Bell intros HTC Touch Diamond with custom front-end
updated 11:50 am EDT, Fri October 31, 2008
HTC Touch Diamond at Bell
Bell Canada today opted for an unusual introduction of its version of the HTC Touch Diamond by announcing that its version of the Windows Mobile smartphone will have a custom interface. Nicknamed the Bell Experience, the software drops HTC's own TouchFLO front-end used on the Sprint and Telus versions in favor of an icon-driven interface that provides both mini panels with their own information (such as news and weather) as well as customizable shortcuts to different Windows Mobile features.
The interface should also appear on other Windows Mobile devices from Bell and doesn't eliminate other features of the Diamond's software, including its custom YouTube client as well as built-in Office editing. The phone is also a match to the Telus model in hardware and carries the same 3.2-megapixel camera, built-in 4GB of memory, GPS and Wi-Fi.
No pricing or release date has been revealed by Bell, though recent leaks point to a launch in early November. The company does confirm one of the rumor details and says it will preload the Diamond with 200 tracks from Warner Music artists and auto-create playlists of that music if customers opt into an unlimited subscription music feature known as the Full Track Service.
