iPhone 3G or HTC Touch Diamond?

[MightyJordan]

Right, I'm in a big dilemma about what phone to get!

I've been interested in the iPhone ever since it came out, but the price has always stopped me from getting one. I'm really keen on an iPhone 3G, but the price is still a bit steep for me, and god knows what it will cost on Pay As You Go.

I'm also really keen on the HTC Touch Diamond as an iPhone alternative. It's got a better camera than the iPhone (3.2MP over 2MP), and it runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, which is also a plus for me.

Here's what I've got on the two phones so far:

iPhone 3G

Pros

• Very good looking
  
• Interface is really smooth and quick
  
• It's got a good amount of storage
  
• It'll probably end up costing me less in the long run on a contract compared to PAYG
  
• Possible integration with Nike+!
  
• 8GB of storage
  
• It's also an iPod...
  

Cons

• ... but I don't think I'd use the iPod function much, as all the controls are touchscreen, so it'll be a bit conspicious getting it out to change tracks.
  
• You have to use iTunes to sync it up, which is a pain is the arse!
  
• It's only on O2, so it's gonna take some time to sort out all my contacts, unless I can get a PAC code and transfer my number on PAYG
  
• Contract prices are still on the high side
  
• The PAYG prices are on the high side as well! ?300 for the 8GB, ?360 for the 16GB, and you have to pay ?10 a month for unlimited internet?! WTF?! It's got Wi-Fi!
  

HTC Touch Diamond

Pros/b>

• Cheaper than the iPhone. I can get it for ?400 sim-free on Play.com! Better still, I can get it in store at Phones4U for ?350!!!
  
• Better camera than the iPhone
  
• Runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
  
• Comes with Pocket Office, which may be very useful for me!
  
• TouchFLO 3D interface looks really nice!
  
• Expandable memory slot, which the iPhone doesn't have
  
• Looks very good overallConss
  
  • [/s]rike>
  From what I can see, there's no 3G on it.rike>
  

I seem to be veering towards the iPhone, despite the higher price. I'd like to hear impressions from you guys about these phones if you've used them.

BTW, no need to worry about iTunes if I get the iPhone. I've got used to it now. It's definately improved over time.

Edited July 15, 2008 by MightyJordan

[Eagle101]

HTC Touch Diamond

Pros

[*]Runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

How the hell can "Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro" be a PRO on a phone? You just can't compare Windows vs. Mac Os X on the phone. iPhone is steps and miles and kilometers ahead of any other phone. Believe me on this.

-Eagle101

[MightyJordan]

Well, I'm used to Windows, so it'd be nice to have it on my phone as well. I am a bit of a n00b at mobile OSes though, so please don't bite my head off! :D

Hang on, is this seriously what Windows Mobile 6 looks like?!

:x

If it does, I'm gonna have to agree with you, Eagle.

[crazzyyfool]

If you've look at the videos online of the HTC you will see the interface is slow/jerky.

Apple didn't spend 5 years developing the iPhone interface for nothing. Don't forget that iPhone also has the App Store available.

[BobSlob]

Uhh... Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro as a Pro is valid, the sheer amount of applications and customization far outweigh what you can do with the Iphone.

[MightyJordan]

If you've look at the videos online of the HTC you will see the interface is slow/jerky.

Apple didn't spend 5 years developing the iPhone interface for nothing. Don't forget that iPhone also has the App Store available.

5 years?! :o I didn't know it was that long! I thought they just rushed it out after rumours were going about Microsoft were gonna make a "Zune phone".

I'll take a look at some videos later on tonight. I'm at college, so YouTube is filtered. :( If you can find me a few videos of it outside of YouTube, I'd really appreciate it! :)

Uhh... Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro as a Pro is valid, the sheer amount of applications and customization far outweigh what you can do with the Iphone.

True, but Windows Mobile has been out for years. It's probably easier to customise on WM. I know that Apple took ages to get the iPhone SDK out. It didn't come out until February, so it's still early days for the iPhone.

EDIT: I've crossed out the Office Mobile pro, as from screenshots, it looks uglier than the screen I showed earlier of WM6! :x Plus, I don't really think now that it's a vital feature. If I have to do a Word document or an Excel spreadsheet, I do it at home on the computer. No need for it on the phone, as it'll take ages to do. You'd be better off writing it down! :D

[General Disarray]

the HTC touch diamond does have full 3g and hsdpa support (in europe only afaik) - i am in the UK and it works great

the HTC touch flow isn't as fast as the iphone however there is a massive amount of apps etc for windows mobile. I like wmwifirouter which turns your phone into a wireless router for laptops etc using your 3g/hsdpa

[MightyJordan]

the HTC touch diamond does have full 3g and hsdpa support (in europe only afaik) - i am in the UK and it works great

Thanks for clearing that up for me. ;) I didn't see anything about it on Wikipedia or on HTC's site.

