Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Wednesday, 25 June 2008 18:30
Your IT -
Mobility
Page 2 of 3
Ross Fielding, Executive Director, Telstra Product Management said “Telstra is the market leader in mobiles and we are committed to giving our customers the greatest choice of world leading devices on our flagship Next G network, including the new Touch Diamond from HTC”.
Of course such a statement makes one wonder whether the iPhone 3G is one of the “world leading devices” that Telstra will also soon offer, potentially a month earlier than the HTC Touch Diamond, but as yet we can only speculate, as only Apple and Telstra know the truth of Telstra’s iPhone intentions.
Of course, Telstra hasn’t wasted any time in claiming the HTC Touch Diamond as their own, even though I fully suspect it will eventually appear on other networks once Telstra’s period of exclusivity expires, whatever that time period is set to being.
Telstra has organised some of its applications to appear on the device, with Glenice Maclellan, Executive Director, Telstra Consumer Marketing and Channels, saying that: “Our customers will enjoy access to Telstra's wide range of rich content, such as Mobile FOXTEL from Telstra and BigPond TV at broadband speeds, in more places across Australia that only Telstra's Next G network can deliver.”
The secret to the HTC Touch Diamond’s graphical success lies in an upgrade to its original TouchFLO interface. Now upgraded to TouchFLO 3D, it features much classier animations and access to contacts, messaging, email, photos, music, weather and more, combining the touch sensitive screen with a touch sensitive ‘button’ under the screen.
Scroll your thumb around this button in a circular fashion, and you can zoom into or out of images or web pages, making up somewhat for the lack of multi-touch capability.
Another interesting addition is a dedicated YouTube video viewer, customised and designed by HTC, and clearly inspired by the one on the iPhone itself.
But what’s a classy device without looks? HTC have done its utmost to make the Touch Diamond stand out, from the unusual assorted of large triangular shapes on the back (which HTC calls unique geometric facets) to the glossy black colour that definitely makes it stand out from amongst the crowd.
The 2.8-inch screen is definitely clear and sharp, but also a lot smaller than the iPhone’s stunning 3.5-inch screen.
Continued on page 3.
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