Although Canadian users might already know that HTC Touch Diamond will be available in their country, no release date for the handset has been announced. Well, now this "little" detail is cleared out, as Telus - Diamond's exclusive Canadian carrier - revealed the new Pocket PC would be on sale starting August 14 (next week).

Needless to say, the Touch Diamond released in Canada is the CDMA version of the original GSM one - otherwise, it couldn't have worked on the Telus network. Besides the different wireless technology used, Telus' Diamond is also a bit changed when it comes to design, as its back case doesn't feature the diamond-like pattern we can find on the GSM handset.

Differences aside, the CDMA Touch Diamond packs the following characteristics: a 2.8 inch TFT touchscreen display with a VGA resolution (640 x 480 pixels) and handwriting recognition, Windows Mobile 6.1, HTC's new TouchFLO 3D interface, EV-DO Rev A connectivity, Wi-Fi, GPS, Telus Navigator, a 3.15 Megapixel camera with auto focus and video recording, email, Opera Mobile browser, Music and Video players, Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, document viewer and editor, USB and a built-in memory of 4GB.

"Each Telus client has specific communications needs and by offering a comprehensive selection of smartphones, we believe that they will find the communication tool that best suits their individual lifestyle. What better way to demonstrate our commitment to our Telus clients than starting our new campaign by introducing the new attractive, fun and affordable HTC Touch Diamond?" underscored Tammy Scott, vice-president or Marketing Communications at Telus.

Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America, added, "HTC is thrilled to debut the HTC Touch Diamond for the first time in North America with Telus. This brings a new dimension to touchscreen smartphones where style and innovation are front and center and customers can easily stay connected to what matters most". "Combined with TELUS' high-speed EVDO Rev A network, customers will enjoy one-touch access to the Internet unlike anything available on the market today."

Telus will sell the Touch Diamond for prices starting at $150 (with a contract agreement for three years) and going up to $450 with no contract at all.