First look: HTC Touch Diamond gets a new ROM
by
Joel Evans posted on August 1, 2008 4:02 pm
I’ve written before about the HTC Touch Diamond a number of times. In my initial
review I pointed out a number of issues I was having with the device, including connectivity and general UI issues. HTC released an
official ROM that fixed a number of my biggest gripes, but a bunch still remained.
Earlier this week HTC provided me an updated ROM (1.93) for the HTC Touch Diamond. Does this latest ROM finally deliver the perfect mobile device? Read on.
Device sluggishness
While the previous ROM made the majority of the sluggishness disappear, this latest version allows the device to perform like it does in the commercials. There’s absolutely no delay between transitions in TouchFLO 3D, and touching the screen works the first time, every time. I even treated my son to an impromptu photo slideshow this morning–something I never would have tried before since he is only four and doesn’t have the patience for interface delays.
I’m also noticing that launching applications is among the fastest I’ve seen on a Windows Mobile device. I downloaded and then launched a 160 page Word document. It took about 10 seconds to fully load up, which is on par with how long it took my desktop to do the same. Navigating it once loaded is exactly as one would hope–fast!
Connectivity
Thankfully this latest ROM seems to still work really well with my Wi-Fi access point. Not only that but it did a great job of recognizing and connecting to my local Panera’s free Wi-Fi. It actually performed this feat faster than my iPhone does, even though I have 3G on the iPhone and don’t really need the Panera Wi-Fi for it anymore.
Speaking of 3G, the Touch Diamond still doesn’t do 3G in the United States but this latest ROM does enable the 850 MHZ GSM band, bringing it up to quad band spec.
Opera
I’m not sure if it’s just overall speed improvements but Opera is even faster now. I would say that it’s probably rendering some sites faster than Safari on the iPhone at this stage.
Interface for Weather
They fixed it! Gone is the pain of scrolling through tons of countries, where I inevitably hit the wrong one. Instead I can see my country right away or click on the appropriate letter on the right band. I still would like to just type in a zip code, but this new interface will do just fine.
In addition to the above fixes, HTC fixed the following in this latest ROM:
- Fixed no signal issue
- Fixed no action while touching navigator control in camera mode
- Fixed some files in internal storage which could not be listed
- Fixed SMS sound alert notification delay issue
- Improved audio quality after audio booster is enabled
- Turned off 5-second auto screen off function when screen is turned back on by pressing power key during a voice call. Screen off timeout will follow system power setting now.
NOT FIXED
Alert notifier / icon
There are still a couple of extra steps involved when you want to clear or see what a notifier is all about. It’s still working the same way, so be ready to either ignore the “new e-mail” icon, or go through multiple steps to clear it.
Overall, this ROM is delivering the HTC Touch Diamond the way it was meant to be enjoyed. The device finally performs as advertised, and in my tests works exactly like the promotional videos and commercials you have seen. The device is no longer sluggish and the interface is perfect for touching. Even the on-screen keyboard seems to be more responsive. I now think that the Diamond is a serious contender to the iPhone.
(viewable at
http://www.geek.com/first-look-htc-t...-rom-20080801/)