At this point, neither the HTC Touch Diamond nor the Samsung i900 Omnia need any introduction, but we're happy to announce that these two have stepped into the squared circle and faced off in an epic nine-page battle. Reviewers manhandled both phones for an extended time and broke down the UI, hardware, features and overall usability, so if that sounds like something you'd be interested in, cover your face and head on down to the read link. We're warning you though, it gets ugly.

[Thanks, Chavdar]

Right, so it's not like we didn't know a CDMA version of HTC's hotly anticipated Touch Diamond was headed to Sprint, but who can honestly argue with in the wild photos proving that said assumption is true? What we have here is a bona fide Diamond in Sprint garb, although eagle-eyed readers will likely notice the mildly tweaked TouchFLO interface (which reeks of Bold there at the bottom, no?). At any rate, you can peek one more (blurry, of course) image of this bugger in the read link.

Anyone remotely familiar with the HTC or Sprint Touch will feel right at home with Verizon's version, the XV6900. The XV6900 isn't content to just fall in line and play "me too," though -- Big Red decided to go with a blindingly glossy white finish, bucking the soft-touch black used as a staple of the Touch line, and that could be a boon or a bust depending on who you are and how you intend to use the device.

The tenets of HTC's TouchFLO interface are totally preserved from the other Touches we know and love, and thankfully, Verizon went easy with the application of bright red to the UI elements. Physically, the XV6900 is just ever-so-slightly larger than its GSM cousin -- not enough for the average person to ever notice in the course of regular use -- and the addition of 3G data is more than enough to make up for that slight difference as far as we're concerned. One thing that struck us was how much better the XV6900's display was over the original's; the overwhelming improvement in contrast is pretty striking, although to be fair, we would've never noticed had we not had them side by side. Check out the full gallery below.

Hey, Vogue users -- jealous of your Mogul toting friends, are you? Put all that angst aside, as an official Sprint firmware update has just been loosed that adds Windows Mobile 6.1 among other things. Not much else to say beyond that, and besides, shouldn't you have that download started already?

[Via phoneArena]

Update: Whoa there, just a word of warning -- Sprint has reached out to us to let us know that this is actually not an official update, and it "does not support unauthorized or beta software updates for its devices." xda-developers often does good work, but just be careful with this one and make sure you understand that Sprint won't be bailing you out if you get yourself up a creek with this one!

As the dust settles on the iPhone 3G / WWDC blowout, we've sifted through the debris and discovered a few eyebrow-raising tidbits you might be interested to know. The first of which is news that the next firmware update (2.0) could be headed to devices as early as June 27th, at least according to Apple's Australian iPod touch features page, which touts the arrival of the app store later this month. Meanwhile, Apple's cash cow won't get those OTA iTunes music downloads that were being heavily speculated on in May. Word on the street is that record labels are -- wait for it -- still holding out for those upped premiums, or that AT&T wants a cut of the action, which Apple is reluctant to hand over. Of course, AT&T wanting their share of that revenue makes good sense when you realize that the telco is taking a major hit on the sale of these devices -- a hit which will stall profits until 2010. Perhaps that explains the new rules about activation; according to a report from Reuters, the company will penalize customers who buy a phone but don't activate within 30 days, which falls in line with their aggressive new push to lock users into a contract... which looks exactly like the old cellphone business model. On a lighter note, iLounge has some real-world spy shots of the device's shell, which they claim smudges like it's going out of style, though it may be joined by a Product (RED) variation later this year. Enjoy!

Update: Apparently Apple reps have confirmed that there won't be any early firmware updates for the masses, and that they're still on schedule for July 11th. The Australian site has since updated its info -- so put the champagne back on ice.

[Thanks, Dan and Danny]

Read - Australian iPod touch features page
Read - No Over-The-Air 3G Music Downloads For New iPhone; Labels Holding Out For Higher Price Per Track?
Read - iPhone to cut into AT&T earnings until 2010
Read - Real World Photos: Inside + Outside iPhone 3G's New Shell

For those of you who absolutely, positively can't wait to see more of the Touch Diamond in action, the folks over at pocketnow are giving you a taste of what it's like to hold one in your hands. Apparently, when you boot up the phone you're greeted with a helpful video showing you how to navigate the heavily-skinned version of Windows Mobile (AKA Touch Flo 3D) that it sports. Needless to say, it's smoother than a baby's bottom. Not that we'd know. Video after the break in its full 640 x 480 resolution.

