HTC Launches Latest iPhone Competitor

[nagromme]

But this is the typical way tech works. Apple has the best phone because of the software, but it lacks royally on the hardware side. HTC has the hardware, but it's running Windows Mobile.

Actually, this phone isn't out yet--and neither is the iPhone 2. Neither HTC nor Apple "has the hardware".... yet

 

[Eraserhead]

Diamond (280) vs iPhone's of 160.
2.8 inch screen, full VGA - 480 x 640 - (iPhone 3.5 inch 320 x 480)

So the diamond isn't widescreen? Meaning it won't be good for movies.

Also I'd rather have a larger screen than smaller pixels when I have to be about 10cm away from the iPhone to see the pixels anyway.

Then they start talking about how such and such SDK will make this and that better, even though it's not out yet.

Apple fans are guilty of the same things.

That's true.

 

[JitteryJimmy]

Apple does exactly this far too often and people applaud it. Then they start talking about how such and such SDK will make this and that better, even though it's not out yet.

Well, at least _I_ am using the new SDK. But you're right - only organizations with iPhone application developers have their hands on it. Hopefully 2.0 will be released soon, so that we can release our exciting and (hopefully) compelling new product.

 

[Van Wildonher]

What's with all of these people talking about iPhone killer? There is and won't be such a thing for quite some time. HTC makes some good phones, and Windows Mobile isn't THAT bad especially with Touchflo, and now this looks even more promising in the UI department.

But, Apple is still Apple and they already made their mark in the phone industry. I would assume they will keep it going, and that most all of the features in this phone will be on the 3G iPhone. In fact I won't be surprised if the iPhone comes out with better features.

Apple already found out the hard way that their iPhone won't cut it in other places than the US. iPhone 1 was just a test. I think they will be stepping up with max specs this go round.

 

[OS X Dude]

Is the Diamond Flash capable?

Yeah, as Windows Mobile has, or will have, Java Lite - which Mr. Jobs dismissed for the iPhone/Touch... the fag!

Only 4GB Memory?

Oh dear Not really feasible as a music/vid player then.... and those apps for WM will take up space, plus the OS, plus formatting.

Ouch!

 

[/dev/toaster]

*if* Apple doesn't release a 3G iPhone this year, my options wouldn't include any device running Windows Mobile.

I would *only* consider running Android as a replacement to the iPhone.

HTC is very smart by dumping IE in favor of Opera, I have a feeling you will see this as a new trend for devices using Windows Mobile.

 

[Digital Skunk]

Actually, this phone isn't out yet--and neither is the iPhone 2. Neither HTC nor Apple "has the hardware".... yet

I know, but HTC makes other phones and devices. They have some PDAs that make full fledged laptops look like toys.

I will admit that Touch FLO was a joke when I got my hands on the Touch a while back. It really only worked with Sprint features, but there has been user groups for it for months that had programmed their own version of Touch FLO that allow you to customize it, and added more than 3 sides.

The only thing that chokes the phone up is WM, which is killing HTC's hardware.

In fact I won't be surprised if the iPhone comes out with better features.

Apple already found out the hard way that their iPhone won't cut it in other places than the US. iPhone 1 was just a test. I think they will be stepping up with max specs this go round.

I think the iPhone didn't quite cut it in the US either. And I am remembering what features were supposed to be in the iPhone at launch but haven't made it there yet unless you jail break it. I have a feeling that Apple won't spend the time to produce those features, and give it up to the 3rd party devos to do so.

I am expecting a 3G iPhone that does the same things the current one does, nothing more nothing less. Then the App Store will open and flood us with software that is begging to be on the iPhone.

The Diamond is nice now that I have looked at it, but I think HTC should have made it about as big as the current Touch and Touch knock offs, or just as big as the iPhone.

 

[/dev/toaster]

What's with all of these people talking about iPhone killer? There is and won't be such a thing for quite some time. HTC makes some good phones, and Windows Mobile isn't THAT bad especially with Touchflo, and now this looks even more promising in the UI department.

