My Diamond Review - Touch Diamond, MDA Compact IV General

I'd been torn between buying a new 3G iPhone or a Diamond, and although I was somewhat put off by some of the issues I'd read on this forum, problems such as lack of MMS on the iPhone meant that I ended up buying the Diamond last week. Here's my short review which I hope will help people who are undecided.
I had an HTC TyTn for the last 2 years, and while it's a very capable handset, I found it almost impossible to use without the stylus, as well as being way too big. This made the TouchFlo 3D interface and the small size of the Diamond particularly appealing for me.
The Handset
The first thing that struck me about the Diamond is how small and light it is. It's undeniably a very good-looking phone - certainly better then the iPhone in this respect. My handset had an Orange badge on the back of the casing, but, thankfully, no changes to the user-interface.
Touch-Flo 3D
The interface does take a bit of getting used to - it requires very firm presses on the screen. At first, I thought that the phone was slow to respond on occasions, but it became clear that I just wasn't pressing hard enough. To help this, I installed Advanced Config and tweaked the screen sensitivity settings. I also installed Diamond Config and enabled the (two) main performance tweaks. Touch-Flo is now a lot easier to use. How much of that is down to the tweaks and how much is just me getting used to it, I don't know. Nevertheless, I can now say that I have no reservations about the interface, and while it's not as immediately easy to use as the iPhone, it's hard to see it presenting many problems for users once they've had the handset for a couple of days and made the tweaks.
On-screen Keyboard
I was worried that the small size of the screen, compared to the iPhone, might make the on-screen keyboard more difficult to use. However, I'm pleased to report that it's not caused me any problems and it's good to have a choice of different keyboards to use in different situations (one, two or three letters per 'key').
Installed Software
The phone came with Google maps, an RSS/podcast reader, Word, Excel, PowerPoint reader, YouTube, Teeter (game), Adobe Reader, as well as the usual Media Player, email, camera apps etc. All work well on the Diamond and have clear, intuitive interfaces.
GPS
I've tested the built-in GPS with Google maps and I'm astounded by the accuracy and performance. It can find 7 satellites even when it's sitting in the cupholder underneath the dashboard in my car!
Battery Life
Battery life does look to be one of the Diamond's few problems. I was used to having to charge my TyTn handset every day, and the Diamond is no different. I've now tried setting the data connection auto-disconnect option in Advanced Config to 1 minute to see if that improves matters.
Browser
The bundled Opera 9.5 browser is far better than the standard Pocket IE, and, sticking with my Apple comparison, is very similar to Safari on the iPhone. The only signiificant difference is that Safari uses a two-fingered pinch gesture to zoom in and out, whereas Opera uses a double-tap. One good feature of Opera that I didn't notice on Safari is that it will re-size text columns to fit the screen width aftee you've zoomed in.
Tweaks
In addition to the performance tweaks I've mentioned above, the (free) GSen application is also a 'must-have'. It uses the in-built accelerometer to enable most applications to switch to landscape mode when the phone is held sideways. By default, only a few applications such as Opera do this.
Summary
Overall, Diamond's small size and Touch-Flo 3D interface solved my two major gripes with my previous WM handset. Although WM6.1 still has major usability issues, TF3D means that you rarely have to experience them. The Diamond is certainly a better handset, but it definitely requires some setting up before it's as usable as the iPhone.
This is a shame, because the tweaks and something like the GSen application could have been included from the start by HTC. It's only thanks to the developers on this forum that I've been able to see the full potential of the Diamond.

