First off, I found it amazing that a third party developer would support old hardware for so long. The HTC Dream (aka T-Mobile G1) and the HTC Magic (aka Sapphire aka T-Mobile MyTouch 3G) have been around over two years. Even T-Mobile stopped already selling the G1 and the original MyTouch 3G, and long stopped offering software updates. Still, you can’t support an aging device forever and CyanogenMod has officially stopped development of ROMs for the two classic phones.

You can still download CM 6.1 for both devices, but as some users have pointed out it runs slow on the older hardware. I had to use a G1 with CM6 for a couple days and the experience was painful compared to the T-Mobile G2 that I use day to day.

Still, much thanks to the CyanogenMod team for the great ROMs over the years and looking forward to the latest CM7 updates.

[CyanogenMod via Android Police]

Remember all those rumors saying Honeycomb would require this hardware or that, dual core or certain screen size? And that it was for tablets only? Yeah, we remember too. So far there’s only a handful of devices running Honeycomb out of the box, but that never stops developers from porting it to other devices. Starting with the Nook Color, then we saw it on the HTC EVO, Incredible and HD2.

Now it’s hitting some low-end devices, including the very first Android phone, the T-Mobile G1. It’s also been ported to the HTC Magic, known as the MyTouch 3G here in the US, and the HTC Wildfire.

Yes, it’s much more of a proof of concept rather than a fully functional ROM, and as expected a lot of bits don’t work. But it’s impressive nonetheless. Check out the video below showing the Honeycomb port on the G1/Magic.

[G1/Magic xda-developers] [Wildfire xda-developers]

[HTC press release]

Sure, current Android handset owners, it’s understandable that you’re looking at HTC’s new Hero handset with a bit of jealousy. The new Sense UI alone is reason enough to be envious of course, as HTC has seemingly done for Android what it has done previously for Windows Mobile — added a UI layer that boosts sex appeal by about a million times. Don’t fret though… It looks like at least some of you will be getting some Sense UI love in the near future. HTC CEO Peter Chou is reportedly quoted as stating, “HTC sense will be available on some other existing devices.” That little snippet can be interpreted a variety of ways of course, but suffice it to say that the Dream/G1 or the Magic/myTouch 3G (or even both) are destined for updates that include the new Sense UI. As for what carrier versions will be privy to said update, your guess is as good as ours for the time being. Keep those fingers crossed, T-Mobile subscribers.

While most of us see this as wonderful news, I can’t help but think how the T-Mobile G1 has much less memory than the Hero, or even the Magic. This is why the hacked version of the Hero ROM doesn’t work so great on the G1. So we’ll slap a big fat RUMOR tag on this one and see what happens.

[via BGR]

Thanks to an anonymous tipster, EngadgetMobile got their hands on the boxes for the T-Mobile MyTouch 3G, aka the HTC Magic/Sapphire. Clearly showing 3 different colors, black, white, and red. The rumored launch date is August 8th, courtesy of a recently leaked roadmap, but T-Mobile is on record as saying the next Android device would be coming “early summer.” Only a few more weeks and we’ll find out.

Is it just me, or would the red look really good on a G1?

[via EngadgetMobile]

Specs are pretty much as expected, no surprises here: 3.2” QVGA touch screen display, HSDPA, WiFi, GPS, 3.2MP Camera.

According to the press release, the HTC Magic will be “available from free on various price plans“. And there is no immediate indication it will be available in any colors other than white. Hit the link for the full press release, or to register with Vodafone for updates.

[Press Release]

Head over to the Boy Genius Report for more sexy shots of this yet-to-be-announced handset.