Diamond -- Engadget Mobile

Nokia's stunning E71 gets diamond-clad makeover

by Darren Murph posted May 26th 2009 @ 1:24AM

Nokia's E71 looks perfectly elegant in its Espoo-sourced attire, but there's nothing that can't be made more gorgeous / gaudy with diamonds. Enter Continental Mobiles, which makes its ends by shoving all sorts of glitz and glam onto handsets and charging a ridiculous price. The phone you see above is doused with an undisclosed amount of VS1 quality diamonds, and thus, it'll run you a staggering £5,999 ($9,546). 'Course, it is hand-crafted in England, but you'll have to provide your own bodyguard when taking it to the streets.

[Thanks, Sierra]

HTC Touch Diamond2 gets unboxed, shown off on video

by Nilay Patel posted Apr 15th 2009 @ 2:09PM

We haven't heard much about the appearance of the HTC Touch Diamond2 on US shores apart from a few AT&T-related whispers, but the squared-off handset is starting to pop up overseas, and the requisite unboxings and video tours have started flooding in. Sadly, these early units are still running Windows Mobile 6.1, so beauty's only skin deep -- or at least as deep as TouchFlo2 3D. Hardware video after the break, but there's plenty more at the read links.

Read - Windows Phone Mix
Read - Tracy and Matt

Continue reading HTC Touch Diamond2 gets unboxed, shown off on video

Touch Diamond XV6950 finally hitting Verizon next month?

by Darren Murph posted Mar 7th 2009 @ 12:12PM

It's sort of baffling that Verizon Wireless has yet to launch HTC's now aged Touch Diamond, and honestly, we're not even sure that late is better than never in this scenario. While Sprint has had the thing out for a good while now, Big Red has been lallygagging around while staring aimlessly at those spectacular BlackBerry Storm sales figures. Now, phoneArena has it that the XV6950 could finally be arriving on the carrier's airwaves next month, and while it has yet to be confirmed, we're hearing that it shouldn't vary from the Sprint edition in terms of specs -- something that conflicts with information we heard about a century ago. At any rate, we'd ask you to just be patient here, but chances are you're already over this thing, anyway.

Amosu hands-on: pink, pricey, and plenty of diamonds

by Sean Cooper posted Feb 17th 2009 @ 2:23PM

While scavenging for pricey handsets to hang on the gilded walls at the Mansion, we luckily bumped into one Alexander Amosu, of Amosu fame. The Amosu brand is synonymous with gold, encrusted and dripping with gemstones, and most of all, pricey. In his bag of tricks we found three fully-kitted BlackBerry Bolds, a pink iPhone, and an iced Motorola Aura. If you lined them up on a table -- which, of course, we did -- you'd be looking at some 12 plus carats and a price tag somewhere up around 50k. Sure, we're normally harsh on these types of things, but seeing them up close, we could almost kinda get it. Huge sparkling gallery after the break, so if you have shades, now's the time to don them.

Gallery: Amosu hands-on: pink, pricey, and plenty of diamonds

Nokia's 8800 gets more bling, more expensive, more ugly

by Tim Stevens posted Jan 29th 2009 @ 8:31AM

How do you improve on a phone that's already been diamond-studded, layered in carbon fiber, and then dipped in gold? Why, you add more diamonds and some hints of gratuitous platinum, of course. Meet the Nokia Royal Edition, an 8800 that succeeds its predecessors in terms of pretentiousness -- but not necessarily in looks. It has 1160 wee diamonds around the edges and platinum plates on the fore and aft, all surrounding the same internals as those other, plebeian fashionphones. Only 50 of these will be sold at an undisclosed price that surely is equally excessive.

[Thanks, Robin]

Cellular South hosts HTC Touch Diamond for $199.99

by Darren Murph posted Dec 4th 2008 @ 4:38PM

Last we heard from Cellular South, it was making waves by offering to pay early termination charges in order to hook new subscribers. Now, it's trying to lure even more paying customers in with the launch of the HTC Touch Diamond. The carrier, which serves much of Mississippi and portions of surrounding states, is now offering the touchscreen-based handset for $199.99 on a 2-year agreement, or if you're not really down with a data plan, it'll cost you a stiff $449.99. We're also told that a few new service plans have emerged, with family plans starting at $50 and packing in 700 to 1,400 nationwide minutes along with unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling with other CS users. Also of note, the Total Unlimited plan includes unlimited talk, text, mobile web and email for $80 / $100 per month for featurephones / smartphones.

[Via phonescoop]

HTC Touch Diamond pops official on Alltel's site

by Darren Murph posted Nov 14th 2008 @ 6:05PM

The long, agonizing wait for Alltel to come clean with this gem is over. Starting today, subscribers can phone up the carrier with questions about the Touch Diamond and receive a response other than "Whatcha talkin' 'bout Willis?" 'Course, it's no shock whatsoever to see this Windows Mobile 6.1-based handset surface on the soon-to-be-Verizon's network, but those who've been waiting patiently will be utterly stoked to know that you can now plop down $249.99 (after all rebates and a 2-year agreement) in order to take one home.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

$131k Softbank 823SH Tiffany handset sells out in three days

by Darren Murph posted Nov 10th 2008 @ 12:21AM

Recession? What recession? While many in this world are grumbling about a so-called weakened economy, at least eight individuals aren't hurtin' at all. Or, at least they aren't acting like it. The (very) limited edition Softbank 823SH Tiffany, which was offered up for ¥13 million, has sold out in just three days, proving once again that there is simply nothing too expensive for at least some folks to buy.

