Windows Phone Thoughts: HTC Iolite on Preorder at Expansys

"The Iolite -- not "Lolite" as we'd previously thought -- appears to rip the Touch Diamond's basic form factor from this tiny lil' image that's been leaked on Expansys, but steps down to a WQVGA display from VGA. On the upside, Europeans still get their 7.2Mbps HSDPA fix, TouchFLO 3D and AGPS make it through unscathed, and the 3.2-megapixel cam carries over."

Hmm, seems like a budget version of the Diamond with a lower-res screen. On the other hand, it should nicely fill niche between the more basic Touch Viva and the Diamond - that is, if the price is right. Apart from the WQVGA screen, the Iolite features some pretty hefty specs with 528MHz Qualcomm processor, 288MB RAM, quadband GSM (good), dualband HSPA (not-so-good), GPS, 3.2MP camera, and is pretty svelte at 103gms and about 4"x2"x0.6" if I've got my conversions right. No word on pricing or availablity just yet, but that should be just around the corner. Check the link for the (very small) image.