Below is the method I used for unlocking my new Diamond. If you don’t want to use the overpriced unlocking services that certain web sites offering, you might find this free alternative useful ;)

It’s a three step process involves flashing. Please DO NOT use this method unless you understand and accept the risks of flashing your phone, which can brick your device if not applied properly. Also the process will hard reset your phone, which means you will loose all your personalized data on your phone’s memory (such as your contact list), so better back-up first.

Here is the unlocker archive: HTC Touch Diamond SIM-Unlocker. Download and extract it to an empty folder. Establish an Active Sync connection between your phone and your PC, and proceed to the steps described below.

Step 1: Hard SPL
Normally, vendors limit the devices they produce to only use the software created by themselves with a mechanism called “CID lock”. In this step you are going to flash your phone with an “Hard SPL” which will allow you to bypass the CID lock and install firmwares that has not been approved by HTC.

To make your phone open its gates for homebrewed firmwares, navigate to the “STEP 1″ folder where you’ve extracted the unlocker archive and run “diamond-sspl.bat”, then follow on screen instructions.

It will prompt you to copy JumpSSL.exe and SSPL (which is “sspl-1.01-reloc-mod.nb” file) to your phone’s root directory, when necessary. It will also ask you to “execute SPL now” after those copying steps. Just click any key on your keyboard and program will run the SSPL on your phone’s screen. Your screen will turn black after you tap “continue” on your Diamond, then your phone will restart.

After the process finish, you have to jump to HardSPL-1.24 sub-folder and run “DiamondCustomRUU.exe” to flash the Hard SPL.

Step 2: Radio
Here is an excerpt from XDA Developers forum post describing what does radio mean when it comes to PDAs;

The radio stack is responsible for the phone functionality of the device. This includes GPRS, GSM, UMTS, and GPS operations as well as camera functionality.

Because the official radio, which your phone ships with, prevents altering the SIM lock, we need to replace it with an unofficial one in this step. To do this, just navigate to “STEP 2″ folder and run “DiamonCustomRUU.exe”, then wait for it to complete the process.

An important note about this step: if your phone has a radio version above v1.02.XXX, you should downgrade its version first to make the radio installer on this step to work. Go check your radio version via “Start > Settings > System > Device Information > Radio Version”. If it is below 1.02.XXX, then it is fine, you are good to go. If it is above, then you should visit XDA Developers thread on the subject, find yourself a lower version and install it beforehand.

Step 3: SIM Unlocker
This is the last and the easiest step of the process. Just copy the “DiamUnlock.exe” from the “STEP 3″ folder to your phone’s root directory and run it on your phone. First mark the “Remove SIM lock” check box, then press “Commit Changes” button and you’re done.

Enjoy your fully unlocked Touch Diamond ;)

Note: DiamUnlock.exe you’ll find in the archive above is not the original one. Original unlocker was really hard to execute because its coder put a nasty joke in it, which closes the application less than a second after you run it, giving very limited time for checking the “Remove SIM lock” tick box and pressing the “Commit Changes” button afterwards. Archive in this post contains the patched version that does not close itself after its execution (thanks to sergeymkl from GSM Hosting forum).

If you still want the original one, here it is. And a usage tip for this unpactched version: Try selecting the “DiamUnlock” icon on the programs menu first, then position your stylus on the screen around the supposed location of “Commit Changes” button (you can use the screen shot at the top to figure its position). After that, hit the center circle button on your device twice and tap the screen with your stylus. I was able to catch the program after 15-20 tries :)

Give your 5 minutes to see this teaser of future, it is impressive!

[via gizmodo]

Rumor has it; Amazon is planning to release a student’s version of Kindle this year, with a full 8.5″x11″ display.

As I’ve said earlier, I don’t really think we need an e-book reader and the only good thing about Kindle 2 is its free 3G connectivity. But, Kindle for students with a larger screen? Although this is a good idea, I think Amazon will need more than just a larger screen to con students to buy these devices. If I were a collage student, I would consider buying a Kindle if it has;

• Touch screen
  Carrying a nice looking and light weight Kindle instead of thick books would be nice but not enough. Kindle should have a touch screen and a note taking application to take notes via stylus to remove students’ dependency to paper completely.
• Voice recording
  This might also come in handy for taking audio notes.
• Larger disk space
  If it will take audio notes, it should have a larger space, or a memory card slot.
• Color screen
  I don’t think “16 shades of gray” would suffice for technical reading. If it is targeting collage students, Kindle must have a color screen.
• Wi-Fi or Bluetooth
  If Kindle will let students to take notes via hand writing or audio recording, it should also give them a chance to swap their notes with each other, and swapping notes over Ad-Hoc or Bluetooth will be much comfortable than emailing them. Bluetooth may be a better choice, since can give you the ability of adding your camera phone pictures in to your notes or printing your notes with a Bluetooth enabled printer.

What other fancy features do you think that the students’ version of the kindle should have to get your $359(+) out of your pocket?

[Via: Gizmodo, Egadget]
[Image above is a mockup created by Plastic Logic]

There is a lot of buzz around Amazon’s new Kindle 2 and, may be because being a member of a nation that don’t read much, I’m getting hard time understanding why everybody is thrilling for a yet-another e-book reader.

Since almost every technophile in the world, who can afford a netbook or a smart/pda phone, has already have a gadget that gives him (or her) pleasure of reading books in a digital environment, what is the catch for a new pricey ($359!) e-book reader that its sole ability is to serve you digital editions of books? Oh, I know, Kindle has a web browser and plays mp3s, too. But even netbooks’ performance on browsing web is questionable, I don’t think one can use the Amazon’s gizmo for a satisfactory browsing experience, and your cell phone is probably a much more capable player when it comes to music.

Comfort of having a specifically designed device, which resembles a book and has an optimized screen for reading books, can make you feel good if you are a frequent reader. But for me, it is just an addition of another brick in my bag.