[Via textually]

Softbank 823SH Tiffany: 537 diamonds for $131k

by Darren Murph posted Nov 1st 2008 @ 6:37PM

Make no mistake, this whole "economic crisis" deal isn't affecting everyone, and we've all ideas the limited run of this here handset will be claimed in no time flat. Via a partnership between Japan's Softbank Mobile and New York's Tiffany & Co, just ten of the Softbank 823SH Tiffany mobiles will be made available for those with the requisite cash. Aside from making / receiving calls, this obscenely luxurious device will boast 537 diamonds representing a total weight of 18.34 carats. The pain? Just ¥13 million, or slightly north of $131,000. Say, wonder if they'll throw in a car charger if you buy two?

[Thanks, Marko]

White HTC Touch Diamond spotted in the wild

by Darren Murph posted Oct 24th 2008 @ 8:57PM

It's an HTC Touch Diamond. And it's white. Must be a white HTC Touch Diamond! Right on cue, HTC's lavishly colored Touch Diamond has surfaced in the wild, and reportedly, it'll be on sale soon in the Netherlands (among other places). We're also directed to an interesting "Pimp My Diamond" website, which will seemingly enable any Touch Diamond owner to snap on a new shell to fit their mood. Wait, does that mean the white one isn't so special anymore? For shame...

[Via coolsmartphone]

Read - White Touch Diamond in the wild
Read - Pimp My Diamond website

Verizon training schedule hints at BlackBerry Storm / Touch Diamond release dates

by Darren Murph posted Sep 26th 2008 @ 12:22PM

Let's do a quick recap, shall we? So we pretty much know everything there is to know about Verizon's forthcoming BlackBerry Storm save for the price and release date, and so far as we can tell, Verizon's version of the Touch Diamond is still expected to be totally underpowered compared to Sprint's iteration. Now that we've rounded the tables, let's have a look at this image above. This here is Verizon's internal training schedule, and given that employees have to complete their Storm courses before November 2nd and their Touch Diamond courses before December 3rd, we'd say you now have a pretty good idea of when these two will be landing. Hey VZW -- think you could make that "Blocking Features Assessment" available to the public? We're guessing it'd be a real hit.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

HTC's Touch Diamond coming in white

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 16th 2008 @ 10:15AM

If you're jazzed about the Touch Diamond, but have a thing for albino devices, a Danish site may have unearthed just what you're looking for. According to HTC-User, the company will be introducing a white version of their popular touchscreen device come October. ~~We can't say for sure if this intel is pure gold or a pile of festering garbage~~, but if the pics we see (just renders right now) and the retail order page the site is linking to are any indication, this magic will be a reality sooner or later. That's a good thing, too -- you don't want Apple cornering the market on white and black touchscreen phones, right? Check out one more huge picture after the break.

Update: Engadget Spanish has confirmed that these are -- in fact -- the real deal, and will be headed to store shelves come October.

[Via Engadget Spanish, HTC-User; Thanks, Jesper]

Continue reading HTC's Touch Diamond coming in white

Hands-on with Sprint's Touch Diamond

by Sean Cooper posted Sep 10th 2008 @ 3:07PM

You know you love it, new Windows Mobile -- even new carrier is good enough for us -- hardware always gets us all thrilled and chirpy. Sprint's really blown it open today with the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro announcements, so to honor them we got our hands on the Touch diamond. We like this set, Sprint's version in red -- a well chosen, soft and kind red -- is no exception and while a bit husky, we expect it's going to be well accepted and will be finding its way into many pockets come September 14th. Sadly, the Touch Pro was absent at CTIA, but we'll do our best to dig it up before the show closes out. Enjoy the pics.

Gallery: Hands-on with Sprint's Touch Diamond

Leaked Sprint roadmap reveals Touch Pro, Touch Diamond dates and pricing

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 31st 2008 @ 1:31PM

From the looks of it, Sprint has gone and gotten a decent chunk of its playbook leaked all over the interblogs, and it's chock-full of titillating information. Thanks to slippery fingers and loose lips, we already knew that the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro were headed to the carrier, but now we have some solid dates (mid-September for the Diamond, October 19th for the Pro), and pricing ($549.99 and $579.99 unsubsidized, $249.99 and $320 with contract). Of course, this is all according to the above document, which admittedly could be the work of an extremely bored Photoshopper -- but this jibes pretty tightly with a lot of other chatter we've been hearing.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Diamond-clad iPhone 3G arrives, no one at all surprised

by Darren Murph posted Aug 26th 2008 @ 5:07PM

Given that just about every high-end handset on the market has a diamond-encrusted cousin out there somewhere, it was only a matter of time before Apple's latest got its own stupidly expensive sibling. Knalihs Anthem is offering up 50 iPhone 3Gs with over 475 diamonds weighing 3.75 carats in total. Each mobile will be bundled with all the appropriate paperwork certifying the gems, and while the first ten units will go for a cool $10,000 apiece, the other 40 will be priced in due time. So, any guesses as to whether pricing shoots up or down?

[Via Luxury Launches, thanks Yogesh]