Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Now that Uncle Walt has gone and opened the floodgates, details are starting to pour in on Sprint’s imminent release of the Touch Diamond, a device that should actually manage to get the carrier damn close to the top of the Windows Mobile pile (for a short while, anyway). PC Magazine is now reporting that it’ll be available on September 14 for $249.99 on a two-year contract after $100 rebate, a sum that would put it squarely in the “average” category for on-contract smartphone pricing in these parts. Of course, with the Touch Pro allegedly just around the corner, it remains to be seen just how much love this thing is going to get; nothing like a good, old-fashioned QWERTY-versus-touchscreen fight, is there?

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

It was only a matter of time before the WSJ (Katherine Boehret, in this case) got their hands around Sprint’s still-not-official Touch Diamond, and we can’t say that the conclusion she drew is at all shocking. As Mossberg and his partners so often do, Katherine mentions Apple’s darling just as much as the topic of the review itself, and while she seemed impressed with the hardware, it was the software that suffered the brunt of her attacks. She proclaimed that “despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons, the device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for [her] taste.” Beyond that, she also found room to gripe about the “cramped” keyboard, which she felt was “next to impossible” to use with just her fingertips. On the plus side, she did give the browser a decent amount of praise, but if you were looking for support from this critic before picking up the forthcoming handset, you’ll be sorely disappointed.

[Via phonescoop]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

From the looks of it, Sprint has gone and gotten a decent chunk of its playbook leaked all over the interblogs, and it’s chock-full of titillating information. Thanks to slippery fingers and loose lips, we already knew that the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro were headed to the carrier, but now we have some solid dates (mid-September for the Diamond, October 19th for the Pro), and pricing ($549.99 and $579.99, respectively). Of course, this is all according to the above document, which admittedly could be the work of an extremely bored Photoshopper — but this jibes pretty tightly with a lot of other chatter we’ve been hearing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Original post by Joshua Topolsky

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Now that the cat’s out of the bag it was no trouble tracking down HTC’s S740 this morning, and just for kicks we rammed the phone up against the Touch Pro, which we subsequently rammed against the Touch Diamond and an iPhone for a generally violent display of smartphone force. It is worth noting that while the S740’s keys are similar to the Touch Pro’s, they’re not quite as deep or clicky, which leads to a rather sub-par typing experience by HTC’s standards. That glossy mirror finish on the phone screens isn’t doing them any favors either — even when wiped smudge free it seems to impede viewing — and we must say the Touch Pro’s matte finish makes the Diamond and iPhone 3G look cheap in comparison. Oh, and when asked about the Dream, the HTC rep quickly replied “we don’t know anything.” It was worth a shot, right?

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Original post by Paul Miller

Filed under: Cellphones

A few new details have leaked in from corroborating tipsters about Sprint’s Verizon-slaying version of the HTC Touch Diamond, and we’re pretty sure you’ll be interested in hearing ‘em. The biggest news is the release date — instead of having to wait until after Labor Day, Sprint users interested in nabbing the handset will reportedly be able to do so this Thursday. Also of note, it sounds as if Sprint will indeed be referring to the Diamond as, well, the Diamond (and not the Victor). Oh, and the extra bulk over the GSM counterpart will net it a more capacious 1,350mAh battery. For those that skipped straight to the closer (it’s cool, really): August 28th, $299 on a 2-year contract, or $549 straight out.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

While multi-touch input might be all the rage in handhelds and laptop trackpads at the moment, alas, it’s not on the feature list for HTC’s latest Touch Diamond and Touch Pro. However, the capability is indeed present and exploited on video by HTC’s own debug application. Even more interesting is the way that the handsets’ entire front, capacitive surface (not just the 2.8-inch, 640 x 480 pixel display) can be used for multi-finger input. So like Dell’s Latitude XT Tablet which launched multi-touch ready, expect to see future, multi-touch capabilities come to HTC’s latest… someday. Click through for the vid.

[Thanks, Marios S.]

Continue reading Video: HTC’s Touch Diamond / Pro are multi-touch gods, just not how you’d think

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

It won’t be the first launch in North America — those honors go to Telus at this point — but Sprint won’t be far behind. A pretty believable new slide deck suggests that big ol’ Number Three will take delivery of its Touch Diamonds in September and start hawking them for the princely sum of $299.99 on contract after rebates, netting customers a 3.2 megapixel cam, 4GB of internal storage, and EV-DO Rev. A, among all the other spoils that only Windows Mobile 6.1 can offer. Is the back end of it red? Can’t really tell from this angle, but if the goal is to offer up a high-end business tool, we’ve gotta believe black will be available either way.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones

While Sprint and Verizon consider final monikers for the HTC Touch Diamond, some North Americans are already enjoying the thing up in the Great North. The ecstatic folks over at Mobile Syrup were able to snap up Telus’ version of the WinMo 6.1-packin’ handset, and of course, they put together a video review for us Americans to drool over. The 7:15 clip includes a few comparison angles with other mobiles and a full walk-through of the user interface. Reviewers found the web browsing on Opera Mobile to be a real treat, and of course, they couldn’t deny the awesomeness of the 640 x 480 resolution display. You can check the review in full just after the jump, but if you’re easily made envious, we’d suggest you not.

