Android 2.1 upgrade for Sprint's HTC Hero leaks out
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 14th 2010 8:55PM
posted May 14th 2010 8:55PM
[Thanks, Divyam]
posted May 14th 2010 8:55PM
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Finally
I thought Heroes just got cancelled?
@mikmik111
lol
@forHim247
this was one of the worst phones ive ever seen. Hardware is a JOKE. no ram, extremely slow compared to snapdragon.
@account5 Just out of curiosity, what phone do you have? I always hear you talking down phones so I'm just curious what phone you have. I'm not meaning to be difficult I'm just curious.
@forHim247 I'll run it through my Predict-o-tron...
*BEEP* *BOOP* *BEEP*
[THIS MAN HAS AN IPHONE AND IS A FANBOY]
*BEEP* *BOOP* *BEEP*
Thank you, Predict-o-tron.
@mikmik111
...We don't need another Hero.. nanana nana nana na...
@gnargle Actually, I'm pretty sure he is a Windows Mobile fanboy. He is always talking about how great Windows Phone 7 is going to be.
@account5
Actually I have to agree.. its extremely slow and annoying to use... the reason i switched to the Pre. I'll give the EVO 4G a shot when it comes out since the android market is way bigger than the Pre app store. I also miss the autofocus camera. But seriously, the Hero is way too slow in general.
About time!
@account5 get your trolling butt out of every article stick to your window phone article's you stupid troll
I *hear* that it will be completely worth it!
@Dafrety Hear here!!
@Spikedude I *HERE* that! :P
Wait, does this make T-Mobile US the only carrier who hasn't updated a single phone. AUGH!
@Dafrety AT&T hasn't updated the backflip yet.
@JoeGoe lmao... Got a good laugh out of thinking AT&T actually cares... they too busy blocking off June so employees can't take time for for the iPhone launch.
@ComboBreaker
I have to agree. At some level AT&T could care less because they're probably going to pour far more money into marketing the new iphone than any other device in their line up, if only to keep their mindshare higher than Verizon's (assuming they also get the iphone).
But with that said, a lot of that is up to Motorola and getting Blur running without any hitches on 2.1.
@cherryboom I guess two phone didn't just get 2. 1this week and more are coming very soon. And Google does there part then its up to the manufacture(HTC, MOTO ) along with the carrier.
ok so now you have to start waiting for 2.2 lol.....
@annoynimous
At least right now, everyone is waiting for 2.2.
@annoynimous Always waiting for the next/latest and greatest. And who doesn't want a 450% speed boost from the new JIT Compiler???
@annoynimous
everyone mentions 2.2 but Nvidia talks up 3.0
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1648653/nvidia-comfirms-commitment-android
wonder what's cooking in 3.0 that 2.x doesn't have, it better be good.
@ekinnee
Frankly this news has me so excited I'M compiling jit...
@built2spill Trust me, I "jitted" when I read the article. :D
@annoynimous : Yeah, but I want to see if sprint will disable the built-in thering and hotspot features of android 2.2.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/13/android-2-2-froyo-to-include-usb-tethering-wifi-hotspot-funct/
So I don't get why some devices can get 2.1 and some currently can't. Be like, ok, iPhone 3GS gets 3.1.3, 3G gets 3.1, and iPhone 2G will get 3.0, eventually...
@Goaliegeek
Well, the Iphone 2G can't get iphone OS 4.0...
@masta vaan
But I know what you mean... It's called fragmentation...
@Goaliegeek
They are all on different carriers, different hardware (and some have custom UIs, like the Hero, which has Sense UI) so the firmware is completely different. So it is up to the carrier and manufacturer to set the timetable of the update.
Basically anyone with a phone with a custom UI knows to expect it to be delayed in terms of updating. And some carriers are faster in updating than others. Also keep in mind there has been at least 3 major updates already in less than a year (1.5, 1.6, 2.0/2.1), I don't think the iPhone has as quick an update cycle.
@Goaliegeek Hardware gets out of date and can't keep up with the newer operating systems. The 2.1 update is an example. The Moment still doesn't have touch to zoom because of it's screen. A 2g iPhone can't run the 4.0 because the processor is not fast enough to keep up.
@Goaliegeek
theres no such thing as the iphone 2g moron.
@dgskydive
You people seem to be forgetting that the original iPhone and the iPhone 3G have the same processor. No 4.0 for the original iPhone is an artificial limitation, just like nearly all the Android phones that don't get upgraded.
@Goaliegeek Right on. So similar situation with the iPhone 2g and 4.0. thanks for clearin that up guys.
@account5
the first iPhone only had 2g thus the name.
@Goaliegeek Also, don't forget that it really isn't Google's fault. It's mostly phone makers who CBA to update their phones, and carriers who are also unwilling to upgrade, to make you buy a new phone. That was my personal reason why the Google Webstore was heaven. There won't be people placing those artificial limitations on me. The N1 getting the latest updates is nothing to do with how good the phone is, it's to do with how unrestricted it is.
I am just waiting for this update. I want some stable 2.1 (fix battery life issues ) roms.
Downloaded and installed when Android Central broke the story.
Yes, it is worth it. Yes, it is signed with release keys this time. No, I don't see any issues so far. I don't think it's any faster, it's just 2.1 instead of 1.5 or 1.6 that it came with.
@ekinnee Android Central didn't break the story. I wrote about it a good two hours before they did. They just didn't give me any love, nor did Engadget when I sent them the tip about 10 minutes after I wrote the story. Yeah, Engadget, check your history. Why do I know this? I have a Hero and obsessively watch XDA for new ROMs.
Anyway, it is awesome, been running it half the day now.
http://www.thesearethedroids.com
@AndroidOne Well, then I stand corrected. I've never seen your page.
@AndroidOne Is it better than the Fresh 2.0 ROM? I've been running that for a while and have been really impressed with it...
@ekinnee
I installed a rooted version of the leaked Sprint HTC Hero 2.1 update. It was modded by user Damage on the xda forums. Was a bit of a pain to update to a modded FW, but I really want Wireless Tethering so had to have root.
I've noticed a moderate speed improvement in some places. The dialer & lock screens are much snappier. That may sound trivial but having a laggy dialpad was annoying. Parts of the UI look nicer and overall it feels more reliable & consistent in performance. I bet after using this 2.1 FW, if you went back to 1.5 it would feel sluggish. Speedups are harder to notice than going back to a slower system.
Hey, if you have a custom recovery, you can flash this .zip and not lose your custom recovery.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=681697
Good thing I have an Eris and loaded the 2.1 leak many eons ago. And, the official Eris 2.1 update is rolling out OTA right now. I guess Engadget doesn't care?
I have the Eris too and applied the 2.1 update as soon as it came out. No problems at all.
@OCJP
Only thing Android that matters on Verizon, is the Droid and the Incredible.
@OCJP
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/04/android-2-1-for-droid-eris-leaks-out-with-updated-sense-in-tow/
@Physicsguy89 "official Eris 2.1 update is rolling out OTA right now." - get it?
@FRIZZ3L http://support.vzw.com/information/droid_eris_upgrade.html - I guess they must have miss-stepped and accidentally forgot that the Eris didn't matter and mistakenly rolled out 2.1 for it. Oh the oversight!
@OCJP