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