Related

A few niggling issues with the Diamond

Hello all, I work for Orange and hopefully will get preferential rates when its released (hopefully early July)
1)I REALLY hope Orange don't put their home screen on instead of the touchflo3d...that would be a really big mistake
2)BATTERY LIFE! I'm thinking...Anyway of linking clicking Opera app to enabling 3G? Maybe making a custom shortcut containing the reg change for 3g on + opening browser? Or is this me being a little too hopeful/ignorant?
3)Music player: Apparently, to all intents and purposes, not that great. Are there any players 3rd party available that are any good? Music playing is something I like the idea of but I don't deal with album art at all so I'm stuck if I use the default.
4)Instant Messaging;
I know WM supports Windows Live, but does it easily support the 640x480 screen? I've heard some 3rd party apps go a bit funny on it (same in fact with the music player)
Also, what is the status with the xs in the top right these days? I had a SPV M700 and x just minimised. You could get a software mod for the x to close, but I'm going to want to be running IM on a fairly regular occasion, obviously multitasking. Is there a "minimise key" mod? To make more similar to desktop experience?
5)I predominantly text, how am I going to find the touch keyboard? It was SO awkward on my M700, is the keyboard functionality/touch sensetivity much improved?
OK Thankyou all in advance,
qpop
qpop said:
Hello all, I work for Orange and hopefully will get preferential rates when its released (hopefully early July)
5)I predominantly text, how am I going to find the touch keyboard? It was SO awkward on my M700, is the keyboard functionality/touch sensetivity much improved?
OK Thankyou all in advance,
qpop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cant help much but in response to the question above, I find the texting overall is pretty good on the Touch Diamond.
Im a texter to and ive used lots of Windows Mobiles in the past and can safely say that the Phone Keypad and Also Full Qwerty are excellent. The Phone Keypad is what I use the most when texting etc and its brilliant.
I dont often type things incorrectly but the downside is, with all touch screen phones ive used so far, that sometimes it doesnt keep up and i do find that when I press the space button it doesnt register (or I dont push the button exactly so it doesnt register more like) but the whole experience, overall, feels good when texting.
Also you have to be careful when texting and then choosing a word in the T9 system as it will repeat the word if you press the wrong part of the screen or it will insert the word in the middle of another word.
This is something im doing less and less of now as ive got used to the sensitivity of the screen so all good.
Best so far on a purely touchscreen Windows Mobile Device. Nice one HTC!

Diamond Questions

I have been keeping an eye on the Diamond, as I would like to upgrade to it when it becomes available in the US. Since you guys over in Europe and Asian have been tweaking it, I have two questions.
Has someone posted a YouTube video of how much faster the TF3D UI runs when the tweaks posted here are done? From videos I've seen, the retail stock unit is snappy enough, but there's still a tiny bit of lag.
Another concern I have is that when the virtual keyboard is brought up, it takes up pretty much all of the screen. Has that affected how you guys do texting and e-mailing? I've seen that when the keyboard's displayed while typing in system text fields, it'll cover the field completely and you can't scroll the screen to see what you're typing.
Even though I don't have a youtube video for you I 'll tell you that the TF3D runs pretty smoothly after the tweaking but especially if you use one of the cooked roms. I am personally using the "panosha light II ROM" and the TF3D runs more than smoothly without any lag (and FYI this ROM does not include most of the tweaks that are supposed to speed up the device).
Regarding the second question, the included diamond keyboards indeed cover up most of the screen. I can see that being a problem for some but for me personally it isnt' any. In any case you always have the options of adding any throd party keyboards of your own taste and likes.
Thanks for the information! Makes me feel a lot more confident in the Diamond now.
Seeing as I won't be able to get to the Diamond until after the New Year, I'll have to see what great new things are cooked up by then.
If anyone else is willing to put up a YouTube video of a cooked or tweaked TF3D, I'd really appreciate it.

Diamond keyboad-question, switching from Hermes..

Hello everyone,
I wanted advice before I get a O2 XDA Diamond. I've been quite happy with my Hermes the past 2 years, only missing GPS feature and I always wish it was thinner! From the size the HTC Raphael isn't much better I have the feeling, so I've been looking into the Diamond again.
Now, the hardware keyboard in many situations is one of the best features on my Hermes, the occasional chat, or the longer email..before I switch to the Diamond I wanted to know how good the software keyboard is.
I've been playing around with the SIP PCM-Keyboard on my Hermes and if that works on the Diamond, or the standard SIP keyboard on the Diamond is similar, then I'd make the switch.
So, how good is it? Things like adding contact addresses, phone numbers, writing the occasional chat and the longer email, the daily text messages..
thx for any advice and experience, pplz who had a Kaiser or Hermes
Got the same situation here! Switched already from a Hermes (Tytn 1) to a Diamond. In the beginning I really had to get used and sometimes wished I never switched phones simply cause im a sms addict and thus loved the hardware keyboard lol. However, nowadays I'm getting really fast in hitting the letters on the touch screen with the stylus. Not as fast as with the hardware keyboard, that's impossible... but I'm managing it lol. Also, if you type a sms or an e-mail and rotate the screen, like the Tytn did automatically when sliding out the keyboard... but you have to use 3rd party programs on the Diamond to manage that.. then I'm even able to type on the screen with my fingers. But, I don't have fingers as big like a Wiener! ;-)
Give "Touchpal" a try I find it better than the diamond default sip, unfortunately it is a commercial app. Once you get used to it it is very fast and finger friendly. PCM Keyboard was always my favourite until I got my fingers on this. It has a few idiosyncrasies but after a very short time I was as fast if not faster than I am on my laptop, but I'm really crap at typing!
Aside from all that I've just upgraded from my beloved Artemis (RIP in the hands now of my 9 year old son) and the Diamond rocks, WOW.
http://www.cootek.com/
Does Touchpal have predictive sentences? Just upgraded from A Vario 3 to the lovely Diamond. Used to love the predictive sentences on the Vario. Doesn't seem to be as good on the Diamond. Same for contacts. Used to whittle down the options letter by letter but have to wait until the end of the first word now.

