Verizon Diamond 2, HTC Mega and more Tachi
Well look what dropped in our mailbox. Some images and deets on the upcoming Verizon Diamond 2 (aka ‘Whitestone’ aka XV6975), the HTC Mega and a bit of an update to the Tachi image. — First up is the Verizon Diamond 2/Whitestone device, picture above.
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the second trip through the same pipeline in under six months: in March, Boy Genius Report ran pictures of a Verizon-bound HTC Touch Diamond, and now WMExperts' mailbox yields the follow-on hardware — the Diamond successor (Whitestone/XV6975), the Mega, and a refreshed Tachi render. None of the three devices has been announced by Verizon or HTC; every detail here is rumor-grade.
The pattern is older than this cycle. Back in September 2007, Verizon's Juke, Pearl, Venus and Voyager lineup was outed by blogs weeks before the carrier wanted it public. What has changed by mid-2009 is cadence: leaks are no longer one-off embarrassments but a running parallel feed of each carrier's roadmap, which matters because Windows Mobile handsets like these live or die on whether enthusiasts adopt them before Android alternatives land.
First-order effects
- Verizon's unannounced Windows Mobile roadmap — Whitestone/XV6975, Mega, Tachi — is now public with model numbers and imagery, so the eventual official launch will be a confirmation exercise rather than a reveal.
- HTC gets free pre-announcement exposure on its next Diamond-generation flagship, but also loses control of the narrative: enthusiasts will judge the Mega and Whitestone on leaked renders before pricing or ship dates exist.
Second-order effects
- Competing carriers and rival handset makers now have Verizon's fall slate visible to them, letting them time their own announcements and spec comparisons against devices Verizon has not yet priced.
Third-order effects
- If every major carrier handset surfaces in blog photos well ahead of launch, the carrier press event loses its news-making role and the industry shifts to a model where bloggers effectively co-control product introductions — as this 2007-to-2009 run of leaks already suggests.
The trend: US carrier smartphone launches are moving onto a leak-first calendar where blog-sourced imagery sets the public agenda before official announcements do.