If history is destined to repeat itself, it stands to reason that Alltel would be getting ready to follow Sprint down HTC's golden road yet again, does it not? This time around, of course, the devices in question would be the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro -- and we just so happen to have been presented with a shot of what appears to be an Alltel-branded Touch Pro doing its thing on a tastefully contemporary laminate surface somewhere. Word is that it'll launch "soon" after the Diamond does, making Verizon look all that much sillier that we haven't heard an official peep out of 'em. Can't be shown up by your new acquisition, can you, guys?

[Thanks, Brandon A.]

Update: More pictures have popped up, so this thing's definitely looking legit. 'Grats, Alltel subscribers -- it's like winning the lottery! Thanks, Mills!

It's always good news when some sort of Touch Pro garners approval from that lovable bureaucracy we call the FCC, but this one has an extra-special place in our hearts: we're pretty sure it's the Fuze. Digging a little deeper into the documentation for the HTC model with code "NM8RPLT" reveals that it's a Raphael, and it sports HSUPA 850 / 1900 -- and if that doesn't dovetail nicely with what we're expecting out of AT&T any day, week, month, or year now, we don't know what does. So tell us, FCC, how are AT&T's customizations to TouchFLO 3D? Tasteful? Annoying?

There's no doubt that both of HTC's forthcoming handsets (yeah, the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro) are coming to Sprint and Verizon. What we're still curious about, however, are the respective launch dates and the eventual names. phoneArena has it that the Touch Diamond will go by HTC Victor on Sprint and HTC Diamond on Verizon, with the former packing a slightly speedier CPU, an aluminum frame, accelerometer, 4GB of internal memory and EV-DO Rev. A support. As for Verizon's, expect it to boast half the RAM (128MB), a wimpier CPU, microSD expansion slot and a stainless steel frame. Moving on, we're told that the Touch Pro will be rechristined HTC Herman for Sprint and HTC Raphael (nice to re-meet you!) for The Network. Finally, we're clued in on a September 2nd release date for Sprint's Victor, while the Herman is expected a month later. As for Verizon? It'll probably be 30 or so days behind in both instances thanks to a presumed exclusivity agreement with its nemesis. Get all that?

Among the many ducks that Sprint (and Verizon?) will need to get in a row in order to launch their own version of HTC's Touch Pro, FCC certification ranks pretty freakin' high on the list. No worries, though -- it's all good, because that just happened. An HTC device with model number "RAPH800" has now popped up in the filing system, featuring CDMA with EV-DO on the 850 and 1900MHz bands. Of course, certification is certainly no indication of when a product's actually going to launch, but if (heaven forbid) the glossy QWERTY WinMo slider gets delayed, at least we can call out anyone trying to slide the "we're waiting on FCC clearance" excuse past us.

Smartphone shoppers with an inclination for Windows Mobile are about to be faced with a really serious problem later this year -- our favorite kind of problem, in fact. In the QWERTY arena, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and various incarnations of the HTC Raphael are setting up to go head-to-head in a battle royale (ironic, since both are made by HTC) that will pit VGA against WVGA, WinMo 6.1 with TouchFLO against WinMo 6.1 with Sony Ericsson's custom "panel" interface, and 7.2Mbps HSDPA against 7.2Mbps HSDPA. If that ain't an even fight, we don't know what is, and we think that it'll probably come down to carrier availability for a good number of folks that are hoping to score one on a contract discount. Anyway, the::unwired has unearthed a full spec sheet for the T-Mobile-branded version of the Raphael, the MDA Vario IV, and the hearty 256MB of RAM and 512MB of ROM are just two of the many line items worth drooling over. A little competition never hurt anyone, eh, Sony Ericsson?

Without much ado, the HTC Raphael, now called the T-Mobile MDA Vario IV in Europe, will hit streets sometime in Q2 2008. As for specs, we're looking at 158 grams, 300 minutes of talk time, 480x640 pixel screen, tri-band GSM, a 528MHz processor, 256MB on-board RAM, Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, FM radio, and a 3.2MP camera. Don't expect a stateside release -- at least in this incarnation -- given the tri-band action, so we'll continue to hold out for the Sprint version.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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]

Rumors of a so-called HTC Diamond have been circulating since last year, but it seems legitimate evidence is beginning to mount in favor of the firm actually releasing one. According to placeholders on the Bluetooth SIG's official website, HTC has a Diamond and Raphael "PDA Phone" queued for release in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Unfortunately, this database isn't nearly as telling as the one maintained by the FCC, so we're at a loss when it comes to specifications, pictures and practically anything worth noting. One thing's for sure, though: the wait for more details just got a lot shorter.

[Via Cellpassion]

Read - HTC Diamond
Read - HTC Raphael