[foxnews]

I am sure Instinct failed miserably to meet all ad/hype.
what about diamond? I've been using Diamond and here is my thoughts:
Overall, Diamond meet and exceed my expectation, which can be low due to Instinct disappointment.
Here is the list of key features with most importance listed first:
1) Phone: it works as a phone with all phone features. No complain

2) Signal: it is not better or worse than my samsung A920. sometime it is better, other time it is worse. No complain here

3) Battery: it drains fast due to all features. but it will improves after burn-in period. I don't have specific number but I have no complain.

4) Internet: this is the most important (beside basic phone) feature and HTC hit home run with its Opera browser. I tried a few full-blown sites and it worked great. YouTube is a plus and makes internet more user-friendly.

5) Tethering: it works! it works without installing any driver on PC. The speed I got from 600mbps to 1400mbps, depend on location/signal.

6) Mail: wow, what can I say? I like to check mail more often now since it is easy and convenient, any where and anytime (with signal of course). Overall, mail work great.

7) GPS: no comment since I did not use it yet. still waiting for ROM 2.


8 ) Media: Music and Photo works fine but not great and need improvement. hopefully ROM 2 will improve these areas.

9 ) Performance: Like any PC from Dell or HP, out of the box it is lagging with all sprint floating wares. However, with a few registry tweaks, some cleanup/removal, it works OK now. Moreover, once Juicy ROM is finalized, I am sure it will make Diamond a much better phone. can't wait for ROM 2. Like Dell/HP PC, formating and install clean OS is the best way to boost performance.

10) Customization: this is where Window Mobile excels. I can add/remove many available applications, edit registry, or flash new customized ROM. all of these tweak your Diamond specifically to your personal tastes.

11) Camera: though without flash, it is much better than my samsung A920. No complain here. the pic quality meet mys expectation of a smalll phone.

12) Form Factor: wow, it is small. it is smaller than my Samsung 920. Comparing to iphone or the new HTC Touch HD, it is much smaller. though with less usable screen size, it is very portable and fit into your pocket/purse nicely. plus, smaller screen size help battery last longer. though the red back is less desirable, front is stylish.

13) Buttons: Home, phone, back buttons work great and very usable. Initially I though the touch wheel is very litte of use and takes too much real estate. Why did HTC include this big wheel? why not like iphone or HTC Touch HD? However, after installing tweak, I can use touch wheel to navigate many things, not just web zoom, such as calendar, History, contacts, File/Internet Explorer. BIG PLUS: I can browse the web and zoom in/out with one hand and one finger. iphone needs two hands and two fingers for zooming. Overall, touch wheel is unique and has its advantages.

What do you think of your Diamond?