Continue reading Telus’ HTC Touch Diamond gets video review

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

We won’t even front with you — we have some serious doubts about this one, but with all those other red handsets that have emerged on Sprint over the years, we suppose that image above has a sliver of credence. We’ve no details whatever outside of two more shots of the red HTC Touch Diamond (or Victor, to be proper) in the read link, but these could very well be someone’s best shot at using Photoshop to gain 15 minutes of internet fame. What say you, dear readers? Real or fake?

[Via Brighthand]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

We know how much those suits love to hit wild targets they set without any real understanding of the future, so we’re pretty sure at least one or two are getting the kudos of their life with this one. Earlier this year, HTC boldly predicted that it would move a staggering two million Touch Diamond handsets before 2009 dawned, and according to a new report, it’ll ship the one millionth unit sometime next week. With Sony Ericsson having all sorts of difficulties moving its mid- to high-end mobiles, one may wonder if HTC really can sell another million before December 31st. But we have all ideas the looming Sprint / Verizon launches will be all the help it needs to call itself a proven prophet.

[Via MoDaCo]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

There’s no doubt that both of HTC’s forthcoming handsets (yeah, the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro) are coming to Sprint and Verizon. What we’re still curious about, however, are the respective launch dates and the eventual names. phoneArena has it that the Touch Diamond will go by HTC Victor on Sprint and HTC Diamond on Verizon, with the former packing a slightly speedier CPU, an aluminum frame, accelerometer, 4GB of internal memory and EV-DO Rev. A support. As for Verizon’s, expect it to boast half the RAM (128MB), a wimpier CPU, microSD expansion slot and a stainless steel frame. Moving on, we’re told that the Touch Pro will be rechristined HTC Herman for Sprint and HTC Raphael (nice to re-meet you!) for The Network. Finally, we’re clued in on a September 2nd release date for Sprint’s Victor, while the Herman is expected a month later. As for Verizon? It’ll probably be 30 or so days behind in both instances thanks to a presumed exclusivity agreement with its nemisis. Get all that?

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones

Don’t rule out the possibility that this is a complete and utterly disgusting fib, but a recent writeup in The China Post about HTC’s financial situation very clearly states when the hotly-anticipated Touch Diamond is coming to Sprint: this month. If you’re looking for the play-by-play, the article proclaims that the “company released its Diamond phone in Asia in June and will begin selling the handset through Sprint Nextel Corp. in August.” Look, we’ve seen a CDMA version of this thing donning Sprint garb, we’ve watched it fall into the capable hands of the FCC and we know it has to arrive sometime. If all of this doesn’t add up to Sprint getting the Touch Diamond in August, well, we’ll let you do the math.

[Thanks, Sumit]

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Original post by Darren Murph

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

Want downloads on your Touch Diamond to exceed the pace of a molasses-covered snail when on North American soil? Well, if you already have a Touch Diamond, you’re outta luck — but future buyers have another version to look forward to that packs HSDPA on the all-important 850 and 1900MHz bands. We don’t have any word on when this is coming, where it’s going, or how much it’ll run, but hey, it exists. That’s a solid start.

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Original post by Chris Ziegler

Filed under: Cellphones, Digital Cameras

Digital Camera 101: As manufacturers continue pushing the Megapixel Myth by stuffing more and more pixels onto rapidly shrinking sensors, the outcome is poor performance on top of poorly lit images of increasingly low quality. Now OmniVision, the largest CMOS image sensor manufacturer today, says they’ve solved the pixel size problem though backside illumination (BSI) technology. In essence, BSI helps maximize photon collection by circumventing obstructive metal and dielectric layers on the top-side of the sensor die. The result is improved light absorption, thinner overall camera modules, and increased sensitivity and F stops with reduced crosstalk. However, as EETimes’ crack staff of Electrical Engineering super-nerds point out, BSI is not a new technology. In fact, several manufacturers lay claim to BSI patents. However, OmniVision seems to be the first to take the tech to mass production for consumers. To prove it, they’ll release an 8 megapixel OmniBSI CameraChip sensor brimming with the new tech for sample in June. Couple it with a decent cameraphone lens and image processing circuitry and we might be in for a treat.

[Via EETimes]

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Original post by Thomas Ricker

Filed under: Displays, HDTV

Samsung’s harder better faster “blue phase” (not to copy Blu-ray, just named for the color observed during its development) LCD panel is the first to demonstrate image-driving speed of 240Hz, surpassing current twisted nematic, in-plane switching or vertical alignment technology. In the quest for smooth CRT-style motion Samsung follows DLP manufacturers that announced plans to cross the 240Hz barrier at CES by manufacturing a display that aligns its own layers, simplifying manufacturing and ensuring uniform brightness without the need for an overdrive circuit found in today’s merely expletive-inducing 120Hz LCDs. Don’t expect these to hit shelves before 2011, coming first in TVs “that require high-speed video reproduction” — like the one you’ll buy that has a much bigger number than your next door neighbor’s latest HDTV. For now, the only place to see the future is this 15-inch model at the Society for Information Display 2008 show in LA May 18.

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Original post by Richard Lawler