The HTC community is big and is not negatively affected by the fact that there is many versions of the HTC Windows Mobile phones. One reasons why I ordered the 770 was this site. A good community infrastructure based on a product (or type of product) will inevitably lead to new exiting hacks and ports.

Good hardware can always be killed by poorly optimised software, but I hope that the sluggishness will disapear with time and new roms.