With iPhone 3.0, What else does OSX need to rival WM?

OK, now that Apple has announced what's going to be in the next iPhone firmware (copy-paste, universal search, push notifications, etc), what more does the iPhone need until it's a viable platform for the most die-hard here to abandon WinMo? Software issues only of course, no "keyboard" response.
It still can't multitask which I think is wack.. they say it drains the battery too hard (that kind of hardware issue is acceptable for discussion).
I'm already hooked and can't wait to get rid of my Hermes. I will miss internet sharing for "free" though
If i had to change WM to OSX, it would need to have :
- Mass storage driver
- Using the phone without ever installing itunes (yes i'm on linux)
- Installing apps without appstore (same as above)
- Multitasking because i like to listen to a webradio while using my GPS
- IGo 2008
- Flash support
- Skyfire-like browser
- Outlook support (not exchange)
- MS Voice command (not cyberon or other 'must record everything before use' program)
- WMWifirouter 1.25 (because i use it as a wifi card for my laptop)
- Custom rom enabled (because i like to change often)
- external mouse / keyboard support
- rotation in every screen including home, because when my mobile car holder is in landscape, i want every app to be in landscape as well
- msn messenger (not another multi client app)
- galarm (because it is the best alarm clock program i have ever used)
- video recording
- tcpmp-like player (note that i don't know every iphone app available)
- better today screen like touchflo
That's pretty much what i use everyday and my kaiser does that perfectly.
TrYde said:
If i had to change WM to OSX, it would need to have :
- Outlook support (not exchange)
- external mouse / keyboard support
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need FULL Outlook intergration also, like Business Contact Manager...along with OneNote. Also not having a user removeable battery and memory card is a deal breaker for me. I found the iPhoney drains the battery just as fast as WinMo phone.
The abillity to run the phone from my desktop wth something like My Moblier is really handy.
GWelker62 said:
I need FULL Outlook intergration also, like Business Contact Manager...along with OneNote. Also not having a user removeable battery and memory card is a deal breaker for me. I found the iPhoney drains the battery just as fast as WinMo phone.
The abillity to run the phone from my desktop wth something like My Moblier is really handy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't go into hardware stuff, otherwise i could add a lot more, like lack of buttons, lack of physical keyboard, resistive screen instead of capacitive, a real camera with flash....
The thing i love with this kind och apple presentations is the audience. When they in example presented the MMS function, there was big applauds.. like it was the first time we saw MMS function in a phone. And then copy-paste function and big applauds breaks out, again, "its fantastic,wow" (i think apple was first to implement this function in a phone... or not!?).
Yes, iphone is nice,smooth,fast. And i still think its not the phone that makes the iphone. Its the developers 3rd party that make its nice. I need my phone in my work, and need functionality that works smooth with win xp/outlook.
I wish microsoft takes a look at the custom rom's that is on the market, MS could maybe get some great ideas from them. And one other thing, let us use the apps in landscape mode, i think the 3rd party rotation app works 50%. Give us something new, something with speed.
/Mike,Stockholm
HTC Touch HD
I haven't completely abandoned WinMo because I love gadgets and variety, but I have abandoned it as my primary phone. I switched to the iPhone as my primary over a year ago. Everything iPhone can do, it does it faster and easier than WinMo phones do. Anything it can't do, I don't really use. Using a WinMo phone feels so much more clunky than the iPhone. For instance, I was using my Touch Diamond the other night. Opera works much better than PIE, but it was still slow, annoying, dragging, and at times with greatly delayed reaction to my touch. The iPhone Safari is much faster, and seems much more refined. I use my Touch Diamond much less often, yet it crashes or locks up requiring a RESET much more often. Of course, I have my share of complaints about the iPhone OS X, and the main one is dependence on iTunes. I don't like having to sync folders, I greatly prefer WinMo's way - copying the music and videos I want into a folder on the device.
