Ah -- we'd know that backside anywhere. If you were super-duper stoked about the forthcoming HTC Touch Diamond, you might want to sit down. Apparently, High Tech Computer Corp. has already sent this beauty over to the FCC, where a room is currently filled with men in white coats meticulously judging the above label placement. Regardless, this might bode well for a US release of the company's latest and greatest... don't you think? While you ponder that brainteaser, feel free to truck over to the FCC's site and get all the information you could possibly want about the Diamond's RF exposure.

We had a little thumb-print orgy with the new HTC Touch Diamond immediately following its launch. Light and small, the Touch Diamond comes off as a unit with promise. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a while to get our hands on this via a US carrier, but Orange users in the UK will no doubt be pretty happy with this new handset, the first of its kind to use Windows Mobile 6.1.

Check out the gallery below, complete with comments and interface walk-through. A couple vids after the break, too!

We've got some hands-on shots and impressions with the newly announced HTC Touch Diamond that we'll be sharing with you shortly, but here are some official press shots to whet your appetite. Tell it to us one more time, HTC. VGA? You really do love us.

If you absolutely, positively haven't seen enough of HTC's newest iteration of its Advantage, the X7510, then boy do we have a treat for you. After the break, you'll find a charming video of one of these odd devices being unboxed. Sure, it looks pretty cool, but we're still trying to figure out just exactly what someone would be using this thing for. We're open to hearing your thoughts on the matter -- maybe you can convince us to make a purchase.

[Via Pocket PC Thoughts]

We know HTC's got a big announcement coming this Tuesday, and while we can't say for sure it's going to the Touch Diamond, if today's leaked images and specs are at all accurate we think they might have something big on their hands. Check it out:

• 2.8-inch VGA display
• WinMo 6.1 Pro
• WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0
• eGPS, FM tuner
• Quad-band HSDPA 7.2
• 4GB internal flash, microSD slot
• 528MHz CPU
• 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus
• 10.7mm (0.47-inches) thick
• Supposedly also features an orientation sensor / accelerometer
  

Whether it's got a QWERTY keyboard could still be up for grabs, especially since that configuration might belong to the CDMA-based Raphael. Still, the it makes sense HTC wouldn't want the XPERIA X1 they made for Sony Ericsson to be their best engineered device on the market for long. We'll be watching this one closely.

[Thanks, Kevin]

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in one of those meetings once in a while where product names get hammered out. Seriously, what possessed Movistar to latch on to "Touch Find" for this one? Was HTC's own name, Touch Cruise, not good enough for 'em? Or heck, how about the Xda Orbit 2 (pictured) moniker used by Movistar's own O2 subsidiary? Alas, yeah, the latest rumor here is that the Touch Cruise will be christened Touch Find for Movistar's networks, featuring 3.6Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, and a 3 megapixel cam. We don't know for certain whether the Touch Find will adopt the O2's same pebble-esque case or the Touch Cruise's harder lines, but it certainly seems like it'd make more sense to be consistent within the company ranks and go Xda Orbit 2-style. Then again, the name change itself doesn't seem to make much sense, so who knows?

[Via Unwired View]

As we hurl headlong toward HTC's May 6 date with destiny, the Diamond is looking more and more like the headlining act for the unveiling -- but what's it gonna look like when they turn it on? Screen shots of a purported Diamond have turned up on Chinese site PDAFans, and if they turn out to be legit, the answer is "pretty much like any other Windows Mobile 6.1 device." One of the Diamond's alleged claims to fame is a revamped TouchFLO interface, though we're not really seeing a heck of a lot of that here; just a whole lotta plain-vanilla WinMo that has us thinking that this is either fake or an early prototype with an particularly barren build loaded. Doesn't really matter how hot the hardware ends up being -- unless HTC manages to impress with the software visuals, we suspect there are going to be a lot of disappointed people when this one starts shipping.

[Via PDAPhoneHome, thanks Joseph G.]

We already knew it was coming, now HTC has seemingly confirmed that its Diamond handset will be announced next month presumably at the May 6th event. The wording of the Taipei Times article (which we assume was translated from Chinese) leaves HTC's comments open to interpretation. Speaking to a group of investors, HTC's financial executive Cheng Hui-ming, said that revenues will grow by 20% this year thanks to the launch of a new Touch phone next month. Referring to the HTC Diamond by name, he then calls the device "the most important product for HTC this year." Interesting considering that HTC is widely expected to launch the first Android handset -- dubbed Dream -- before the end of the year. Regardless, the 3G Diamond with Windows Mobile 6.1 running beneath a large, glossy, VGA touchscreen display with WiFi and 3 megapixel camera is certainly going to attract a lot interest from us and our wallets.

