There's HTC Incredible and HTC Mondrian set to be announce soon, but my guess is that it'll probably only arrive in Malaysia anywhere around October or December.
Currently, HTC Desire is the best model for android. A lot of owners for it too, so you can definitely expect good support here in Malaysia.

So does HTC Legend. Simply turn off Mobile Network should ensure no data leakage due to snyc'ng or status updates.

Well if you refer here:PDA Gadget (MidValley) you can see the difference in price between AP and Ori set.
As to differentiate between AP and ori, my guess is that ori has SiS sticker on it. Plus, when you register the phone in Sis website, it will acknowledge the authenticity and provide you with 2 years warranty.

Standard AP set gives you 1 year warranty from the shop, but please realise that LCD screen warranty usually is between 1 month-3 month only. This one, you have to confirm with the shop itself.
I think to be safe, you should gather info such as the latest pricing for both AP and original.