We've mentioned in the past the growing trend of putting Android onto Windows phones and how this is not just an emulator but the full fledged OS running.

Of course the downside has been the difficult task of getting the radios, buttons and other aspects to be fully operational.

Looks like some users of the HTC Touch HD are getting quite the leg up with a nice build of Android 2.0 running on their swanky black slabs.

Big difference here?  This sucka is evidently working with the radios for once--phone calls, SMS, etc.  Looking at this from our Touch Pro 2, we're a bit envious.  On the other hand, there's hope that someday the rest of us will have our Eclair and eat it too. (Ka-ching! Pun of the day.)

See the full video after the break.

[MobileOS News via AndroidCentral]

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HTC just broke the horrible news via twitter:

sad news, US. we looked into it- by the time we could bring Touch HD to the states, it would be old news. we do have other cool stuff coming

In other words, the Touch HD with its gigantic screen, 3.5 mm headset jack, and general iPhone-challenging form factor is going to be import-only for the US and, on top of that, it's likely never to see the 3G bands used by AT&T. The dream, our friends, is officially dead on this side of the pond. At least the import of the non-3G-compatible version will be legal by dint of the recent FCC approval. HTC's grand tradition of release CDMA versions of most of their stuff here also has hit quite the speedbump, too.

...Of course, the 'other cool stuff' intrigues us, but it's not much consolation just now. Meanwhile, you'll have to excuse us while we wither under the jibes of our iPhone-toting friends in the US.

(side note: comments a little broken right now, if you head to the forums and log in, you'll be able to comment. Alternately, just go here. Update: Comments Fixed)

Our desire to use a Touch HD has been so strong that we've been accused of drooling and, well, fair's fair: we're pretty giddy. Sure, we've been burned by high expectations before (Hello Vox!), but could any device with a 480x800 screen and decent power to back it up really treat us bad?

We suppose it could in two ways: 1. failing to be usable and 2. failing to be used. With regard to the first point -- all indications we've seen so far leave us hopeful. With regard to that second point -- while we're happy to hear that O2 in Germany is picking up the Touch HD for 659 Euro and Telecom Italia is expected to carry it for the heftier 849 Euro (Google Translation), HTC's Europe-First policy is starting to harsh our mellow. Yes, it's much easier to develop a dual-band 3G than it is to get the US-compatible Tri-Band going, but that doesn't mean we have to like it.

Thanks to Diego for the Italia tip!

Looks like that HTC Touch HD website we just posted about wasn't a completely mix-up, it went just just went temporarily down due to a little release-day jitters. Yes, folks, the HTC Touch HD has been officially announced. Yes, it's definitely going to be seen as at attempt at being an iPhone-killer (as mentioned in the gdgt podcast, it has the exact same dimensions as the iPhone), and yes, we think it has a shot at being just that for power users.

800x480 (we never get tired of typing that), 5 megapixel camera, regular old 3.5 mm headset jack, all the specs you saw earlier hold true. We'll add that we're happy to see the next-gen Qualcomm MSM7201a 528MHz chip and we're sad to see that it won't launch with US-compatible 3G bands. But that version will indeed come someday:

The HTC Touch HD will be available across major European carriers in Q4 2008 and be introduced in other global markets shortly following.

A couple of glamour shots of the HTC Touch HD and the full press release are after the break!

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We bet you thought the leaked BlackBerry Thunder video with the tiny preview of the HTC Touch Pro would be today's biggest HTC news. Or maybe you figured it would be tha actual news of the Diamond and the Touch Pro making their way to Sprint. So did we, actually, until we saw this as Modaco: The HTC Touch HD.

Specs:

• Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
• Qualcomm 7201A processor @ 528MHz
• 512MB ROM / 256MB RAM (+32MB on processor)
• 480 x 800 (fixed), WVGA, wall-to-wall screen action

Yes, it's so good that even over at our sister-site, CrackBerry.com, they're talking it up and posting images. Our initial impressions: we're swooning over the thinness and the screen, but a little leery of the lack of a 5-way dpad. More info as we get it in!

Thanks, Paul!