HTC Hero gets Android 2.1 update across Europe (update: nope, not 2.1 yet)
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 15th 2010 7:24PM
posted June 15th 2010 7:24PM
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Update: We've heard from our friends at CoolSmartPhone that this is just another minor update, amazingly -- not the 2.1 build that other Hero owners are enjoying. What gives, HTC?
Update 2: And now HTC has gotten in touch with us directly, describing a two-part (the first of which seems to have already begun) end of June release. See it after the break.
Accordng to HTC:
"Android Éclair update for HTC Hero will be released by the end of June. The upgrade will come in two parts, the first of which will roll out from this week and will be detected when the Hero next automatically checks for software updates. The second part of the update will follow towards the end of the month. As the second part of the upgrade will wipe all data on the handset, Hero users should ensure any important data has been backed up before proceeding with the installation. Due to the size of the update, wherever possible, we would advise using a WiFi connection for this download to avoid additional data charges."
Android > iPhone.
@wakeup wheres those fragment issues now (yes i know alot other phones need the update, but hey its a start isnt it)
@huskie fluff, most of the large devices have been updated I know all my friends android devices run 2.1 now.
Palm needs to release an update soon it has been a long while now.
@huskie fluff
Right where they used to be. I was about to get excited then I realised it was only 2.1. Its a step up but its still a slap in the face.
@tobsmonster2: How is this a slap in the face? 2.1 is the latest released version.
@wakeup
I wish people would stop this. Both iOS and Android have their pros and cons. Neither one is "better." Jeez. Grow the hell up with this playground "mine is better than yours" bullshit.
@Android looks Hacked Together I can think of a few....
@BigJayDogg3 Will you people please stop answering the effing trolls!?!?
@Android looks Hacked Together
That phone is pure sexy. Too bad it didnt make it to the US looking like that.
2100MHz?
This thing is 2.1 ghz?
@WastedxYears 3G bands, not the CPU.
@WastedxYears What other way do HTC have to make up?
@WastedxYears
Radio frequency dude.
@tobsmonster2
Thanks for clearing that up everyone. I skimmed over to 2100mhz and was like "WTF?"
@WastedxYears 2100mhz is the microwave frequency used by 3g GSM phone radios, not the CPU speed. Referring to it as the 2100mhz version helps differentiate from the cmda variants which use different roms.
@WastedxYears they mean the 3g network frequency.
that took its times , i have friends here where hero where complaining about that for months now.
It seems that HTC Hero was ages ago, but it is only one year old... damn android is developing fast!
@Dking7
Yeah, the hero was what got me into android... and look at me now: rooted droid... :) (well technically it was sense ui on the hero that i like so much...
@masta vaan I got into android with HTC desire, jumped from Windows Mobile band wagon.. the only thing I miss is ability to switch off auto-correction from the keyboard. Other then that live sense ui and all the apps...
@Dking7
I have the feeling too. Android is moving at blazing speeds both in terms of software and hardware. Even phones a couple of months old feel quite old now.
@jakey couldn't agree more, as I said I recently got HTC Desire (one month and half ago), and froyo wasn't announced yet and I wasn't into android much. So I get the device, in less then a month I have old version of software :/ Not saying it is bad thing, but it gets bad when you need to wait for it for few month... when you know it is there.
When will the EVO and other HTC devices finally get Froyo? Please God don't tell me a year from now because I can't deal with paying 30 dollars more a month to Sprint on top of the 10 I'm paying for 4mbps 4g speed I mean it is so blazing I almost forgot my Pre goes 2.3mbps. Can you guys sense my sarcasm, LOL.
@saxgod: Unfortunately, when the EVO does get Froyo, tethering will be disabled. Sprint isn't stupid enough to let that fly.
