Now, it bears mentioning that HTC is pretty diligent about updating their phones, releasing driver and software updates to improve performance when necessary. Problem is, these updates don't usually trickle down through the cellular providers, leaving most users stuck with the first (and only) generation of the phone's branded—and sometimes crippled— software. Thanks to XDA, most users can switch to an up-to-date OS, with a variety of extra tweaks added at the discretion of the community.

What do you stand to gain from upgrading your ROM?

• Better battery life
• Faster performance, especially in TouchFLO 3D
• Stronger reception
• Quicker, less laggy GPS locking and tracking
• Bundles of useful software, included updated, faster Opera browser
• Reenabling carrier-chopped features such as tethering, HDSPA

Popular phones best suited for upgrade:

• Touch
• Touch Dual
• Touch Diamond
• Touch Pro
• Other variants

The prospect of upgrading your phone's entire OS might sound intimidating, but the XDA community has provided GUI tools for each step. The procedure is not risk-free, but the success rate polls highly among people who follow the directions closely. I flashed T-Mobile's branded Diamond, the MDA Compact IV, without incident.

Ready to give this a shot? XDA's detailed guides are available here:

• Touch/Touch Dual
• Touch Diamond/Touch Pro
• 
  Others can be found in the device subforums here.

If ROMs and bootloaders and radios all sound too scary (and I wouldn't blame you), XDA also has a hefty collection of simpler tweaks and mods for your HTC phones, including themes, games and apps that you might not find elsewhere.

Expect to hear a lot more about these guys in the coming months—they'll probably be the first ones to port Android to older HTC handsets. As of the 4th, they've got a severely gimped version of Android 0.8 (the G1 launched with 1.0) running on the Diamond, so an "Install Android on Your HTC Phone" Dealzmodo Hack is inevitable, if still pretty far off. [XDA Developers and ModMyDiamond]

Dealzmodo Hacks are intended to help you sustain your crippling gadget addiction through tighter times. If you come across any on your own that are particularly useful, send it to our tips line (Subject: Dealzmodo Hack). Check back every Thursday for free DIY tricks to breathe new life into hardware that you already own.

If you're using the HTC TyTN, the 620, the P4350, P330 or the Advantage, upgrades will be rolled out on their site starting June. But if you're in the US, you may have to wait longer, as HTC has to hand off the upgrades to the provider for them to brand and certify first before propagating them to you. – Jason Chen

Ufficiale: HTC rilascia gratis WM 6, ma non per tutti i PDA [Solopalmari - Thanks Mike!]

If you're brave and really want WM6 on your phone, give it a shot. Just don't be a afraid to get your phone a little bricked. – Jason Chen

WM XDA Live [XDA Dev via Engadget Mobile]

Product Page [Brando]

However, as a Gizmodo reader, you've probably already got a mobile that can browse the internet, send email, chat on IM or act as a PDA. The choice isn't quite so simple. That's why we're here.

Like we said, if you're currently using a regular phone like the RAZR or the Chocolate, and you're at all interested in smartphones, you should definitely upgrade to the 8525. The combination of Windows Mobile, WiFi, 3G (if you're on Cingular), slide-out keyboard, sexy finish (for a smartphone), and various multimedia capabilities make it like a miniature laptop you can pull out at any time.

But if you're the current owner of a...

T-Mobile Sidekick: Upgrade. Although you lose some advanced IM-functionality and the Sidekick-specific functions, you gain much more in terms of apps and features like WiFi and 3G. However, you do gain apps such as Skype, Windows Live Search, Google Maps, pPod (fake iPod), and even an NES game emulator. Plus, as a 31-year-old businessman, you do look a little silly using that Sidekick.

Palm 650/680/700: Upgrade if you're not tied to Palm-only apps. You do lose threaded SMS, Versamail (mail app), and blazer (browsing app), but you get better syncing with Windows and Macs (with Missing Sync). You give up years of Palm OS apps, but you pick up WiFi, a nicer keyboard, and 3G. It's a tradeoff, but we think it's worth it for most people that aren't totally Palm fans.

Motorola Q, or WM Smartphone Edition: Upgrade if you don't mind the size. You definitely get more in terms of functionality when you switch up to a phone that runs the PPC version of Windows Mobile. Not only do you have more processing power, touch-screen, and access to Mobile Office apps, you have a larger, more easy to use keyboard. Add to that a bunch of apps that don't run on Smartphone edition, you're set to be more productive than ever. That is, if you can stand the bulge in your pants.

T-Mobile MDA, Verizon/Sprint 6700, Cingular 8125: Upgrade if you can afford it. This is where it gets both tricky and interesting. The 8525 runs the same OS as its predecessors—also known as the HTC Wizard—and thus, have all the same apps and can do pretty much the same things. They all have WiFi, a slide-out keyboard, and touch-screen capabilities. So why would you upgrade? Because it's what the old version should have been.

The 8525 looks better than any of its predecessors. Compared to my old MDA, it's thinner, sleeker, sexier, and has a beautiful texture to its finish. There are extra buttons on the front for "OK" and "Windows" button, and the added "OK" buttons on the side definitely helps. But the major exterior improvement is the scroller. This makes it easy for you to scroll through menu options, something that was tedious with the clickpad before. It also serves as a great volume control—much better than the volume buttons before.

On the interior, there's the faster processor which makes everything, including Skype and web browsing, much smoother. The 2-megapixel camera is nice, but it's missing the front camera for video calling. However, the 3G is still intact, and if you spring for Cingular's HSDPA net, you get pretty speedy mobile access. Everything's just better, faster, and cleaner about this phone compared to the one you've been using. If you want to put it off because you want to save up some cash for say, a PlayStation 3, that's perfectly valid. But if you can spare the coin and really enjoy having the best WM device of this form factor, we definitely recommend the 8525. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Cingular]

Enough talk, hot and juicy pics ahead!

