camera

A sharp camera is increasingly regarded as a staple feature of a good all-around smartphone, and HTC doesn't disappoint with a 3.2-megapixel sensor replacing the two-megapixel unit of before. If nothing else, this improves the quality of downscaled shots and assists in cropping images without losing detail. HTC also has a thoughtful autofocus feature that gives it a clear edge over the iPhone and other less photo-capable handsets, although there is little control over the choice of which subject is put into focus.

To call it a complete visual upgrade would be misleading, however. At full size, it's still very apparent that HTC is using strictly average cellphone hardware and lenses: images have relatively washed-out colors and the distinctive hazy, smeared look that comes from a plastic lens. The "purple fringing" that comes from a small, very curved lens is similarly on show. Any of Nokia's 3.2-megapixel or sharper Nseries smartphones will typically serve more serious phone photographers much more capably than the Diamond, particularly given the quicker access to the camera and more advanced image settings.

wrapping up

If compared in isolation to 2007's Touch, the Touch Diamond would be a resounding success; outside of accessible storage and the questionable directional pad, it represents an upgrade in virtually every category. The Diamond is the first Touch phone, if not the first Windows Mobile phone anywhere, that can be recommended as a substantial music phone.

Taken out of that vacuum, it starts to falter. No user should have to constantly rethink the interface from screen to screen, and in a few cases HTC complicates matters more than it helps. Some of the blame for this can be lain at Microsoft's feet: Windows Mobile just isn't well-suited to non-business touchscreen use, and HTC can't change this short of redesigning the operating system itself.

Versus the iPhone, the Diamond also appears to be a somewhat misplaced effort. HTC understood that a smartphone for the masses has to have a visually uncluttered interface, an attractive hardware design, a true web browser and a good media player. What it lacks is the cohesion and integration that makes the iPhone hum. Beyond the inconsistent interface, the hardware isn't sure whether it wants to be a media phone or a business phone; it has a home user's aesthetic, but most of the storage and port limitations of a corporate device. There's also no equivalent to iTunes to give real control over media, contacts, and other data all from a single app, even if Missing Sync and similar apps come close.

That isn't to say the Touch Diamond is a sub-par phone; if expectations are set ahead of time, it can work particularly well. It's nonetheless not the jack-of-all-trades HTC wants it to be. That role may be left to the upcoming Touch Pro, which supplies a full keyboard -- and less dependence on the touchscreen for more serious tasks.

by Jon Fingas