Sorry, can someone explain to me in n00b terms what the benefits are of 3G over 2G, besides the fact you can download TV clips onto your mobile (which I'll probably never do). I know it's also faster for internet, but both phones have Wi-Fi, so that's even faster than 3G!

EDIT: Wait, can you give me a rough estimate on what the talk time is in 3G for the HTC? On Wikipedia, it says talk time is 5.5 hours, but has no mention of 3G in it, so I'm under the assumption that it's 5.5 hours talk time in 2G, which if it is, will be pathetic, as the iPhone 3G will last for 10 hours in 2G.

[nmesisca]

The iPhone's OS is a consumer OS, beautiful eye candy sure, but doesnt play well (so far) with Corporate environment.

Windows Mobile 6.x Pro is more for the business oriented people, the IT pros and Corporate people.

Also developing with .NET CF is quite easy and has most common points with .NET development on desktop machines.

When Apple will let me install what I want, whenever I want on the iPhone then its going to be somewhat interesting for me. So far WinMo has demonstrated to be as ugly estetically as is flexible productivity-wise.

[General Disarray]

well with windows mobile (dont know about iphone) you can share the connection with a computer using a usb cable, bluetooth or the aforementioned wmwifirouter. So when you dont have wifi access you still have decent internet access( i get 50kbs-400kbs depending where i am)

if wifi was available you would use it, if its not you still have internet access (it will be expensive unless you buy something like "unlimited" usage package from three for ?5 a month)

[Nick Sheldon]

Right, I'm in a big dilemma about what phone to get!

I've been interested in the iPhone ever since it came out, but the price has always stopped me from getting one. I'm really keen on an iPhone 3G, but the price is still a bit steep for me, and god knows what it will cost on Pay As You Go.

I'm also really keen on the HTC Touch Diamond as an iPhone alternative. It's got a better camera than the iPhone (3.2MP over 2MP), and it runs on Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, which is also a plus for me.

Here's what I've got on the two phones so far:

iPhone 3G

Pros

• Very good looking
  
• Interface is really smooth and quick
  
• It's got a good amount of storage
  
• It'll probably end up costing me less in the long run on a contract compared to PAYG
  
• Possible integration with Nike+!
  
• 8GB of storage
  
• It's also an iPod...
  

Cons

• ... but I don't think I'd use the iPod function much, as all the controls are touchscreen, so it'll be a bit conspicious getting it out to change tracks.
  
• It's only on O2, so it's gonna take some time to sort out all my contacts, unless I can get a PAC code and transfer my number on PAYG
  
• Contract prices are still on the high side
  

HTC Touch Diamond

Pros

• Cheaper than the iPhone. I can get it for ?400 sim-free on Play.com!
  
• Better camera than the iPhone
• 
  
• TouchFLO 3D interface looks really nice!
  
• Looks good from the front...
  

Cons>

• ... but not from the back.
  
• A paltry 4GB of internal storage compared to the iPhone's 8GB, and no expandable memory slot.
• 
  

I seem to be veering towards the iPhone, despite the higher price. I'd like to hear impressions from you guys about these phones if you've used them.

BTW, no need to worry about iTunes if I get the iPhone. I've got used to it now. It's definately improved over time.

I would go for the HTC Diamond.

It DOES have 3G, which is a major plus point.

# Camera: 3.15 MP, 2048x1536 pixels, autofocus, video

# secondary VGA videocall camera

# Built-in GPS with A-GPS

# MP3 Player

# Stereo FM radio with RDS

# Ringtones Type: Polyphonic (40 channels), MP3, WAV, WMA# 3G: HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps>

# GPRS: Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps

# EDGE: Class 10, 236.8 kbps

# WLAN: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g

# OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional

# Browser: WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML

# Messaging: SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging

# Bluetooth: Yes, v2.0 with A2DP

# USB: Yes, miniUSB

# 4 GB internal memory

# 192 MB DDR SDRAM, 256 MB ROM

# Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 Mhz processor

# Dimensions: 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm

# Weight: 110 grams

# Stand-by: Up to 285 hours

# Talk time: Up to 5 hours 30 min

# Pocket Office(Word, Excel, Outlook, PDF viewer)

# Java MIDP 2.0

# Voice memo

[MightyJordan]

The iPhone's OS is a consumer OS, beautiful eye candy sure, but doesnt play well (so far) with Corporate environment.