The HTC P4350 is scheduled to debut later this month. Most of HTC's stuff is fairly decent, and I would expect nothing less from this. – Nicholas Deleon

HTC P4350 Live Shots [The Boy Genius Report]

The sucessor to the HTC Wizard, which is the design all the above phones are based on, the Hermes has a 2.8-inch screen, scroll wheel, UMTS, Bluetooth 2.0, video calling, 2-megapixel camera, and 400MHz processor. And since it's quad-band GSM, you can only import it to use on Cingular or T-Mobile. All these improved features do come with a price, as it's around $800 to $900 depending on where you look online. – Jason Chen

The HTC Hermes / Dopod 838Pro Review [Gear Diary via Slashgear]

Cody writes:

I dropped by a Cingular store this evening and inquired about when the Cingular 8525 was going to be released. They smiled and said they didn't know but pointed to an empty display and told me they already had an area set aside for it. He said he expected it to come out within the next 30 days.

When I asked if he knew more or less how much it will cost, he went to his computer and pulled up the official price list. It listed it as $474.95 with a two year contract or $424.95 if you factor in the $50 mail-in rebate.

Well there you have it. Kinda pricey compared to the Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard), but being on the bleeding edge costs ya. – Jason Chen

Thanks Cody!

No other information is available now, but you bet our resident HTC fanboy (me) will update when news hits. – Jason Chen

HTC Herald: first photos and detailed lists. SoloPalmari exclusive right. [SoloPalmari via Engadget]

Dopod CHT9000 USB Cradle [Brando]

The phones have quad-band GSM, 64MB of storage, and a microSD slot for expandable memory. For connectivity, they support GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA/Bluetooth/802.11b/g compliant. There's also a 2-megapixel phone and a secondary camera on the front for 3G video calls, something that isn't popular yet here in the states. Since it's GSM, you should be able to pick one up at the $899 price, and use it on one of the GSM providers here.

If you've already got a previous generation HTC device such as the T-Mobile MDA or the Verizon XV6700, there may not be a reason to upgrade. The software is the same on all these devices. You're just paying for the 3G support, higher quality camera, much faster processor, and video calling. If you don't need any of that, you can stick with the older model. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Dynamism via Crunchgear]

In any case, both phones support GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA and Bluetooth, and a secondary camera for 3G video calling. They both have push email, since they're running Windows Mobile 5. The JASJAM also has WiFi, a QWERTY keyboard, a 2.8-inch touchscreen, and a 1300mAh battery which gives 5 hours talk time and 8 days of standby. The SP JAS has a 300MHz processor, and similar battery life at 4 hours talk, 7 days standby.

Both are available now for $888 (JASJAM) and $544 (SP JAS). – Jason Chen

i-mate Launches JASJAM and SP JAS Windows Mobile 5.0 Phones [Mobile Burn]

For non-fanboys, the HTC TyTN just launched in Europe and has a 2-megapixel camera, 128MB of on-board storage, 802.11g WiFi, and EDGE/Quad-band GSM. It's fairly costly, at around $860 when you buy the phone solo, without contract.

Thanks Zach!

First up, HTC has changed their slogan to HTC Smart Mobility from their old HTC Engineering Mobility and HTC Innovation. They've also renamed their phones with letters instead of words, like the HTC TyTN and the HTC MTeoR.

So what's due in '06? The TyTN and the MTeoR, which have just been released in Europe. Then there's the HTC Artemis and the HTC Excalibur, the latter of which is a Motorola Q-like smartphone. There's also thee phones we haven't heard much about, the HTC Melody, the HTC Trinity and the HTC OxyGen.

Take a look at the specs for those three phone after the jump. – Jason Chen

BengalBoy Exposes the HTC "Road Map"... Photos of the UpComing HTC Devices with Specifications!! [BengalBoy via Slashphone]

The TyTN, complete with support for EDGE and quad-band GSM, hits stores with a price tag of around $860 when not subsidized by a mobile carrier. – Nicholas Deleon

HTC TyTN business phone hitting store shelves [infoSync World]

It's going to be available from Singapore (Dopod is primarily a company that services the Asian market) for $1,398 SGD ($884) or $1,248 SGD ($789) with a contract. $884 is actually fairly decent for a Hermes-based device, seeing as pre-order units for the TyTN are around $1000 USD online. – Jason Chen

RELEASE: Dopod introduces the Dopod 838Pro 3G Pocket PC Phone Edition [The Unwired via uber phones]

Chief mob-ologist Dave at Mobility Today got some hands time with the HTC TyTN, the in-house model name for the HTC Hermes.

Besides the speedy 400MHz CPU, Dave's impressed with the better keyboard, second camera, and small-ish dimensions—it's the same size as the Treo 700p and other similar devices. Check out his video to see all his thoughts. – Jason Chen

HTC TyTN [Mobility Today]

Ok, so there's not that much new here, we just wanted an excuse to show that picture. – Jason Chen

CHT 9000 [Phone Daily via Phoneyworld]

What is the first thing HTC does when it walks into that snakepit of cellphone purveyors? It names a couple of its products the MTeoR (left) and TyTN. That's Gr8. Wonder where they got that naming convention? The company says that these two phones are the first Windows Mobile 5.0 phones with 3G/W-CDMA. We're especially liking that slide-out keyboard on the TyTN. – Charlie White

HTC launches own-brand mobiles [The Inquirer]