We’re not exactly fans of the HTC Touch Diamond, and with the updated and Windows Mobile 6.5-ready Touch Diamond2 just months (or weeks?) away, we were surprised to see that Verizon Wireless may begin offering the 1st gen Diamond later this month.

This information comes from BGR, which has a knack for getting it right when it comes to smartphone release dates.  According to BGR, the Verizon Touch Diamond will be available for purchase this Friday, April 10, 2009.  It will sell for $199 after a two-year service agreement and mail-in rebates.

One interesting tidbit in the story: Verizon’s version of the Touch Diamond will forego the onboard 4GB of flash memory in favor of a microSDHC memory card slot.  While we love the idea of gigabytes of internal storage, the ability to add more storage via memory card is a feature that’s too good to lack, and since you can pick up a 16GB microSDHC card for around $40, this seems like a no-brainer.