Windows Mobile 6.x Pro is more for the business oriented people, the IT pros and Corporate people.

That's swinged me more towards the iPhone then, as I'm not looking for a business-orientated phone. I'm only a college student! :D

if wifi was available you would use it, if its not you still have internet access (it will be expensive unless you buy something like "unlimited" usage package from three for ?5 a month)

The drawback with that is if I get it, it'll be sim-free and unlocked, so I'd be using my Orange PAYG sim, and I know from my experience in accidentally using the internet on a non-WiFi phone, it costs a bloody fortune!

I would go for the HTC Diamond.

It DOES have 3G, which is a major plus point.

So does the iPhone 3G, hence the name.

I crossed out the non-3G con anyway, as someone corrected me on that front earlier.;))

[General Disarray]

The drawback with that is if I get it, it'll be sim-free and unlocked, so I'd be using my Orange PAYG sim, and I know from my experience in accidentally using the internet on a non-WiFi phone, it costs a bloody fortune!

most sell a package for PAYG wireless, if you are looking to use it heavily i would choose three or t-mobile as orange seem to price data transfer pretty heavily and their network is way behind those two

oh and dont even think about using mobile internet on o2 payg :p

[MightyJordan]

Looks like I'm gonna end up getting the iPhone 3G. And this is coming from a Windows fanboy! :D

[MMaster23]

Ok cleanup time...

Windows Mobile is a pro or a con .. depending on how much of a Apple fanboy/Microsoft basher you are when looking at it.

I find nothing wrong with it and HTC does a real good job making the UI / interactions even better. You can finger scroll and everything using TouchFlo technology.

Another mistake ... the diamond has the best 3G connection in the world: 7.2 mbit/s HSDPA. If your contract supports it (which I doubt) you'll totally kick iphones ass with it.

The back .. meh I also didn't like it at first but it has got some flair to it. Just fyi .. there is a SKU out there with a normal/straight backside.

TouchFlo3D being slow and jaggy was only on pre-release models used in some reviews. Normal retail models have a newer software version which is blazing fast and has little to no slowdown.

Also if you buy the HTC version, you get access to special HTC club which allows you to download latest software and update whenever new versions are out..

5.5 talk time is on a 3G connection which is about the same as iPhone 3G (5 hours) .. disable the 3G band/switch back to 2/2.5G band and life will go up (just as it does on iPhone 3G)

Also .. Diamond has a new TouchFlo3D interface. Look at the videos at www.htc.com for more info. It really looks sexy and you'll barely notice you're on WinMo.

I like the iPhone 3G and may be picking one up .. so don't judge me as a WinMo fanboy :)

Currently a HTC Touch Dual user (up for sale if you want it ;))

ps. oh and it has Wifi in case you're wondering... check out HTC.com for full listing. You also get really advanced stuff like copy-paste and such ;)

Some people find a Bluetooth stereo audio a must...

[Emil Valsson]

I'll be getting a HTC Touch Pro this fall.

I'ts unfortunate to see people drooling over the iPhone which allows Apple to behave like they behave regarding rules and obligations where people need to sign a contract to get one.

[ambushed]

I've also been thinking about the touch diamond after reading people going on about it as an "iphone killer" (god i hate things being labeled as x killers) so i did some research into it and wasnt as impressed as i expected to be. As a media player (which isn't important to some but im hoping that by the time i plan on upgrading my phone around december that a 32gb version will be available to allow a bit of convergence since im also soon in the market for a new media player) the iphone seems to kick it to the curb. the diamond has 4gb built in with no expansion options, an apparently ordinary music player, and the complete deal breaker for this use - no 3.5mm headphone jack.

It's got a higher mp camera but for me the point is moot as it's still no substitute for a dedicated "happy snaps" consumer camera for the fact it has no flash if nothing else. The iphone still takes quite good photos and 2mp is just fine for phone/pc viewing so not a problem if you're not going not be printing them.

Read many places saying the interface, while good looking is laggy.

Screen doesnt allow multitouch and feels a little small for a touch controlled device. A shame since i think some of the real estate on it is wasted and could have been used for a bigger screen.

Unimpressive battery life.

Ive been seeing some pretty impressive apps for the iphone and im hoping after release and in the coming months things will come out that will be just as compelling as anything available on WM.

Overall it's got a couple of advantages over the iphone i havent mentioned but most arent that important to me. The pros of the iphone for me far outweigh the negatives compared to the diamond.

