The HTC Touch Diamond cell phone comes in many different versions. The newly released HTC Touch Diamond from Verizon has benefited from several revisions and has evolved into a pretty smart touch phone. We took an in-depth look into the Diamond that Verizon and HTC hope will be the gem of their cell phone line up.

As shown in Figure 1, the Diamond comes in a nondescript cardboard box.

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Figure 1: The box.

Inside the box (shown in Figure2) is the Touch Diamond phone with battery, an AC adapter, a USB Sync Cable, the audio adapter, and two software discs, one “Getting Started” disk and one VZ Access Manager CD. Also included is an 18-page Quick Start Guide, a 64-page Tips, Hints, and Shortcuts guide, and a foldable “Read First” poster. This documentation has clear graphics that describe the device, battery install and charging, and instructions on using the phone, synchronizing information, as well as personalizing and otherwise using the phone. This combination of instructional guides provides some of the most useful and complete documentation that we have seen with a cell phone.

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Figure 2: What’s in the box.

As shown in Figure 3, the HTC Touch Diamond at 4.17” x 2.04” x 0.71” (10.6 cm x 5.2 cm x 1.8 cm) is a compact device. Because it is narrower than some others, like the iPhone, it is easier to hold in your hand. At 4.94 ounces (140 grams) with the battery, it has enough heft to feel substantial while not being too heavy. The all-black, shiny case is sleek and good-looking, but prone to pick up smudges and fingerprints. HTC decided to keep the boxy squared-off corners rather than giving the Diamond the rounded look that is found in some other phone. However, the back of the phone is slightly smaller than the front, so the slanted sides soften the boxy look and give the phone a nice feel in the hand.

The Diamond has a 2.8” TFT-LCD with a 480x640 VGA resolution. The screen is crisp and clear and very responsive to the touch.

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Figure 3: The HTC Touch Diamond from Verizon.