HTC Touch Diamond CDMA Specs Prices Pros & Cons Unveiled

Design and Build Quality

The HTC Touch Diamond CDMA was marked by its distinctive design that stood out among other smartphones during its release in 2008. The device featured dimensions of 102 x 53 x 15 mm and weighed approximately 115 g, making it relatively compact and lightweight. Its angular design, with a glossy black finish, was aimed at delivering a sense of sophistication and elegance. The front of the device housed a 2.8-inch TFT resistive touchscreen which supported 65K colors, offering a screen resolution of 480 x 640 pixels. This provided a pixel density of around 286 ppi, ensuring clear and crisp visual output.

Display Properties

The 2.8-inch display was specifically distinguished for its resistive touchscreen technology, which was quite common during the era. Although resistive touchscreens were not as responsive as the modern capacitive screens, they allowed for accurate input even with styluses or gloved hands, facilitating usability in various environments. The screen's resolution was impressive for its time, providing a detailed visual experience suitable for web browsing and consuming multimedia content on the go.

Performance and Software

Under the hood, the HTC Touch Diamond CDMA was powered by a Qualcomm MSM7501A chipset, featuring a 528 MHz ARM 11 CPU accompanied by an Adreno 130 GPU. This hardware configuration provided decent performance for the applications compatible with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, the device's pre-installed operating system. The OS was well-regarded for its business-oriented capabilities, allowing users to manage emails, appointments, and documents effectively.

The device offered 4GB of internal storage and 288MB RAM, with no option for expandable storage, which was one of its limitations. Users had to manage their files and applications judiciously due to the restricted storage capacity. However, for the business-oriented tasks it was mainly used for, this amount of storage was adequate.

Camera and Multimedia

The HTC Touch Diamond CDMA featured a single 3.15 MP main camera, equipped with autofocus capability, allowing users to capture decent quality images for personal and professional use. While it fell short of boasting the capabilities of more modern smartphone cameras, it was quite functional for the basic photography needs of its time. Video recording was possible, providing additional multimedia capabilities to the users.

An important note is the lack of a front-facing selfie camera, which reflects the focus of devices during this period towards other functionalities rather than just imaging. Multimedia access was complemented by the phone's audio capabilities, though there was no 3.5mm headphone jack, which necessitated the use of a miniUSB or wireless options through Bluetooth 2.0.

Connectivity and Network Capabilities

The device supported CDMA/EVDO technology, operating on 2G bands CDMA 800/1900 and 3G bands CDMA2000 1xEV-DO. This provided relatively fast data speeds of EV-DO Rev.A up to 3.1 Mbps, enabling efficient web browsing and data management. It was equipped with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g for wireless internet access and Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP for connectivity with other devices. GPS and A-GPS capabilities allowed for location-based services and navigation, enhancing the device's utility for users on the move.

Battery Life

The device came with a removable Li-Ion 1340 mAh battery, which was standard in smartphones of that era. It supported standby time of up to 350 hours and a talk time of approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes, which was modest compared to modern expectations but adequate for the time. An extended battery option of 1800 mAh was also available, giving users more flexibility in terms of power management for increased usage demands.

Sensors and Additional Features

The HTC Touch Diamond CDMA incorporated useful sensors like the accelerometer and proximity sensor, which enhanced the user interface experience by enabling functionalities like automatic screen orientation adjustment and efficient call handling. The device supported browsing through WAP 2.0/xHTML and HTML, catering to the mobile web needs of its users back in 2008.

Conclusion

The HTC Touch Diamond CDMA was a testament to the innovative spirit of HTC during its release period, showcasing a blend of stylish design, functional capabilities, and business-oriented software. While it might appear limited by today's standards, it served as a reliable smartphone solution for many users who valued the combination of productivity and aesthetic. Its contribution to the evolution of mobile technology remains noteworthy, as it bridged the gap between traditional PDA devices and the modern smartphone era.