But, Apple is still Apple and they already made their mark in the phone industry. I would assume they will keep it going, and that most all of the features in this phone will be on the 3G iPhone. In fact I won't be surprised if the iPhone comes out with better features.

Apple already found out the hard way that their iPhone won't cut it in other places than the US. iPhone 1 was just a test. I think they will be stepping up with max specs this go round.

I had a Windows Mobile phone once ... for about a month before I got rid of it. The only phone I found that was more unstable was the Palm Treo 700p. We have a few people in our office using Windows Mobile phones, and they crash non-stop. Even with replacement hardware, or different phones they act the same.

Now, I am not all Windows Mobile phones are that bad. However, based on my experience I have seen lots and lots of problems with them.

 

[iMikeT]

Wow this looks like a brand new device made for mid-2006.

 

[ruinfx]

*if* Apple doesn't release a 3G iPhone this year, my options wouldn't include any device running Windows Mobile.

I would *only* consider running Android as a replacement to the iPhone.

HTC is very smart by dumping IE in favor of Opera, I have a feeling you will see this as a new trend for devices using Windows Mobile.

HTC said the Android phones are coming later this year. I am really looking forward to the HTC Raphael (next gen TyTn) possibly being an Android phone. It pretty much takes the Diamond and adds a slide out QWERTY + MicroSD.

 

[TMay]

watched the videos

The functionality seems comparable, but the interactivity just isn't there, and that is what the bulk of a good UI is about. The higher res screen isn't a big deal for most people as our eyesight isn't good enough to resolve those extra pixels anyway.

Bottom line. Apple doesn't have to worry about HTC drinking any of Apple's milkshake.

 

[Shasterball]

Competition = good.

 

[/dev/toaster]

HTC said the Android phones are coming later this year. I am really looking forward to the HTC Raphael (next gen TyTn) possibly being an Android phone. It pretty much takes the Diamond and adds a slide out QWERTY + MicroSD.

Ya, I heard the same thing. Its another very smart move for HTC.

After Android is released, $5 says the number of Windows Mobile devices released is cut in half or more.

Android, RIM, and Apple are going to be the top dogs in the Mobile device market come next year. Microsoft is, pretty much done on that market. They are really living in the past.

 

[gloss]

not to mention that this device caps out at a total of only 4GB!!!! Ummmm...that means if you want a movie at a decent resolution for that phone to be on there you will most likely use the entire phones memory! For one movie!

Only 4GB Memory?

Oh dear Not really feasible as a music/vid player then.... and those apps for WM will take up space, plus the OS, plus formatting.

Ouch!

Micro SD slot. It's expandable.

 

[/dev/toaster]

The functionality seems comparable, but the interactivity just isn't there, and that is what the bulk of a good UI is about. The higher res screen isn't a big deal for most people as our eyesight isn't good enough to resolve those extra pixels anyway.

Bottom line. Apple doesn't have to worry about HTC drinking any of Apple's milkshake.

Until Android ... I really think Android is going to do well. Its going to capture the people who want more out of their smart phone, but don't want an iPhone (for whatever reason).

Competition = good.

I TOTALLY agree

 

[Digital Skunk]

....

I somewhat agree with you. WM works sometimes, but I have to say it's the one thing that destroys good hardware. The Treo is a wonderful phone that I would choose over an iPhone if I needed professional productivity. Unfortunately it either runs the far outdated Palm OS, or the far unstable WM6.

When it's running Palm, it's stable and fast, but no one likes looking into a phone that has a UI reminiscent of the Palm V that came out almost 7 years ago or more.

Wow this looks like a brand new device made for mid-2006.

Much like the iPhone was missing features that had been in phones since 2005? Or that missing feature, what was it? Um... Oh yeah...! Copy and paste?

Everything has its flaws.