It's not true that the iPhone OS X can't multitask. It's a variant of UNIX so it certainly can multitask, it's just not officially supported by the SDK. It makes sense, after all, Apple intends for the apps in the AppStore to be interactive apps, the type that shouldn't need multitasking ability. The various apps available via Cydia on a jailbroken phone don't necessarily follow Apple conventions and can multitask. For example, you can install Open SSH and SSH into the phone via Wifi while it's running any other app. All the unofficial UNIX-style apps can and do multitask.
Big applause for functions like MMS most likely aren't because people are amazed at the new feature, but people are happy because they're thinking, "FINALLY!" I know that was my thought, even the very first color LCD phone I ever had could do MMS (Samsung SGH-E715 in 2003).
What else does OS X mobile need to rival WM? Nothing. They can do whatever they like, but after my experience with an iPod Touch I will never buy another Apple product for as long as I live. As for the iPhone itself - I'm tired of hearing about it. Even on an HTC fanboy Web site, there's no escape.
GnatGoSplat said:
I haven't completely abandoned WinMo because I love gadgets and variety, but I have abandoned it as my primary phone. I switched to the iPhone as my primary over a year ago. Everything iPhone can do, it does it faster and easier than WinMo phones do. Anything it can't do, I don't really use. Using a WinMo phone feels so much more clunky than the iPhone. For instance, I was using my Touch Diamond the other night. Opera works much better than PIE, but it was still slow, annoying, dragging, and at times with greatly delayed reaction to my touch. The iPhone Safari is much faster, and seems much more refined. I use my Touch Diamond much less often, yet it crashes or locks up requiring a RESET much more often. Of course, I have my share of complaints about the iPhone OS X, and the main one is dependence on iTunes. I don't like having to sync folders, I greatly prefer WinMo's way - copying the music and videos I want into a folder on the device.
It's not true that the iPhone OS X can't multitask. It's a variant of UNIX so it certainly can multitask, it's just not officially supported by the SDK. It makes sense, after all, Apple intends for the apps in the AppStore to be interactive apps, the type that shouldn't need multitasking ability. The various apps available via Cydia on a jailbroken phone don't necessarily follow Apple conventions and can multitask. For example, you can install Open SSH and SSH into the phone via Wifi while it's running any other app. All the unofficial UNIX-style apps can and do multitask.
Big applause for functions like MMS most likely aren't because people are amazed at the new feature, but people are happy because they're thinking, "FINALLY!" I know that was my thought, even the very first color LCD phone I ever had could do MMS (Samsung SGH-E715 in 2003).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed 100% After many many years of being a HTC fan boy I out of here, after only a week with my iphone .... i love it and yep I did have to jailbreak it to make it really the phone I wanted but then again didnt have to flash my htc's to do the same?
Look, everyone to there own but you for me I was sick of paying £500+ for something that looks and feels the same year in year out and only now realise how poor the wm os runs.
goodbye fairwell my OLD friend WM
xxx
this iphone term 'jailbreak' means what? supercid? and can these be unlocked for any GSM carrier?
galaxys said:
this iphone term 'jailbreak' means what? supercid? and can these be unlocked for any GSM carrier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It Means 'Rooting'

Is there anything stronger than the Kaiser, that's still QVGA?

I love this Kaiser. Scroll wheel and the abundance of buttons are very handy, especially with this revolution of every new phone just having a few face buttons, or being totally impractical for gaming.
Got it running AthineOS, loaded all my favorite apps on it and everything's great
...except two things.
• The power and memory (400mHz, 128/256MB) just ain't cuttin it
• Screen touches cause applications to slow down at least 30%?
My phone before the Tilt was actually 624mHz (nTC Touch VIVA... it was okay, but too many sim card/TF connection issues, 2G was killing me inside, and I HATE onscreen keyboards)
I've found stronger touch screen WM6 phones with real keyboards, but none of them are QVGA (some aren't even WM6 anymore), and in being so, will not work with a lot of my apps that haven't been made to work with higher resolution screens.
The tilt 2 doesn't seem to have the scroll wheel or the abundance of face buttons, but it is more powerful... if I get something that is not QVGA, and runs 6.5, will I still be able to use my QVGA WM6 apps?
Hmm, I'm not sure if this is the right place for this question. In all honesty it doesn't have to do with the Tilt, more of the app and other phones.
isnt the Tilt-2 WVGA?

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