Way back when a rumor began circulating that Sprint would be getting a slightly different version of the HTC Touch Diamond, much like the HTC Victor (Taiwan version of HTC Touch Diamond) but in Red. Well another twist was added to the equation and it seems that Sprint’s HTC Touch Diamond will be launching by no later than Thursday of this week (August 28th). Today we have even more news to bring to the table and it all starts with the pricing: $299 on a 2 year contract after all applicable rebates or $549 no contract.
With a number of excellent smartphones on the market selling for sub-$199, it will be interesting to see how the Red Sprint HTC Touch Diamond sells for the carrier. It seems that Sprint does not want the potential sales of the HTC Touch Diamond to impact their iPhone-alternative Samsung Instinct. On the positive side, the 4GB of internal storage and 1350 mAh battery (slightly larger than the GSM version) should be well accepted by the CDMA Windows Mobile Community.
It looks like all of those Samsung Instinct owners out there who were unhappy about the lack of MS Outlook Calendar synchronization now have a solution. We are just as shocked as the rest of you that the release date came so quick and it really has us changing our forecast for the Touch Pro release date so take a second to think whether or not you want that full QWERTY physical keyboard or not.
Update Sept 10th: Today Sprint issued a Press Release outlining several device launches but most importantly they confirmed the September launch of the Touch Diamond and October launch of the Touch Pro. According to the Press Release, the HTC Touch Diamond will be available beginning in September. It will cost $249.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. HTC Touch Pro will be available Oct. 19 for $299.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. It looks like Sprint will take the cake as the first US carrier to launch either of these devices unless we see At&t bump up their release date unexpectedly.