Hasta La Gadget!

First, the good news: T-Mobile’s HD2 is in stock online and apparently at many corporate-owned retail locations. Now, the bad: the carrier seems to be putting these things on lockdown right now, only offering them to new customers signing up for a fresh contract. This is a tactic T-Mobile has applied in the past, so we’re not terribly surprised to see them do it here, too — but it’s still a disappointment, especially considering that the phone has been out for a few weeks now. Just goes to show you that a net add is worth considerably more than a loyal customer is (particularly one who’s still under contract), but in the meantime, might we recommend the iHTC HD2?

Update: We’ve received an official statement from T-Mobile on the matter, and it sounds like they’re “giving priority to existing customers” with new inventory coming in. Sweet! Here’s the full verbiage:

“T-Mobile understands the inventory challenges for the HTC HD2 and continues to work diligently in order to supply our customers with this highly popular product. As we receive additional inventory of the HTC HD2, we are giving priority to our existing customers. However, the demand for the device is still exceeding our supply.

Depending on the location, some T-Mobile retail stores may still have some HTC HD2 inventory available. We suggest that interested customers contact their local T-Mobile store via phone before visiting to see if they have the HTC HD2 available. If they do not have the HTC HD2 available, some stores are taking names and contact information, and will be able to notify customers once that location has product available.”

Current T-Mobile customers having hard time upgrading to HTC HD2 (updated with statement) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 14:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A new cell phone or computer for mom? A Netflix account? Flowers? Just how geeky is your Mother’s Day gift going to be this year?

Hacking your netbook to run OS X? That’s so 2008. Modding your iPhone to make it run Android? Now you’re talking.

PCWorld’s David Wang has been documenting his progress porting the full Android OS onto an iPhone 3G. With the Approid (OK, I just made that name up) he can now connect to Wi-Fi, browse the web and send and receive SMS texts. He can also run Android Market apps, as long as they don’t require audio support. After Wang gets audio support up and running, he plans to post the binaries and instructions for anyone to turn their iPhones into Appdroids.

The point? Maybe there isn’t one, other than simply the joy of accomplishing a difficult technical hack. Indeed, the iPhone isn’t the only phone being hacked this way. Recently, Wired.com reported on DIYers modding Windows Mobile handsets to run Android. Connor Roberts, a software engineer, posted a step-by-step tutorial on running the Android OS on the HTC Touch. According to people who have run the mod, the process was extremely easy.

Now that the computer category is blending in with mobile, with ever-more-powerful processors and operating systems, we’ll likely see modders and DIY types focusing their attention on smartphones and tablets. This would be a logical trend succeeding the Hackintosh era. In past years, many curious DIYers, including Wired.com’s Charlie Sorrel and yours truly, have experimented with installing the Mac OS on non-Apple PCs. Perhaps at some point we’ll see someone cram the iPhone OS onto a different piece of hardware, such as the Nexus One.

See Also:

• DIYers Hack Windows Mobile Phones to Run Android
• Six Months With a Hackintosh Netbook: It Ain’t Pretty
• Eight Months with a Hackintosh Netbook. Conclusion: Fantastic …
• Hackintosh With Genuine Glowing Apple Logo
• OS Xbox Pro: The Ultimate Hackintosh?
• All Sound Finally Working on Wind Hackintosh

(Credit:
Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET)

The air conditioner in the studio where we record the show might be broken, but we’re sweating it out this morning to bring you this Friday’s episode of The 404 Podcast.

Yesterday, we talked to Jasmine France about her new Tech Dos and Don’ts column on the MP3 Insider blog and we all left the show convinced there’s an online dating Web site out there for everyone’s interests, no matter how niche…and we were right!

There’s a new e-Harmony-style dating Web site called Cupidtino marketed specifically for Apple fanboys and girls to meet up and share a love for all things Apple…and hopefully each other! The site is still in beta and set to launch next month; everyone’s invited, but with a catch–the only way you can access the site is through Safari and iPhone/iPad apps! Apologies in advance for Wilson’s silence during this segment–that profile ain’t gonna write itself.

Click for full-size

(Credit:

Jeffrey Coltin )

Google already occupies a big part of everyone’s past and present lives on the Internet, but the company is now setting its sights on predicting the future. It is heavily investing in a company called Recorded Future, a Web application that gathers data from financial markets, geopolitical news, industry changes, public figures, technology news, and others to create a rough sketch of the future.

If it works, Google stands to gain valuable insight into the ever-changing tech industry, but we tend to agree with sites like Mashable, which predicts the app will have the “same level of accuracy…as a weather report. Google Weather, anyone?

The second half of the show is all about predicting the immediate future of the podcast, which is pretty easy when you’ve been doing it everyday for three years. We have a special treat from today’s e-mails from the public from listener Jack W., who sent us a video of his high school’s annual lightsaber battle!

Only slightly less nerdy than LARPing, over 400 kids gather every year in the quad at Brophy College Prepatory to bang their light-up sticks together in celebration of their commitment to a movie that came out 20 years before their birth. Happy fighting, kids!

Have a great weekend, and don’t forget to call us up at 1-866-404-CNET over the weekend and leave a voice mail. If it’s good, we’ll be happy to play it on the show!

EPISODE 576

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Originally posted at The 404 Podcast

For whatever reason, the last great game console to utilize a cartridge over a disc is finding itself in yet another portable form factor, and of course, the Nimbus 64 has been crafted by one of Ben Heck‘s most loyal followers. One cndowning is responsible for this beaut, and it’s actually his second homemade portable; this particular miniaturized Nintendo 64 uses a custom vacuum formed case, D-pads and control sticks from used Game Cube controllers, a Zenith PS1 display and plenty of nuts and bolts that only the hardcore modders in attendance would understand. Per usual, we’d recommend heading down to the links below for more details and images, the latter of which are likely to make you exceedingly envious of the DIY skills exhibited here.

Nimbus 64: the latest in a long line of gorgeous portable N64 mods originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 12:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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