LisaG
Head Honcho
Reged: 07/11/02
Posts: 7887
Loc: Texas
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It looks like Best Buy got their stock of unlocked US HTC Touch Diamond phones in a bit earlier than the originally listed end of September/beginning of October. They now list the US unlocked GSM Touch Diamond with HSDPA as in stock and shipping in 1 day when ordered from their web site. Here's their Diamond page . They sell it for $699 (no contract required since it's unlocked and unsubsidized).
It doesn't look like any of the stores have gotten stock yet, for those of you who want to stroll over to the nearest bricks and mortal outlet to take a gander before buying. Shouldn't be too long now though.
Our review of the US 3G Diamond is here: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/US-3G-HTC-Touch-Diamond.htm .
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Lisa Gade
Editor in Chief, MobileTechReview
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angelicman
member
Reged: 08/01/08
Posts: 24
Loc: California
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I wonder how well Best Buy will sell the phone at $699. That could be the reason why Best Buy already offers the phone now. Soon AT&T will offer its version of Samsung Omnia, and people could get it at subsidized prize. What do you think?
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LisaG
Head Honcho
Reged: 07/11/02
Posts: 7887
Loc: Texas
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AT&T still hasn't announced the Omnia, so it's really hard to speculate. The Samsung i907 that has been mentioned in a supposed AT&T document leak via Boy Genius Report *might* be the Omnia-- but looking at the i907 FCC documents that have been available on the FCC web site for a few months, the i907 doesn't look like the Omnia. It looks more like the Samsung i780 (WinMO Pro version of the BlackJack).
Best Buy rarely has very good prices for their unlocked phones. Folks buy from them for 4 reasons: convenience, easy return policy, Best Buy financing and Best Buy's extended warranty option. The phone's barely been out a week and other online retailers are selling it for less.
A lot has happened in Diamond-land since 1) the first Euro model came out with its software flaws and 2) we reviewed the Omnia. The US versions of the Diamond are really neck and neck with the Omnia (assuming a US 3G Omnia). I think it comes down to personal taste relating to device size preference, screen size preference, whether you need a card slot and etc. Some folks really value a small device, others can't live without a card slot-- you get the idea. In terms of software customizations, I'd say that the Omnia's widget desktop is really fun but is less useful than TouchFLO 3D unless Samsung opens up widgets to 3rd party developers or add a host more themselves.
Here are some pro-con items (again, assuming we see a US 3G Omnia):
Diamond pro:
VGA display
TouchFLO 3D has more real world functionality
smaller
more cool/attractive looking
Diamond con:
no microSD card slot
landscape mode not supported in all apps (unless you install a hack)
Omnia pro:
Even better camera, though the image quality between the two isn't that different. Camera is faster to focus though.
More built-in storage
microSD card slot
Omnia con:
Lower resolution display (though the large size is nice)
Larger and heavier
USB drive mode flaky with Mac OS X
Widgets are cool, but of limited use, esp. for those who need their calendar and tasks items on the today screen.
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Lisa Gade
Editor in Chief, MobileTechReview
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LisaG
Head Honcho
Reged: 07/11/02
Posts: 7887
Loc: Texas
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Thanks to Bob, who tipped us that at least one of his local Best Buy stores has the Diamond in stock. They had 2 in stock at his store, now 1 since he nabbed one  .
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Lisa Gade
Editor in Chief, MobileTechReview
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