Google may've let Froyo out of the bag, but until the networks and manufacturers release it that won't mean anything to those ready to kick Android 2.1 to the curb. Sprint and Motorola's (rough/unconfirmed) plans are detailed below. UPDATE
Straight out of the HTC mouthpiece:
It appears some people are still using Plurk, that Twitter rival from a couple of years ago. HTC is one of them, with their Taiwanese corporate account confirming that GSM HTC Heros will be getting the Android 2.1 update today. This comes after HTC pushed the update out to CDMA Heros the other week, with Sprint…
Yesterday we brought the good news to Hero owners that Sprint was pushing out the Android 2.1 firmware update—but before you press yes on that update, make sure you back up all your data.
Sprint has gifted its HTC Hero owners the long-awaited Android 2.1 update, seven months after the first screenshots of a Hero running the faster, snazzier version showed up.
Super-spec'd premium phones like the Droid and Nexus One are only part of Google's long term plan for Android. What we have here is a glimpse of Android's other future: Free. Android handsets are the new flip-phones! Sort of!
We've seen all manner of phones controlling robots, cars and helicopters, but a HTC Hero operating a Lego Mindstorms robot? Awesome. It works via a purpose-built app which uses the Hero's accelerometer, connecting to the 'bot over Wi-Fi.
Abandon all hope, ye who enter Remainders. Today, we've got: Windows 7 needs less tech support than anyone expected, Acer's Olympic-themed laptop, Sprint's Android phones skipping Android 2.0, and a leaked Panasonic (non-Micro) Four Thirds camera.
That HTC Legend handset from the leaked roadmap we saw the other week has just been given another airing in public, with the Hero-esque aesthetics and specs revealed. LED flash, anyone?
If you wanted to get an early taste of Android 2.1 complete with HTC Sense, Hero owners can download the leaked ROM now. But you're probably OK waiting, since this new version is still "a disaster," according to our resident Android expert John Herrman. [XDA Developers via Engadget]
We haven't heard from HTC after its promise to update the Hero to Android 2.0, but maybe that's because it's updating the Sense UI for Android 2.1 (expected by year's end) instead. Click to zoom in on the screens:
After the HTC Droid Eris, a rebadged Hero, debuted on Verizon for $100, Sprint's Hero couldn't well sit at $180 and expect to sell—and now Best Buy has stepped up, selling the Hero at $100 with contract. [Engadget]
According to HTC's Twitter feed, the no-longer-tragically-flawed HTC Hero is getting a sprucing up with an update to Android 2.0. Will the OS actually shine through this time, or is HTC's Sense UI gonna continue running the show? [Twitter]
The CDMA Hero is now available to everyone, after first dibs went to Best Buy's Reward Zone (and those willing to deal with Sprint's telesales). Arguably the best U.S Android phone, it's $180 (after rebate; with 2-year contract).
Verizon said this morning that it will drop two Android phones "within the next few weeks." And all signs point to these being them. That's likely an HTC Hero on the left and the Motorola Sholes on the right. Updated
Take the most daring Android phone yet, but make it faster, stronger and better (but blander). You have the Sprint take on the HTC Hero, which happens to be the best Android phone you can buy.
Would-be American Hero buyers, look at the bright side: Before Sprint's version even ships, HTC will have ironed out most of the problems with the original. Like the slowness! Which you can now murder, to death, with an update.
I had essentially taken this for granted, since Best Buy's instant rebate policy is storewide, but hey, just in case: Whittling the HTC Hero's price down to the advertised $180 will take the redemption of a $50 "instant savings" (don't worry about this) as well as a $100 mail-in rebate, which Best Buy has confirmed…
That Sprint's first Android phone's going to be the HTC Hero is about as unsurprising as news gets, but you know what is surprising? They've given it some invasive plastic surgery, and priced it squarely below their own Palm Pre.
