Dr. Paul has basically called it quits. “Late Friday night, Dr. Congressman Ron Paul posted a letter to his fans basically saying it’s over, but he will continue talking about his message, and plus it would be completely embarrassing for him if he also lost his congressional seat.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post by kdawson