The Touch HD has a 3.8-inch, 480x800 screen, plus other fancy pantsy specs like a 5-megapixel camera, 288MB RAM and a Quallcomm MSM7201a 528MHz processor. All this hardware comes together to bring a REALLY smooth feel to TouchFLO that's faster than the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and even the Touch 3G. No glitches or holdups when scrolling horizontally through the menus here; it's the best TouchFLO interface we've seen yet. Typing with the onscreen keyboard wasn't as good as the iPhone's, but was doable with your fingertips because of the huge screen.

That 3.8-inch screen is gorgeous, and should be pretty amazing to watch movies on (we didn't have the chance to). It's also not too heavy and not too wide in terms of weight and size, but will most likely be pretty heavy on the price side. The HD will be a pretty good competitor to full screen touchscreen phones like the Instinct and Sony Ericsson Experia.

HTC's Touch 3G, on the other hand, doesn't look to revolutionize the lineup like the Touch HD, but works at improving the original Touch in every way. The form factor is almost exactly the same, but feels taller and thinner. The TouchFLO present on this device is also fairly fast—though not as fast as on the HD—and works well. If you enjoyed the original last year and just want a 3G upgrade, this is the phone for you.

The Touch Viva, which is for developing markets, is also pretty cool. The guts are exactly the same as on the Touch last year, but they've changed stuff like the screen (no longer hard glass, but the standard plastic film you see on other HTC phones) in order to make the price more affordable. It runs a 2D version of TouchFLO that's super fast, but keeps all the functionality intact. You most likely won't be buying or seeing this unless you live in a developing market, but it is a pretty neat smartphone that hasn't been gimped for the lower end. [HTC]

then they should heed these words from industrial designer and sci-fi gadget imagineer Branko Lukic, from his upcoming book nonobject:

Each natural "product" is a unique specimen; nothing else compares to one, after another, after another. Imagine if the manufacture of consumer electronics afforded such diversity! Imagine if consumers had the pick of an endless array of devices, each one its own distinct shape, size and color while keeping the internal components the same... The state of things now: sameness sits on assembly lines; sameness lives on shelves; sameness is in hands of consumers. Need it be this way - where color is the only distinguishing feature? Why not tackle design in more interesting ways? Rather than considering a product as one of many, diversify the multiple existing molds and consider product a little more freely. Need each be a clone of the other? Why not envision production methodology anew, as a result of more organic processes? Just imagine: a near future where we still make a single product in large volumes, but we do so more randomly, intuitively, eclectically. This way, with advanced manufacturing techniques, consumers are offered more choice within a single product category.

nonobject Design Fiction No 3: Pebble [Book Preview]

The Jet, designed for the active music lover, packs the biggest punch. Sporting the same 1.5-inch OLED as the Opal, the Jet is also splash-resistant and comes with a Body Mass Index calculator to help you visualize your obesity. It plays MP3, WMA and WMA/DRM files and includes an FM tuner. The 1GB Jet runs $69 while the 2GB version is $89. Also available is the Jet Stream, a 1GB wireless version of the Jet that touts "lossless" audio transmission to the headphones for $149.
Also from the RCA/Thomson family are Jensen's new JPM3005 SportFones. The SportFones also eliminate the tangle of wires by integrating a 512MB digital media player into the headphones themselves, including simple controls on the side of one earpiece. Also designed for the gym rat, the SportFones are wrapped in sweat-resistant silicone. Pick them up in a zippered carry bag in February for $69.99. – Karson Thompson