Windows Mobile Louisville

According to this article over at WM Experts, Verizon will allegedly release the Touch Diamond this week.

I know that Verizon prides itself on making sure a device works solidly with their system before releasing it to the public, but given the fact that the Touch Diamond 2 will likely be seen at another U.S. carrier by summer, they’ve once again sat on something that is already becoming “yesterday’s news”!

Expect the Diamond 2 by Summer of 2010 at this rate…!   And the Pro 2?  Who knows…!

Today, HTC announced the second generation of both the Touch Diamond and the Touch Pro at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Touch Diamond 2

 Here are some notable specs on the Diamond 2:

• WiFi, GPS, FM Radio
• 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200
• 512ROM/288 RAM
• MicroSD Expansion
• 5mp Camera
• 3.2″ 480×800 WVGA screen

A big improvement is the expandable memory - the Internal Storage concept without a MicroSD slot was not received very well in the first model.  Higher screen resolution as well.  Also note the Zoom bar and re-designed buttons at the bottom of the screen.  Very Touch HD-like…   And a 5mp camera - nice!

Touch Pro 2

 
Click here for a larger image of this beauty!

Here are some notable specs on the Touch Pro:

• WiFi, GPS, FM Radio
• 528MHz Qualcomm MSM7200
• 512ROM/288 RAM
• 3.6″ 480×800 WVGA screen

The biggest difference in this model appears to be screen resolution and the HTC Tilt-like feature.  A very nice looking device indeed!

HTC says both models will be available overseas first (of course) late Q2 or early Q3 of this year. U.S. release dates unknown at this time…

Someone over at the The Boy Genius Report has happened upon an End Of Life document for Sprint, and amongst others, the Touch Diamond is listed for EOL in July!   There is no replacement for the Diamond mentioned, but that doesn’t mean a replacement is not in the works.  Lord knows, there are plenty of HTC devices Sprint could choose from!

The Motorola Q9c is mentioned as well (EOL in mid-June), and no replacement is mentioned for that model either.  The other WM device mentioned is the Palm Treo 800W, which is slated for EOL in April (with the Treo Pro slated to replace it in February).

That certainly is a short life span for the Diamond! 

Over at XDA-Developers, there is a CAB file that can add in-call recording function to the Touch Pro (and the Touch Diamond as well).  Here is the discussion thread. If you are interested in checking it out, I would highly recommend reading through it to learn of any potential issues.

One note: The version for the Diamond  requires the newer slide to answer phone dialer.  If your dialer looks like this:

Then you have the right dialer.  If not, you need to install that before you install the CAB file for recording calls.

As always, please follow the laws in your area regarding the recording of any phone conversations. Local, state, and federal laws apply and it may be illegal to record a call without the other party’s knowledge.

Source: PocketNow

Discuss it here.

Engadget got a hold of an internal training schedule that hints at the release date for the HTC Touch Diamond. According to the document, training for the Diamond must be done by December 3rd. Knowing that training must be completed prior to launch date, it can be safely assumed the VZW Diamond won’t be seen before December, but it just MIGHT be out in time for Christmas…

After much conjecture and speculation on a release date, Sprint has finally made an official announcement (timed perfectly to take place at the Fall CTIA in San Francisco) for the release of the Sprint Diamond and the Sprint Touch Pro.

The press release states “early September” for the Diamond (likely the 14th) and Oct 19th for the Touch Pro.  People are already placing pre-orders for the Diamond, including some members of Windows Mobile Louisville, so if you’re eager to see one before they are available in stores, mark your calendar for our Sept 23rd meeting!

Touch Diamond owners will know that the navi-wheel on the front of the device is capacitive, and can measure movement without actually rotating.  Like many HTC devices, it seems the Touch Diamond and Pro have hidden features, and pretty tasty ones indeed.  Using an application called Nav Debug Tool by HTC, this video (link below) shows not only is the navi-wheel capacitive, but that the whole front of the device can track finger movements, and even two fingers independently.

So far there is no known feature on the Touch Diamond/Pro that exploits this, but once the folks at xda-developers get their hands on the API, it won’t be long!

This also promises that even current generation devices with resistive screens will be able to take advantage of multi-touch features in WM7.

Video (via wmpoweruser.com)

Images of a red Sprint “Diamond” (or whatever they’ll call it) are floating around.  No confirmation if these are genuine or not…

I guess we’ll find out in  few weeks, won’t we?!  Sept 2 is the rumored release date.