Singapore's StarHub had a public launch of their HTC Touch Diamond2 offering on 9 May with these two 'raider girls'.

SHOWCASE: Smartphone manufacturer HTC, announced the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 to the media in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand during the mid- and end-April period but the availability of the Touch Diamond2 is only made public today (in Singapore at least), while the QWERTY-based Touch Pro2 is expected to hit stores a few weeks later.

Ever since the Touch Diamond was first launched in June 2008 (in Singapore), the strength behind its abstract looks and TouchFLO 3D interface was further echoed when the Touch Pro was later introduced. Both the Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2 are follow-ups to those two successful models respectively. For a detailed spec list of these two models in one glance, check it out here.

If you want a quick overview of what exactly the Touch Diamond2 (and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 really is all about), here’s a video produced by the HardwareZone Singapore team for you:

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Four major corporate brands came together to launch a contactless mobile phone payment pilot system in Singapore. The pilot starts in May and lasts for three months.

CORP TALK: That’s a lot of companies in one service but Citibank Singapore and Visa have announced the launch of the Citi M1 mobile Visa payWave payment pilot in Singapore — a first in Singapore where the mobile phone can also double up as a credit card.

While the idea isn’t new in other parts of the world, what’s unique here is that the Citi Visa pilot is supported by local telecom provider M1, where selected Citi M1 Platinum Visa cardholders can pay for purchases using a Nokia 6212 classic at more than 750 merchant locations across the country. Merchants include The Coffee Connoiseur (tcc), Ichiban Boshi, Popular book store, retail outlets and music shops like Gramophone.

The three-month pilot will involve up to 300 selected Citi M1 Platinum Visa cardholders starting from May, where each cardholder will be furnished with a Nokia 6212 classic. The phone itself is equipped with a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled chip. Purchasers simply need to pay for an item by waving the phone over a contactless reader at the point of sale counter.

The good thing about the pilot program is that it allows users to turn on one of three security payment options on their Nokia 6212 classics. They are Always (no confirmation or passcode required), By Confirmation (user acknowledgement required) and With Passcode (a 4-digit numeric passcode is needed before payment is approved).

For further information with regards to the Singapore government’s efforts to promote more NFC-related mobile services in the country, click here. (Editor opinions: 1)

Vijay Anand, Editor, HardwareZone.com

Vijay (HardwareZone.com): While the trial limits users to the use of just the NFC-enabled Nokia 6212 Classic phone, the scheme will only be adopted when the majority of mobile phones are NFC-enabled. But that’s a thought for another day when the infrastructure and mobile makers are ready to roll them out in full force.

The concept of payments via the mobile phone is a logical step forward as consumers rely more and more of their mobile phones than ever before. Just think about how many times you would have forgotten your wallet when leaving home versus forgetting your mobile phone. (more…)

CORP TALK: In a report by Nikkei Electronics, Shenzhen, China-based Huawei Technologies has deployed what is believed to be Southeast Asia’s largest 2.5GHz WiMAX commercial network in the Philippines.

The company supplied local telecom company, Globe Telecom, with a telecom-grade, end-to-end WiMAX solution which allowed the operator to deploy the network quickly. Through this WiMAX network, Globe Telecom subscribers will now be able to enjoy high-speed wireless broadband access and high quality VoIP services as part of its efforts to provide affordable and reliable Internet access and broadband services in the country.

In a separate report, the company has also partnered with Singapore telecom company StarHub to launch StarHub’s HSPA+ network in Singapore. This would make StarHub the first operator in Asia-Pacific to have mobile broadband network speeds of up to 21Mbps (from a previous speed offering of up to 14.4Mbps), making StarHub customers among the first users in the world to experience the fastest mobile broadband speeds.

Dell has claimed that the Adamo is the world's thinnest laptop at 0.65 inches thick at its thickest point.

SHOWCASE: Style-minded people take note. Dell unveiled the world’s thinnest laptop as part of its new Adamo line today. According to Dell, even at its thickest point, the notebook is thinner than any other laptop. Adamo, which means “to fall in love” in Latin, will serve as a flagship line of products that combines new design aesthetics, personalization choices and must-have tech.

The marketing campaign for Dell's Adamo includes imagery shot by acclaimed British-based photographer Nadav Kander, which features high-fashion models that reinforce the “fall in love” positioning.

What makes the Adamo impressive is the craftsmanship and feature sets, including a chassis milled from a single piece of aluminum (with scalloped backlit keyboard), a prominent high definition edge-to-edge display, full connectivity for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and optional integrated mobile broadband, solid state drives and a color choice of either Onyx or Pearl.

With pre-orders now available online, the Adamo notebook will ship from 24 countries from 26 March 2009 onwards, including Singapore (starting from S$3,249/US$2126), Malaysia (RM7399/US$2009) and Indonesia (price to be confirmed) for South-east Asia.

Specs and images after the jump. (Editor opinions: 1)

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T&A: The Strait Times published a report today on how retailers netted a record S$58.5 million (US$38m) in sales from the Singapore IT Show 2009, a gadgets-and-technology consumer bazaar, held at the Singapore Suntec City Convention Centre from 12-15 March. The sale surpassed last year’s takings of S$54.5 million (US$35.4m).

According to the report, an estimated 768,000 visitors thronged the convention centre, causing a jam in most major pedestrian walkways. To meet targets and attract buyers, tech brands cut back on profit margins and offered discounts and value-added freebies. To find out what exactly these discounts and freebies were, check out HardwareZone.com’s showfloor coverage.