[MightyJordan]

Thanks for the info, ambushed! ;) I didn't know the HTC lacked a 3.5mm jack. I agree, that is a really big setback for me, as I'll probably end up using the iPhone as my MP3 player as well. Depends if the battery life for music is better than the Zune's though. If it is, I'll sell the Zune as soon as I get an iPhone. The battery life for my Zune has died down a bit since I first got it. It was 14 hours originally. Now, it feels more like about 8 or 9. :(

[StandingInAlley]

HTC Diamond has 2.5mm Jack

[Unto Darkness]

I would say, iPhone.

The HTC tends to be laggy at times, probably because Windows need a bit more processing power and RAM. [This however does not make Windows Mobile inferior to Mac OS X.] Trust me, it will be a huge problem once you get the HTC....

[kl33per]

I personally have been longing for the HTC Touch Diamond for quite a while now. Alas, it is not better than my current phone (HTC P3600i) by a large enough degree to warrant purchasing it. That being said, there is no function on the iPhone that the Touch Diamond won't (and a few that the touch diamond will do, but the iPhone won't). Obviously, the trade off is slickness, and whilst I admit the iPhone has a slick interface, I'm happy to trade a little bit form for some function.

[HSoft]

I'm currently in exactly the same situation. iPhone 3G or Touch Pro (Touch diamond with the keyboard).

The Touch Pro does have a micro SD card slot allowing for up to 16Gb of extra storage capacity.

There are two huge drawbacks for me with regards to the iPhone. It doesn't have MMS (HTC does) and you cannot have seperate contacts lists (If you sync with an Exchange server you lose all your personal contacts. You cannot have both). Again the HTC allows this.

Pluses for me are that I need a phone badly and the iPhone is now available whilst the HTC won't make it over here to the USA until around October if not later. I like the screen size of the iPhone compared to the Touch (I think I read somewhere it's 40% larger).

The HTC as has been mentioned has a tonne of applications for it as it's WM Pro 6.1 but with the SDK now available for the iPhone I'm assuming there will be a lot of applications released for it shortly as well.

I'm still weighing my options but at the moment I'm leaning towards waiting on the HTC Touch Pro and getting that one.

[MightyJordan]

The HTC tends to be laggy at times, probably because Windows need a bit more processing power and RAM.

You're right there. It needs a lot more than the iPhone OS. The iPhone has a 620 MHz ARM 1176 CPU, underclocked to 412 MHz, and the Diamond has a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A.

[hjf288]

HTC is only laggy because of the touch flo interface... turn it off and your rocking :p

[MMaster23]

You're right there. It needs a lot more than the iPhone OS. The iPhone has a 620 MHz ARM 1176 CPU, underclocked to 412 MHz, and the Diamond has a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM7201A.

not true because:

- the iphone uses a dedicated 3D chip (integrated with CPU) to render it's UI natively on this chip. Windows Mobile does not. The current GUI engine of WinMo uses the cpu to render. The HTC Touch Diamond is one of the first WinMo's to slightly use a 3D chip (also in CPU) to render PARTS of it's GUI. The main GUI of WinMo is still software render. Call this crappy WinMo if you like however Apple had it easy. When they made their first OS for mobile devices, they had the availibility of 3D acc. chips. WinMo didn't. You can't just rewrite your entire GUI engine/OS. Microsoft is rewriting it's engine for Windows Mobile 7 which should feature native 3D chip acc. support. WinMo 7 is due end this year.

Again: Apple has it easy as they are late to the game / had a clean sheet to work on.

- The HTC Touch Diamond being slow and slugging isn't true. The first reviews said theirs was sluggy and they were true. However the retail models on the shops have a newer software version installed which run great and aren't slow at all. The updates are also availible for free on the HTC club website.

(iPhone1 had the same problems however a few minor tweaks in form of updates via iTunes fixed most of the problems. HTC does the same thing... Just not as hip and in-your-face as Apple does. Nor is it covered on every blog like the iPhone updates)

Conclusion .. the HTC Touch Diamond is not slow or sluggish. The phone makes use of it's native 3D chip to render the TouchFlo3D UI. Updates fix problems (wow, really?)...

ps. Some american reviewers also bash the Touch Diamond for not running on 3G speeds and give a lower rating becuase of the poor reception. However the first models are made for EU and Asian regions only. HTC released new world-wide (including USA) versions of the Diamond last month. Also the american reviewers are retards for not knowing this. Later reviews from european reviewers say the 7.2mbit/s HSPDA connection is great, repection is normal/good and voice quality is ok/good