I could have only dreamed of this coming true — but here it is: the folks over at XDA-Developers (a bright bunch of people) have ported Google Android onto the HTC Touch (Vogue).  Now I’m really not so sure why it’s called the HTC Vogue (probably differences in countries — Canada calls the Samsung Blackjack just the Samsung Jack), but that’s besides the point.  Like…holy cow.  It’s alive.

HTC Touch Vogue running Google Android

photo credit: Kai Hendry

Sure, it’s got a bunch of minor bugs and issues for now, but it’s still something to contemplate — once its issues and bugs are gone, I’m definitely going to have to give this a try.

I never thought of the day I’d see this again: a 4GB iPhone — the very same that appealed to and ended up enraging early adapters (never adapt early, if possible).  It’s not that a 4GB iPhone shouldn’t be released: in fact, it could be commercially successful and even downright popular.  What makes it so different this time around?

photo credit: William Hook

Well — mainly, the pricing.  Dailytech reports that the 4GB iPhone will be appropriately priced at $99 (with a contract, no doubt).  But is 4GB really enough for you?  I’m no music fanatic, but even I use 8GB of storage on my iPod 5.5G (I suppose if I purged Rush Hour 2, Hitch — great movie, and the Ladykillers, and all those episodes of Smart Guy I could half the amount I used).  But come on, the iPhone’s got such a beautiful screen — it’s made to view videos!  Not to mention all that music with its 3.5mm headphone jack (you’d be surprised how many phones don’t feature a standard headphone jack — the T-Mobile G1, for one!).

If you’re seriously considering it, I highly recommend reconsidering it.  If you want it for the games, the 3G, or just music storage (assuming you don’t have that much music), then you should be good — and $99 really is quite a steal for the wonders that the iPhone features.  But storage is most certainly a different story — if you plan to watch videos, have a huge music collection (or just don’t chuck the iPod — but then that ruins the point of getting an iPhone, I suppose), then you might want to think twice before blowing a bill on the “cheap” iPhone.

The HTC Touch debuted in June 2007 — a whole year before the iPhone was made available to Canada.  After a friend of mine introduced it to me, I hadn’t given it much thought until I ended up looking for a smart phone — it was down to either the Samsung Jack or the HTC Touch.  The only edge the HTC Touch had was its Wi-fi, so I took it.  This was half a year ago, March 2008.

photo credit: Titanas

How far we’ve come along: HTC has since introduced the HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch Cruise, HTC Touch Diamond, and recently, the HTC Touch HD.  I’m impressed by how well HTC is capitalizing on its Touch line — the Touch provided the reassurance that mainstream customers needed to trust HTC, and slowly, it’s making its way into the market.

Source: http://www.coolhunting.com/images/HTC-Touch-Diamond-Angle.jpg

While I thought the HTC Touch Diamond was enough for the rest of the year — after all, hype had only recently been calmed, HTC kicks all Diamond owners in the nuts with the official announcement of the HTC Touch HD.  While it does look like a sweet phone (with a screen bigger than the iPhone), I’m not sure that it’s come soon enough — the iPhone already has quite the hold on Canada.  Perhaps in retrospect, HTC should’ve just skipped the Diamond and gone with the Touch HD — but in a sense, I guess the Touch Diamond has a different “feel”.

• HTC’s official press release: http://www.htc.com/www/press.aspx?id=65236?=1033
• Leaked photos + forum thread: http://www.modaco.com/content/pocket-pc-professional-news/272214/introducing-the-htc-touch-hd/