Here’s a chance to win HTC’s Desire HD phone, as well as a host of goodies from our regular reader giveaways.

We have a “seeding unit” of the popular Android smartphone from the folks from HTC Singapore to give away to readers of Techgoondu. Essentially, this is a NEW unit with a “white-box” packing that does not come with accessories such as memory cards. But everything is brand new and we have not even powered it on.

We’ve got other good stuff as well, like Lady Gaga earphones, a Jabra Bluetooth headset and Coolermaster V6 CPU coolers as well. More details on how to win here.

Here’s wishing all our readers, especially our Chinese friends, a Happy Year of the Rabbit! May you enjoy good health, reap new wealth and have your wishes all come through in the new year!

Good luck too to those who are taking part in our Chinese New Year giveaway, where we are offering a Motorola Defy and other tech gifts up for grabs. In the new year, look out for a new HTC Desire HD phone that we are giving away as well. Check back often!

(UPDATE: Motorola has responded to this article in a separate statement. Link here.)

If you launch an Android 2.1 phone just days after Google unveiled the latest Android 2.3 operating system, you’re likely to be asked why you are selling new hardware running on old software.

So it was no surprise when Motorola showed off its Defy smartphone to the Singapore media on Thursday, reporters zoomed in on the topic: why was this new phone sporting software that’s older than what you get on phones launched six months ago?

What was surprising was the company’s response. Instead of simply admitting that it needed more time to customise its self-brewed add-on features for the open-source Android OS, company executives launched into a spirited argument that we reporters didn’t know what customers really wanted. …

The two new numbers from HTC, which I had a brief hands-on with recently, are hitting shelves here next month, as they join an increasing bunch of new phones arriving for the holiday season.

The HTC Desire HD, a bigger-screen version of the excellent Desire, goes for S$888. The Desire Z, which comes with a nifty slide-out keyboard for messaging junkies, will cost S$868. Both prices are without subscription contracts with telcos. …

Okay, I wasn’t at the HTC launch in London yesterday, where rival Nokia childishly gave out a HTC (Ham, Tomato and Cheese) sandwich to journalists going to the HTC event.

But back in Singapore, I managed to get a quick hands-on with the two HTC phones – Desire HD and Desire Z – that are built on the basic touch-screen Desire (and its earlier variant the Google Nexus One) that came out earlier this year.

First, I have to say both phones look solidly built and the industrial design (ID) is really up there with the best. It reminds me a little of Nokia at its zenith, like their 8250 “butterfly” phone. …