T-Mobile (Germany) was kind enough to announce their upcoming MDA Vario IV phone.

This is undoubtedly the HTC Raphael (aka the slide-out keyboard version of the HTC Touch Diamond).

There's a few key differences to the Touch Diamond.

  • Slide out qwerty keyboard.
  • 256MB of RAM, instead of 192MB.
  • 512MB ROM, instead of 256MB.
  • MicroSD slot, instead of 4GB internal storage.
  • 1340mAh battery, as opposed to 900mAh.

That puts something like an additional 5mm on the depth of the device compared to the Touch Diamond.

No definite date as of yet, HTC haven't officially announced this device so it could be a little while. The rumour mill is suggesting late summer or early autumn, so about two or three months behind the Diamond - I think I can last that long.

O2 UK need to get off their backsides and make some announcements, and make sure HTC manufacturer their device to have nice rounded corners unlike the square corners of HTC's reference design, and get rid of some of the fingerprint-magnet-plastic on the device.