The HTC Diamond, to be revealed officially at a global press event this morning in London, will fight the iPhone primarily with speed.

Pocket-lint has learnt that the new touchscreen Diamond will run Microsoft's mobile OS but be heavily customised to not look like Mobile 6.1, will launch with the claim of being the first such handset to offer super high-speed downloads of 7.2Mb per second.

Our source has also told us that the new handset will not use the IE browser instead opting to use Opera.

Offering a wide touchscreen, media player and 4GB of built-in memory, HTC hopes the phone will go head to head with the current version of the iPhone, but with the edge over the Apple mobile's EDGE connectivity.

With prices said to be from free on contract, the Diamond will be widely available from UK operators, including Orange.

Pocket-lint will be attending the imminent launch event and will bring you all the news within hours.