Call it Raphael no longer! HTC has officially thrown the cover off its Touch Pro today -- the QWERTY slider sibling of the recently-unveiled Touch Diamond -- which should cover the bases for those who loved the Diamond's keen looks but decided they'd go our of their gourds without a full set of physical keys at their disposal. Under that glossy black shell lies WiFi, HSPA with a solid 7.2Mbps on the downstream, Bluetooth, 2.8-inch VGA display, Windows Mobile 6.1 featuring HTC's TouchFLO 3D interface, a 3.2 megapixel camera, a half gig of ROM, and 288MB of RAM. It's not going to win any "world's thinnest" records with an 18.05mm waistline, but those five rows of textual healing don't come without a price. The first batch of devices will be Europe-bound in "late summer" with 900 / 2100MHz 3G alongside the quadband GSM and EDGE; North and Latin American versions are promised for later in the year.

In a move of unsurprising proportions, StyleTap announced today that it will be bringing its Palm OS emulator to the iPhone and iPod touch... officially. This basically means that every one of those precious Palm apps you couldn't live without will now be easily accessible via Apple's devices, thus seriously threatening the argument for keeping your Treo 600. Gregory Sokoloff, CEO of the company, said that the response to a video posted in February of a demo version of the software convinced them to take the plunge. Palm, now might be a good time to stun us with your new OS.

DigiTimes has it that HTC has already shipped its first batch of over 10,000 Touch Diamond mobiles to Hong Kong CSL, which has consequently sent our saliva glands into overdrive. The report continues on to say that deliveries to European / Asia-Pacific operators should get going in June, though no further details were mentioned. Meanwhile, North Americans are left to weep softly to keep from embarrassment.

[Via SlashPhone]

At first, we were all stoked at the realization that it took HTC shy of two months to go from announcement to availability of its US-flavored Touch Dual, but then we had this wet blanket thrown on us when we reflected on the fact that it's been like six months since the European model was first shown. No bother -- at least the US model will be among the very first devices anywhere to ship with Windows Mobile 6.1 out of the box, which is kinda cool. Best Buy will be offering the phone starting this weekend for $549.99 unlocked, available on its website or directly from "select" Best Buy Mobile locations around the country, so try not to let those visions of Diamonds distract you too much while you're whipping out the credit card.

Ew. We're not sure what it is about watching a video of Provoke's Touch concept that creeps us out. Nevertheless, we're not feeling the "deep communication" the phones are meant to create between lovers. Instead, we're drawn to images of a bandaged, reptilian baby pustulating to the songs of a heavy-cheeked woman singing from inside of our radiator. You too? Decidedly less-freaky Express concept also video'd after the break.

Actually, maybe it's not such a bold prediction after all. HTC's saying it's going to push at least 2 million of its just-announced Touch Diamonds out of the factory and into buyers' hands this year, and when you consider that the original Touch hit a million in five months and two million in not much more than that, it seems like a pretty reasonable prediction. Granted, those Touch numbers included all of the Touch variants sold up until that point, but the Touch Diamond will be a global franchise as well, not to mention HTC's flagship WinMo device for the remainder of 2008 in all likelihood. Add all the GSM and CDMA versions sold all around the world, maybe add in the QWERTY Raphael, and boom, you've got at least 2 million there, we'd wager.

[Via Engadget Spanish and IntoMobile]

The Touch has always seemed like a device that deserves a whole rainbow to itself, but for whatever reason, its many colors have been hard to find in one place. Alltel's breaking out of the mold, though, becoming just the first carrier in the US to offer multiple Touch shades in its lineup by adding burgundy to the original gray. It runs $129.99 after rebate on contract -- the same price as gray, thankfully, so go ahead and throw away those worries about paying a color premium.

[Thanks, Matt S.]

We're already big fans of the Touch Diamond's sleek black aesthetic, and it looks like the design language is going to carry over to the official accessories, like the dock. Yeah, it's just a dock with a USB connector and a headphone jack so you can listen to music while charging / syncing your phone, but it's definitely one of the slickest form factors we've seen -- too bad it's listed at £25 ($49).

[Via Tracy and Matt's Blog]

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.