Verizon XV6900 hands-on

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.























Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kevin Nguyen @ Jul 1st 2008 1:15PM
Isn't it a bit late to have a review on this?
Andr3w @ Jul 2nd 2008 2:23PM
What-the-duece?
Pete @ Jul 1st 2008 1:28PM
Woah, I have the Sprint version and have been whining about how poor the off axis contrast is. I actually cracked my LCD screen. I wonder if I can replace it with the verizon screen.
James @ Jul 1st 2008 1:25PM
Yeah, tell me about it. It's been a few months (?) since this came out on Verizon.
--James
Bob DeSilets @ Jul 1st 2008 1:54PM
I've been using this device for about a month now, and I just can't describe how much I don't like it. No proximity sensor, no way to disable the touchscreen when you're on a call, difficult to use interface, etc, etc. I hope that WM7 gets here soon.....
crow610 @ Jul 1st 2008 2:58PM
totally, by the time I've ended a 30 minute call, I have already opened practically every app on my phone. Diamond has some improvements in UI but ultimately the better solution is to improve the UI in the OS.
yode @ Jul 1st 2008 2:33PM
Yea engadget, way too late.
Chris Ziegler @ Jul 1st 2008 2:36PM
Yep, we get it, guys, no need to repeat yourselves. Strongly recommend you skip the post and move on if it's not relevant for you.
Dead_Rebel @ Jul 1st 2008 3:12PM
Is it just me, or did they make the thing longer just to squeeze the big Verizon check mark on there?
Mr Maze @ Jul 1st 2008 5:14PM
Of course. Would Verizon have it any other way?
Red @ Jul 1st 2008 3:27PM
Um...you can actually just hit the sleep button at the top of the phone when you're in a call and you won't activate any other applications. It's out there on the web if you're not able to figure the obvious out for yourself. This will be perfect as review for people with Verizon up for a renewal of contract. Good to see it here.
Brettinsocal @ Jul 1st 2008 3:33PM
Did we all just bury the headline?
As of last week, on Sprint this bad-boy is upgradeable to WinMo6.1!
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/06/26/sprints-htc-touch-vogue-gets-windows-mobile-6-1-update/
Nice improvements in stability, speed, text messaging (now threaded), etc.
Much more solid feeling overall... feels like the phone finally works as it was supposed to all along.
Add in Opera 8.65 (free for 30 days 'till the 9.5 Beta hits on the 15th) and you really do have a phone you can live with.
Before this, I was constantly thinking about what was going to get next... now I think I'm good 'till a sorted-out Android hits.
jr @ Jul 1st 2008 6:25PM
you know i have this phone and still have yet to put the silly i phone interface. i want to use it go bad for the internet touch i had it on for a little but could not get it all to work if any one knows a link it would help[ out. As far as the phone i love it i have the verizon edition and must say am very impressed with the 3 G on the phone fats internet and the teathering is awsome, once you get it to work. The prossesor is verry nice and bec it supports a 8 gig card i can put my flash in there and watch my movies on my phone. Ow yea loves thats fets. On that note i am out
eg1975 @ Jul 1st 2008 9:12PM
Love the phone. Highly recommend a screen protectore. I scratched the ish out of my first one ;-)
rothgar @ Jul 2nd 2008 11:32AM
Windows Update in settings? I have never seen that before. I even have a Titan with 6.1 and that button is complete news to me.
Zach @ Jul 13th 2008 6:56PM
Does anyone have good info on whether VZ wireless will be carrying the much anticipated HTC Touch Diamond? I got a response from HTC that the phone should be available in the US Q4 this year but they would not provide details on which US carriers would be owners. Tks