I think it is now becoming a habit for HTC to call for a press meet one month before the launch of iPhone and its revisions. It is a pity that they are still relying on Windows Mobile to deliver their goods. While what we saw with the diamond is no doubt impressive, under the hood HTC still has the grand old Windows Mobile running in all its glory. HTC did a clever thing this time around by making the TouchFlO UI feature rich instead of dropping back the user to Windows Mobile UI for doing even basic things. The new Opera browser is a welcome change from the Pocket Internet Explorer we are used to.

But the whole reason why people use Windows Mobile is because of its powerful PIM capabilities and wide variety of third party application availability. Unfortunately, all these applications will still be using the classic Windows Mobile interface which is generations behind that of current favorites like the iPhone or the upcoming Android. This is where the user will be spending most of the time (rather than the weather applet or the today screen).

Unless the new Windows Mobile version (7 or whatever) starts shipping, there is little to rejoice from these kind of shell enhancements which desperate mobile device vendors are making on top of Windows Mobile. Sony Ericsson’s Xperia is another one that is on the pipeline.