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HTC releases Touch Diamond ROM upgrade
Aug. 11, 2008

HTC has released a ROM upgrade intended to enhance the performance of its Windows Mobile 6.1-based Touch Diamond phone. The upgrade reportedly adds the 850MHz band to the device's GSM capabilities, improves the performance of its "TouchFLO 3D" user interface, and provides faster web browsing.

(Click here for a larger view of HTC's Touch Diamond)

HTC posted the ROM upgrade for the Touch Diamond on its web site last week, but did not provide any specific information about its benefits, other than to say the new ROM will provide "the best possible mobile experience." But the new ROM has now been downloaded and tested by Microsoft Enterprise Mobile Solution Specialist Jason Langridge, who blogged about its benefits.

According to Langridge, who is well-known for his Windows Mobile and phone testing expertise, the ROM upgrade provides the following:
  • Adds the 850MHz band to the device's GSM capabilities
  • Improves the performance of the "TouchFLO 3D" user interface
  • Updates the bundled Opera Mobile 9.5 browser to provide faster loading of web sites
  • Adds a "random access" bar in the Weather application to allow quicker selection of a desired city and country
A forum posting on the "XDA Developers" adds that the ROM upgrade may also improve audio quality, speed up the alert sound meant to be triggered by new SMS messages, and improve the manner in which Windows Explorer lists files stored internally on the device. But, warns Langridge, the upgrade is only meant to be applied to Touch Diamond phones marketed by HTC directly -- not those supplied by carriers such as T-Mobile and Orange.

Background

First introduced in May, the HTC Touch Diamond includes an "enhanced, more finger-friendly" version of the company's distinctive animated 3D "TouchFLO" user interface. The Touch Diamond also sports a diamond-faceted case, 2.8-inch VGA-resolution touchscreen, three-megapixel camera, GPS, FM radio, and 4GB of storage.


The thin Touch Diamond has a diamond-faceted case

The original HTC Touch garnered extensive publicity because of TouchFLO, which sugar-coated the standard Windows Mobile applications with a finger-friendly front end. "TouchFLO 3D" is touted as a "great leap forward" in touch screen innovation, offering "animated access" to contacts, messages, photos, music, and weather. In addition, the phone is said to switch automatically from portrait to landscape orientations, thanks to signals received from a built-in accelerometer.

Previously, TouchFLO ran only skin-deep, but with the release of the Touch Diamond, HTC also modified a key application as well. A customized version of Opera Mobile 9.5 allows zooming in and out of web pages by touching the screen or using the scroll wheel. HTC has also included a video application claimed to offer "the best YouTube experience on any device." In addition, the HTC Weather program is said to provide a constant view of weather "at home and abroad."

Before the new ROM upgrade, the Touch Diamond was said to offer three-band (900/1800, 1900MHz) GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, plus 900/1200MHz HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access). Other wireless interfaces include not only GPS and FM radio receivers, but also Bluetooth 2.0 and 802.11b/g local area networking.

Further information

To read Jason Langridge's comments on the HTC Touch Diamond ROM upgrade, visit his blog, here. To read a forum posting on "XDA Developers" with claimed further details of the upgrade, see here.

To obtain the HTC Touch Diamond ROM upgrade, see the HTC website, here.



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