HTC Touch Diamond2 review: Director’s cut

HTC Touch Diamond2 is next on our roll call of MWC debuts but this time it's less about the brand spanking novelty and more about balanced and sensible upgrades. People tend to have second thoughts about sequels but this one here is signed by HTC and may as well be the director's cut of a blockbuster.

It is only recently that Windows Mobile fans are receiving the treatment they deserve after years of undeserved exile. The WinMo devices are no longer stigmatized as ugly bricks with awkward handling and HTC are one of the main agents of this change. The HTC Touch Diamond was one of the most complete devices and its stand-out styling earned it well deserved popularity. 

   
HTC Touch Diamond2 official photos

We now welcome its successor, somewhat insipidly named HTC Touch Diamond2. Improving the functionality of the original Diamond, the Diamond2 comes with rather different design that is certain to raise some degree of discussion. But it's the performance that will make the difference between a mere Number 2 and a real gem.
Key features:
3.2" 65K-color WVGA display 
Latest TouchFLO 3D 
Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 Mhz CPU and 288 MB RAM 
Dedicated graphics chip (64MB RAM reserved for graphics) 
Quad-band GSM support 
3G with HSDPA 7.2Mbps and HSUPA 2Mbps 
Wi-Fi and built-in GPS receiver 
Stereo FM radio with RDS 
5 MP auto focus camera with excellent image quality 
microSD card slot 
Touch-sensitive zoom bar 
MS Office Mobile document editor 
Opera 9.5 web browser 
Standard miniUSB slot and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP 
Teeter game 
Great audio quality 
YouTube client 
Excellent video playback 
Main disadvantages:
Fingerprint nightmare 
Average sunlight legibility 
Questionable build quality 
No TV out port 
No standard 3.5mm audio jack 
No magnetic stylus 

The HTC Touch Diamond2 outdoes its predecessor with a larger and higher-res screen, a vastly superior camera and more RAM. The TouchFLO 3D UI has also been improved and now covers the underlying Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS from tip to toe. Sounds like a decent update with a keen eye on the competition too, which is getting stiffer by the day.