Make us proud, Alltel! The number five carrier's really been going all-out as of late, doing an impressive job of keeping its offerings in line with the big boys -- and in some cases, outdoing 'em with hot exclusives like the Glimmer. Once again, they've gotten the jump on their larger, heavier competition by becoming the first carrier to release a firmware upgrade for the Vogue (the Alltel Touch, in this case) that ups the radio to EV-DO Rev. A speeds. Speedy uploads aside, the upgrade includes some Bluetooth fixes and adds the ability to receive video messages. Sprint, Verizon -- your move.

[Via phoneArena]

No one really knows whether HTC's May 6 gathering will usher in the age of Android (our guess is still "no"), but let's look a little beyond that, shall we? We've just laid eyes on a handful of documents detailing HTC's efforts to ready the Diamond and Raphael models -- already known to be valid HTC codenames -- for Sprint later this year, and things are definitely looking up in the post-Touch world. The Diamond turns out to be the successor to that very device, lacking a physical keyboard and relying almost exclusively on a large, glossy touchscreen for user input; the Raphael meanwhile (pictured) features a full QWERTY deal and is destined to replace the Mogul. The paperwork's pretty blurry, but it appears that both Windows Mobile devices will feature WiFi, 3 megapixel cameras, and -- get this -- VGA displays. Goodness! The Raphael is currently lined up to be the first out of the gate, hitting the streets in September if everything goes well, with the Diamond following on in November. Surprised that these devices are CDMA-based and Sprint bound? Us too, we admit -- but we'd be shocked if there weren't GSM twins of both of these hotties getting cooked in the lab at the same time.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Marketing its wares straight to consumers is old hat for HTC in the Old World, but stateside? Not so much. That's not to say the HTC name is a total unknown in North America; there's been the odd Advantage here and Shift there, but by and large, we yanks know the Taiwanese firm better for its relatively anonymous efforts in the likes of the AT&T Tilt, Verizon XV6900, Sprint Touch, and countless other carrier-branded devices. That's about to change, though, with a full-court press of TV, print, outdoor, and online advertising targeted squarely at the US market launching this week. The company's first ad in the campaign is posted to YouTube -- no new products here, sadly, but it's an encouraging sign to see that one of the world's most prolific ODMs and smartphone manufacturers now thinks that the American market is mature enough to be dealt with directly. The announcement of the US-spec Touch Dual was a good start, and now, we look forward to seeing a whole heck of a lot more where that came from. Check the first commercial after the break.

Why wait for the Dream when you can get Android all up in your HTC piece today? Numerous efforts over on xda-developers have yielded a high success rate in getting Google's still-young platform working (although the definition of "working" can vary from device to device) on a variety of recent and popular HTC models, so if you dig your hardware but you're ready to give Windows Mobile the boot -- and you like to live on the bleeding edge between functionality and brickage -- give it a shot. Drop us a line if you have a port to add to the list!

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Kaiser
Read - Vogue, Neon
Read - Polaris

Apparently, HTC is having a little trouble keeping people with cameras out of its offices, as evidenced by this totally great spy shot of a what appears to be a bunch of (or two) new phones. We're familiar with quite of few of these devices, like the TyTn II, Touch Cruise, and Touch you see in the upper row, but things get a little stickier down below. Save for that P3470 that's second from left, we have no clue what those slick looking square numbers are. The far left model and the far right might be the same device, but its hard to tell. It also looks like all the devices in this picture are using Windows Mobile, but we're holding out hope that maybe the model on the far right boots Android... and soon.

[Via IntoMobile]

Update: So we figure that one of the two on the right is likely the MDA compact IV for T-Mobile, although that still doesn't explain the generous QWERTY board depicted over there on the left. Can't you just feel the excitement building? Thanks, Marios!

Okay, so we know of at least two HTC devices codenamed "Neon" that the friendly bureaucrats up in the FCC have been forced to go through with a fine-tooth comb. Now we have a third -- the descriptively-named NEON300 -- and this might be the money version. As we've pointed out before, the Neon series appears to represent a line of Touches with different guts for different carriers and locales, and the NEON300 possesses something that's music to the ears of the yanks in the audience: HSDPA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. Along with the recently-announced US Touch Dual, this should be quite a gem in, say, AT&T's lineup -- and with Sprint and Verizon both rocking the same device, can they really afford to turn the other cheek?

Update: Pictures of the unit being poked and prodded can be found deep within the test documentation, and sadly, it turns out this is nothing more than the US Touch Dual after all. But come on HTC, seriously, you know you want to make a straight-up Touch with North American HSDPA, too. Thanks, uofmrapper1!

Wouldn't you know it? Just as promised, that strikingly white XV6900 has landed on Verizon Wireless' website and can be snapped up now by those in need. The pain? $249.99 on contract after all applicable rebates -- oh, and knowing the Touch Dual is heading Stateside later this quarter.