Bottom line. Apple doesn't have to worry about HTC drinking any of Apple's milkshake.

Or the kool-aid. I think Apple has a lot to worry about. When you have an Apple product, like the MBP, you tend to forget about the tech/features it's missing that others have, like BRD, and 3G/Broadband.

Those that don't buy them for their own reasons usually have good reasons, and I think the competition is going to milk Apple hard on that side of the fence. If the iPhone 2.0 is missing the same features that the current iPhone is missing then I see a lot of people picking up a competitor's phone. There are a lot of people doing that now.

Not to mention those that just genuinely aren't happy with the iPhone for God knows what reason. I think Apple has a lot to worry about, and I hope they handle it accordingly, instead of telling the market what it wants.

 

[ruinfx]

Micro SD slot. It's expandable.

no MicroSD on the Diamond.

 

[deathshrub]

So not only do we have to hear about iPhone "rumors" constantly, now we have to hear about product launches that have absolutely nothing to do with Apple?

..

 

[Zwhaler]

Why do people vote negative? Competition is good, it will push Apple to make a better iPhone for us.

 

[phasornc]

Looking Better...

This would do OTA sync with MeetingMaker's Notify Link. iPhone won't. However Windows Mobile is slow. I have a BlackJack II and had a Motorola Q9 for a while. WinMo is just slow, there's no getting around this, and HTC's Tilt has been been a constant focus of slowness complaints. While this looks like a nice hack I'd really like to see how it all fits together. I mean I have pictures for about 2 of my 200 contacts, how is that gonna work? Will the media player still only play when it's in the foreground? Will I have to repair with my bluetooth headphones nearly everytime? Can I default 'My Music' and My Picture to the memory card so I don't have to navigate to them which takes "forever". Well you get the idea MS focuses on getting every corporate calendar company to sync with them, and Windows Mobile phones tend to do that very well. You would think building a decent media player and having "snappiness" would be the easy part. May WinMo 7, which actually looks pretty cool, will finally get it right . . . whenever it get's released.

 

[Digital Skunk]

.....

I agree. I had many of those issues when I first got my WM phone. Although I fixed many of them with 3rd party software which right now is the only good thing about WM6, the plethora of software available to fix it's many problems.

 

[gloss]

no MicroSD on the Diamond.

Oh, wow. I whiffed that one. Sorry.

*goes and quietly sits in the corner*

 

[/dev/toaster]

I somewhat agree with you. WM works sometimes, but I have to say it's the one thing that destroys good hardware. The Treo is a wonderful phone that I would choose over an iPhone if I needed professional productivity. Unfortunately it either runs the far outdated Palm OS, or the far unstable WM6.

When it's running Palm, it's stable and fast, but no one likes looking into a phone that has a UI reminiscent of the Palm V that came out almost 7 years ago or more.

The Palm 700p that I had was running Palm OS and words can not explain how unstable and slow it was. During my 1 year contract with Verizon, I had replaced the phone 7 times. By that point, Verizon knew I was pissed and offered me a free phone of my choice. I declined due to the iPhones impending release.

Keep in mind, they sent me a replacement before I sent mine back. I wasn't getting the same phone again or something.

I had a long list of issues with that phone. I had to perform a hard reset on it at least once every 2 weeks. It would get in a state where it would no longer function, or get into reboot loops.

When the phone was working correctly, it had a long delay between switching applications. I am talking over 25 second delay. From what I read, it was due to an ultra low amount of system memory the device had, so it had to swap out each time ... which was very expensive on the system.

Palm is dumping Palm OS for a reason, but they aren't going to gain much switching to Windows Mobile. Maybe if they switched to Android they would have a chance

 

[sparks9]

I dont care about this...

Why is this on MacRumors?

 

[Bad Ash]

I dont care about this...

Why is this on MacRumors?

It was in the iPhone forums but a mod must have moved it. If you don't care... why post in here... or even better READ the title then decide you have no interest. Have a nice day.