@kidphat Actually from what I've read from Giz and here as well the higher ups or the people in the know (plus I talked to the tech people on the phone at Sprint) have said they will NOT interfere with apps people can get for free or pay a onetime fee for. For examle pda thingy app where you can have tethering but only using a usb cable is allowed on the EVO and the same sources on Giz said yes we will not block these apps. So that is why I am clamoring for Froyo because I don't want to pay for hotspot app. Plus god knows Sprint's hotspot app keeps track of how many gbs you download so they may and try and ding you with more fees. I don't know. I do know that this weekend when I downloaded a 9gb movie on the 360 I used my Pre's mytether just in case they are starting to notice the over 5gb 3g usage because I don't have 4g where I live but I do where I work so since I'm at work ALL the time I was ok paying for it, but NOT when I only get 4mbps what happened to up to 10. I can't even get over 4 WHAT'S UP WITH THAT?
@saxgod Google haven't released Froyo yet. The version you're seeing on some Nexus One phones is a pre-release version.
This isn't the 2.1 update yet.
This is just the preparatory update that HTC said they would send out first. 2.1 is still nowhere to be found.
@DavidT
Oh, FFS!! *slaps HTC over the face with a red herring* They said 2.x would be out in March when I got the phone in December... At least this is a (tiny) step in the right direction.
@f314
Ditto! Got mine mid-December. It went from March, to April, to May, to June... to H2 2010.
MT3G next.
From what I've heard, it's not 2.1 but an incremental 1.5 update. Can anyone confirm or deny?
@Archon810 No dude. Sprint's 2.1 update is the official Eclair 2.1-update.1
Does HTC have like, one guy working part-time in the basement on these updates?
@yankees368 it pretty much seams so. Probably one of the assembly line guys is an amateur programmer and works hard on his free time on these updates.
@yankees368 hahahahaha, SO TRUE!
Not so fast engadget. The update that is now starting to roll out is not the 2.1. It's just a minor preparation update.
@Furret Why did the need to do this prepatory update when they didn't need to do it for the Chinese update they did last week?
So I take it the Telus Hero is still behind?
@BigJayDogg3: Yep, still no love for TELUS Hero owners, like me. :~(
That phone would have looked so much nicer without the dumb bent chin. Who intentionally designs these things then gimps them at the end?
And those of us running the Magic (MyTouch 3G for the Merkins) are still left out. Fortunately, I'm not a sissy, so I'm running CyanogenMod 5.0.8test4, but for the normal people who fear bricking/don't know what bricking is, it's still a pipe dream.
@el tony Oh yes. I hate it - still stuck on my HTC Magic with Android 1.5. 'Cmon HTC, do us a favor and update our phones as well please.
I heard also that it is not 2.1. Just some other upgrade to Youtube Player etc. Not yet rolling in Finland.
Btw. Last HTC phone ever for me :P
@Enidan Set the date on your Hero 1 month ahead (to July), that will force the update. Worked on my Nordic version (Denmark).
Not surprisingly, Engadget appears to be the only site that didn't manage to figure out that this is just a minor bugfix update.
@imikedaman Well, not exactly. The update includes a new FOTA updater, whish is somehow needed for the 2.1 update.
That's still a sexy phone, chin and all.
As an iphone user, and not a fanboy at all, this is something I honestly dont understand yet about Android.. A month ago was the big news of froyo 2.2 .. and now phones are just getting 2.1?? I guess I dont really like the idea of not knowing knowing when updates will come out, if at all. The deployment of updates across the platform seems so sporadic.
Whats the problem getting these out immediately and to all phones?
@september11th
Google has no control over who uses their OS:P and its up to the companies that use Android to update their devices.
Only exception is the N1 which is indeed controlled by Google for the most part and is running the beta of 2.2 and of course 2.2 is not officially released yet.
@Warzone
They very well could have built in an updater allowing the end-user to update the OS. Google should allow users to update the OS as they choose - something iphone and winphone (soon) allow. Yeah maybe the custom UI will be lost but Google could very well let the end user know that is what will happen - or better work with these so called 'partners' and provide them an open api that lets them overlay ui customizations that are automatically applied on OS updates.