And just like a bad dream, it’s over before you know it. The HTC Magic is back on sale at Vodafone. Although at the time of writing, the website is still reporting content unavailable.

Just what would cause a company like Vodadone to completely withdraw a product from the market for 24hrs? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s obviously nothing technical. Vodafone is being tight lipped about the reasons behind the withdrawal.

One thing I do know: whoever ordered the takedown has never heard of the Streisand effect.

Then again, maybe they have? There wasn’t a lot of press coverage around the launch. Was this one giant publicity stunt to give the Magic a free boost?

If I’ve learnt one thing today it is this: PR is a quirky business.

Today, for reasons yet unknown, Vodafone NZ has completely removed the HTC Magic from sale in New Zealand. They’ve removed all mention of it from their website, and removed existing stock from store shelves.

Perhaps this is related: yesterday I took a few images down from this blog at the request of Vodafone PR. This image was one of them:

Let me be clear: I have absolutely no idea if the request to remove images of the HTC Magic launch party, and the removal of the HTC Magic from sale are related. You can make your own conclusions about that.

Why did I take them down? Here’s where I put my balls on the line and apologise to my readers. I took them down because Vodafone PR offered a quid-pro-quo, that I quite incorrectly accepted. I apologise wholeheartedly to my readers. It’s not good enough. It won’t happen again. If there is a next time, I will thoroughly question PR motives before complying.

There was no restriction on photography at the event. I wasn’t the only one taking photos. So to the best of my knowledge I have every right to publish the photos.

Added: At the time and soon after the party, a couple of people commented on the usage of Google trademark and that it seemed a bit dodgey.

Couple more images after the jump:

Read more…

Update: NBR have backtracked on their original report that “supply issues” were the reason for the withdrawal. They are now reporting “commercial issues”.

Update: Computerworld picks up the story, with a quote from Vodafone that “Google is having a little problem”.

As of writing, the HTC Magic is nowhere to be found on Vodafone NZ’s website. After a big launch party, it seems peculiar that Vodadone would withdraw it, but this seems to be the case.

I’m guessing, but I did wonder about the Google logo on the bodypainted woman… will update when I know more.

When an electronic device is purchased, a device with additional capability is instantaneously created at the same price point.

Corollary: If you purchase an electronic device, it will be cheaper the next day.

I opened the question laptop and besides warming my lap, it presented the following question to me:

I need help! Need a new laptop, my last one Toshiba Satellite M40 just died. Don’t know the tech stuff but need to store lots of photos plus run a small business (word and excel work mainly). Thinking of getting Toshiba P300 oc2. 500GB HD and 4GD DDR2 memory. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

I could just make up and answer and tell you to buy a Toshonic XS234.5 Revision 4 Model S with a 523GB HDD and 3GB Dance Dance Revolution, but I’d be doing neither of us a favour.

The truth is, I get variations on the “Which Laptop/PC/Phone?” question fairly regularly, and there is no correct answer. The huge diversity of consumer electronics poses at least an NP-Hard problem in selecting the ‘correct’ device. I’d argue in fact that the problem is bordering on chaos.

There is, thankfully, a correct process for purchasing a device that will get you over the 80/20 barrier very quickly. That is, you will be able to discard 80% of the available options, or select a device that is 80% appropriate, in short order.

Step 1: Set your budget.
Look, I know I sound like your father, but just bloody do it, and stick to it. If you don’t set a budget, you’ll flounder around for days and end up selecting something too expensive anyway.

Step 2: Decide on some non-negotiables.
Can you work on anything smaller than a 15″ screen? Do you require at least 300GB of photo storage, plus 100GB for the OS and sundries? Are you a Mac zealot? Do you require at least 4 USB ports to power all your humping dogs?

You get the picture. If there are any utterly non-negotiable items in your requirements, note them down and stick to them. In some cases this may require collaboration with Step 1. You may for example find no 17″ laptops that fit within your predefined budget. Go smaller or set your budget higher.

Taking the original question, this guy probably needs to prioritise disk space over CPU and RAM. Unless you’re doing hardcore Photoshop work on those images, any modern laptop will load images and run Word/Excel. If it were me, I’d go for decent internal storage, and probably even drop back on the CPU/RAM requirements and use the savings to buy an external backup device for the photos too.

Step 3: Google, Grasshopper.
Trawl the manufacturer sites for devices that fit your parameters in Steps 1 and 2, then make a list of models. Take that list and spend a good couple of hours Googling for reviews and opinions. What you’re looking for here is not “oh my god this is the shizzle fo my nizzle!” reviews. You’re looking for a groundswell of “what the hell, my battery exploded”-type messages. Some devices are lemons, and the internet discovers those lemons very, very quickly.

Step4: Purchase, then take a timeout.
Ben’s Consumer Electronics Law:

When an electronic device is purchased, a device with additional capability is instantaneously created at the same price point.

You’ve found the device that is a close match to your requirements and fits in your budget. Buy it. Savour it. Don’t keep looking for alternatives that “could have been”. You’re guaranteed to be disappointed.