Diamonds are forever a review of HTC Touch Diamond

A couple of months ago I went to a press event in Stockholm and got the oppertunity to see the HTC Touch Diamond in the flesh. That was a great experience.  I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the device and post my full review. Now im ready:-)

I would like to start with thanking Charlotta Rickeby and Jonathan Stara at Spotlight pr here in Sweden.

An overview on what’s in the box:

• Touch Diamond
• Charger
• Headphones
• Screen protector

I would like to start with posting my impressions that I posted after beeing at the event combined with my impressions when I recieved the device:

Vow. Just like the first time I watched the Bond movie “Diamonds are forever” this one has completly amazed me.  Seeing games such as teeter with the builtin accellorometer is really fun and exciting.  Im not much of a gamer but i’ve to say that this game is really exciting.   Trying to avoid the holes in this game  to get to the green is really exciting. I wanted to record my won Youtube video of it but I found these amazing videos.  What do you think?

I’ve found this game to be really exciting. With all these levels who can really go through the whole levels? I’ve not been able to do it, but im trying and hope that I will soon be able to go through every level.  Another interesting feature that this device has is that when you withdraw the stylus from your device it will turn on. Is this not amazing or what?  I really enjoy beeing able to do this.

The VGA screen is really amazing.  Beeing able to do your work in the VGA resolution or read ebooks is really great and beeing able to read an ebook is really exciting.

It has one feature that i’ve yet to discover on another phone and that’s if somone is calling you and your sitting down and reading a book but you don’t want to hear the ringtone when you don’t want to answer the phone so what do you do? You simply flip the phone around and it goes into silent mode.

The unit itself:

It got an amazing VGA screen. It’s really exciting beeing able to watch a movie or reding an ebook (review coming on these two items coming soon) on this device.  I personally believe that HTC got everything right with this device. It really has everything you do want in one device. I really like it’s 3G reception, either when im using the phones reception or as an modem it really works great.  The problem i’ve been having is that the 900 Mah battery does not last too long when I use it all day. To often i’ve to recharge my device during the middle of the day, which is esepcially hard when you are at the university  and I can’t charge it wich menas that i’ve got a completly dead device.

I like the fact that the device got 4 GB of builtin memory.  I can use my device without any trouble at all.  I can put both my favourite music on the device and the GPS maps that I need.  This feels exactly like the type of memory that I need.

The back on this device is really nice.  It feels you are truly carrying a diamond in the palm of your hand.

You have a 3 megpixel camera on this device. It really works well. I can take pictures with this device without any trouble at all. I can take picturs at the lecture board with this device.

The software:

This device runs Windows Mobile 6.1. HTC have done some excellent additions on this device. One of these features are Teeter a game which I described earlier.  It’s an exciting yet hard game. I’ve yet to go through all of the levels.

Tough the most amazing feature of this device is Touch Flo 3D. A real upgrade from the previous version of Touch Flo 2D.  You have youtube acess, a more improved and fun version then the one we have on the iphone. They really offer an amazing feature.

The feature in Touch Flo 3D that I like the most is the fact that you can without any trouble switch pictures and have them auto rotate.  You can take pictures of your favourite moment in portrait mode and when you rotate your device to landscape it automatically switches it to landscape view.

Graphically it may be the most amazing today enchancements i’ve ever seen. It truly shows you how to fully use your device.  I’ve meet alot of people using the Touch Diamond and they have all been using TouchFlo 3D. When i’ve asked them why they have always said that it brings a new and improved set of features to your  device and makes it easier for them to use. This is what I personalyl believe that HTC has tried to do and I think that they have done it.

Conclusion: It’s an amazing device. The features and hardware of this one makes it an amazing device for me.

Where to buy: It usually runs for around 4995 SEK. I woudl recommend the reseller Dustin Home here in Sweden.

Open Office officially released this coming monday but you can get it today

I really like these news. One of my good friends Alex have recently  made me start using more Open Source software and compared to Office 2007 i’ve to say that using the previous versions of Office has really been a blast.  It’s fun beeing able to use software that’s not  always Microsoft software.   There is a linux and windows version availible for you.

Review Novatel Wireless MC990D

One of the devices that i’ve recently had the oppertunity to try is the MC990D from Novatel Wirelss.   Compared to it’s sibling the MC950D it has an interesting feature. It has memory slot availible and it’s SDHC compatible. Leat us take a look at the modem

Key featurees:

• Highspeed Wireless Data with Qualcomm Chipset MSM6290:
  Peak download speeds to 7.2 Mbps and upload speeds of 5.7 Mpbs for web surfing, email, VPNs, and more. Use in home, office, on the road - virtually anywhere for on the go mobility. Works in North America, Europe, Japan, and countries around the work in supported bands.
• Removable Memory: Hot-swappable removable memory via microSD™ (microSD cards sold separately); SD Association Compliant
• Supports Multiple Platforms: Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or Higher, Linux.
• Compact and Sleek Design: Just under three inches, Ovation’s glossy finish includes a vanishing LED system that displays connection status when powered.
• Feature-rich: NDIS support, intuitive MobiLink Lite software, zero-CD installation, low power consumption, accessories, lead-free, field-firmware upgradeable.

If you want more info you can find it over at Novatel Wireless website.

Installing the modem:

Compared to the other modems i’ve used before from Novatel Wireless the installation process has been a little skifffy. I didn’t have any problems at all using the modem with Vista, but when I tried to install it onto XP I had some issues. It took a while before the XP installtion on my Acer Aspire One wanted to recognize the modem. To make shure that it was not the installation that was acting up I removed the software and took out the MC950D and MC930D tried the installation process on both of them  on my Acer Aspire One and they both worked without any trouble.

Using the modem:

I’ve used it with both my  HP Pavillion Dv6275ea  and the Acer Aspire One and during the time i’ve used it i’ve found it to have a great connection and to be really reliable. Im impressed by the fact that everywhere I go I get an excellent HSPA  connection.  What im impressed with is the fact that when i’ve used it the connection has been really reliable, not once have I experienced a dipp in the conenction speed.

I’ve tried it with two different operators here in Sweden  both 3 from Hutchinson Whampoa and Telia Sonera , both of them has worked extremly  well for me and i’ve found out that they both worked extremly well for me.  Not a single dropp in speed when i’ve been using this modem. I really  like it.

The modem itself:

The modem is exactly the same shape as the the previous models such as the MC950D and the MC930D but it has a new and improved feature compared to the previous models. It has a slot for memory cards availible, i’ve used it with both an 8 GB micro SD from Kingston and Sandisk and it read both of them without any trouble. It’s really great beeing able to have that extra 8 GB flashdrive with you just like that.

Now you have the option of using a lanyard with this modem. I have to say that I really like this feature because it allows you too easy carry your modem with you. You can if you want to have it hanging around your neck.

Conclusion: It’s a great modem and definatly has interesting features.   When you are using it I can’t recommend it enough.

Where to buy: More info and resellers can be found at Novatel Wireless website.

Firefox Mobile to be released next week:

I found this over at Modaco who found it over at Gizmodo.  It’s going to be an excitign time having Skyfire, Opera and Firfex competing for the same market.  I agree with Paul that unless we see any  real changes in the next version of Internet Explorer we can’t really count it in.

Apple Announces MacBook Event For October 14

I spotted these news over at Gizmodo, Apple is supposed to have an Macbook event on the 14:th of October, which i’ve found to be really cool.  A new casing on the Macbook is really cool.  I know that my sister is looking forward to the new Macbooks coming out soon.  Apple im really looking forward to this event. Where is my invite?:D

Thoughts on my new HP IPAQ 910

The main problem I had with my previous HP IPAQ 910 was that it was not charging above 50 percent. Either when I had it with the Mini USB cable or the Mini USB charger. During the time i’ve used this 910 i’ve realised that it’s a completly different device.  First off all it charges above 50 percent:-) Overall it feels much zippier then the previous HP IPAQ 910, the features in this unit is works better then the old unit did.  It’s much more stable then what the old unit ever has been for me.  I don’t know but perhaps the old problems I had could be related to the fact that the old unit I had was marked as a prototype.  Something that I feelt with the old unit was that the call quality was good but what impresses me with the new unit is that the call quality is much better then the unit I had before.

The unit is really stable and what I like is the fact that before I had to reset the unit several times a day but I don’t have to do that any more. It’s a much more improved and impressive unit.

The battery latch is much better then the one I previously used. It’s more sturdier and stays in place all the itme without any trouble at all.

Another thing i’ve noticed is that the quality on the casing is much more improved then the unit I had before. It’s a completly different device then the one I had before.  It feels so much better in the palm of my hand.

Overall it feels like a much more improved unit hten the one I had before.  The features and the quality is much better then the one I previously had the oppertunity to try.  The stylus on this device much better hten the one i’ve had used before.

I’ve not had any overall complaints with it before but i’ve to say that the quality on this device is much better then the one I used before. It feels like another device.

Colorware your blackjack 2

I found these news to be especially interesting, you can now colorware your Samsung Blackjack 2.  Amazing combinations. If one only had the cash for the Blackjack 2 and the colorware.. .

Check it out over at Colorware.

Touch Screen Mac OS X on a GigaByte M912

This one is really cool. I found it over at jkkmobile.  They are running Mac OSX touch screen on the Gigabyte M912.  It works fine with the hack. Perhaps this is a sign that it will come a tablet from Apple some time soon.

The podcaster app for the Iphone

This is a really cool application for the iphone and the touch. An pdocaster app that allows you to download pdocasts directly.  Check it out and leat us know what you think.

Ouch for the US

Spotted this over at Just Another Mobile Monday no HTC Touch HD for the US.  It’s not going to be  a fun year for them considering all the goodies that this device carries with it.