By After a few swings and a whole lot of misses, we’re now getting a new date for the supposed (and I use that word very strongly) update for the Sprint HTC Hero. A lot of windows have been missed, including a May 7th date that would’ve helped to soothe the pain of many Hero users out there, but it appears HTC wanted to make some last minute changes, causing a delay.
Now, a new date has been set. By Friday, May 21st, Best Buy will be able to assist customers in-store to get their update to Android 2.1. Notice the word “by” so we could be seeing the update sooner, if true (wouldn’t get my hopes up, though). The news comes to us through another internal screen (sent to AndroidCentral via an anonymous tipster) from Best Buy informing employees on the status of the update.
I reckon this is the last shot for some of you either looking at the HTC EVO 4G, or looking to move to a different carrier altogether. Just remember that HTC are the main ones responsible for engineering the update, so Sprint shouldn’t be held completely responsible for all of these delays. We’ll be watching closely between now and next Friday to see if you guys will finally get the delicious Eclair you’ve been waiting for.
[Fun side note: May 21, Android 2.1. Connect the dots.]
Any news on the Euro Hero, as that was supposed to be getting an update “starting” the end of this month.
What is the point in even giving adate anymore? They obviously can’t stand behind what they say. The memo should read,”the sprint hero update will be available sometime in thenext two years.” Idiots…
Hopefully this time is for real…
ive had the hero since last summer (in the uk) and the bullsh1t delays for the 2.1 update are a joke.
I hope they get this cleared up soon, this is getting ridiculous.
First, just a couple of things… why the grandstanding of yet another RUMOR? Sprint announced 2nd Quarter 2010 and we are still within that time frame. Those missed WINDOWS to quote, were NOT nor where they EVER officially announced and as such, just rumors! Secondly, what’s with the LAST SHOT statement??? The article feeds negativity whereas the Handset manufacturer and carrier are both working towards releasing a good product rather than just releasing an update for update’s sake. The fact that they are even going to update a handset that will marginally improve it’s function at the detriment to new handset sales should be commended. Those you mention who are waiting (drooling) for the EVO unit to be sold are thinking they won’t have any issues with that phone either? EVERY single SMARTPHONE has had issues and required updates and such, so that’s just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. The Hero is a good if not GREAT phone, soon to be better with it’s shelf life extended. For those to whom it does matter… June 30th, 2010, is the last day of the 2nd Quarter, so until then, there really is no need to get anxious. ;) Regards!
@Cool. I’ve been running Fresh’s 2.1 ROM for a couple of months now and the improvement is far from “marginal”. It’s much faster, Google Nav, improvements to Sense, and tons of apps you couldn’t get with 1.5. It really is a huge update.
Hero is a great phone, but why did the Eris get updated first? This has nothing to do with HTC, I blame Sprint and their additional apps that you can’t uninstall. If the 2.1 update doesn’t allow me to remove the apps I’ll root my phone and plan on leaving Sprint ASAP. The only thing that would make me reconsider would depend on how Sprint handles the EVO upgrades. I won’t jump on board early like did with the Hero. I’ll wait and see how this plays out. Sprint had better wise up fast because the lure of the iPhone on Version could cause even more people to jump ship.
Any word on 2.2 for Hero yet? I’ve heard it’s expected in July…
…2015
i dont even care about eclair anymore!! just give me that delicious froyo!!! and to those who go on about rooting, and getting 2.1 that way, i have, and ive gone back to 1.5, as theres just too many bugs without an official htc kernel. anyway, just give me that froyo now…..i like froyo.
any word on if the moment will be getting the update on or around this time too?
The EVO is shipping with 2.2
You heard it here first!!!
2.2 Froyo on Evo I’m in! That would be nice.
I agree Cool. The rampant spread of rumors is probably worse than the timing of the update. I am looking forward to the update, but would prefer that they have as many major kinks worked out before I get it. I don’t mind folks putting a little pressure on HTC and Sprint, that keeps them moving forward, but to constantly blowing a gasket over a rumor is a little over the top.
Patience grasshoppers….
(and no, I don’t work for Sprint)
@swazedahustla dream on, its only taking the hero what 8-9 month for the 2.1 update?
@Cool: exactly
@Marty Mar: Doesn’t change the fact that no window has been missed by Sprint, and posts such as these are the only reason anyone thinks anything has been ‘missed’
@swazedahustla The Evo 2 maybe in 2011. Its sad but so very true.
Ok, dont believe me then. Froyo is about to be unvelied at the goggle event. Sprint is waiting till the last minute to announce 2.2. Nothing sprint has been doing lately seemed to be status quo. They are quietly making things happen, and this will be a huge shocker. Mark my words.
Why does everyone forget that Sprint announced 2.1 in early Q2? To me that means they have 3 days…
I’m already running 2.1 so eff all these rumors.
smh Verizon wins the race again
@Chris. Why? You do know that Verizon and Google have a partnership right? So it only makes sense that they would get this before Sprint or other carriers for that matter. Just food for thought…….
Also, as posted above, it’s still Q2!
I have been trying to talk the wife into letting me root her phone for a long time now, after this last delay she broke down and let me do it. used breezy’s 2.1 lite option 4 stable so far and I havent found anything that hasnt worked…
dont bs me untill it shows up. HTC??? So should I be blaming HTC instead of sprint?? Let me see…Sprint SOLD me the phone, not HTC. Isnt that how it works with the carriers. Manufacturers dont have a say!!
2.1 or 1.5 isnt a big fking deal???! Fine. BUT!. Think, you buy a new computer and you are said it comes with win 7, instead you get XP.
I know the crappy comparisons about price and platform stuff you are going to spew about PC/Smartphones, BUT, its the same you idiot.
CAN I SAY…I DONT GIVE A EFF WHO NEEDS TO BE BLAMED, HTC OR SPRINT..BUT A LIL PROFESSIONALISM AND NEED TO STICK TO YOUR WORD PAYS OFF!!!!!!
YOU PISS ME OFF, I WILL BECOME A FREAKING IPHONE USER. YEAH, AND I WILL TAKE PPL WITH ME.
OR MAYBE TO ANOTHER ANDROID FROM ANOTHER CARRIER BUT NOT YOU FREAKING SPRINT OR YOUR GAY DUO HTC!
Believe me, everyone else will come down to 69.95 deal too. Lamos.
ACTUALLY theyre about to miss a deadline you guys are forgetting EARLY Q2 if you guys are fine without 2.1 great grand wonderful! then stop telling us to stop complaining ur annoying not us we have a right to be mad
And those who say we were promised in Q2 so dont freak out….ummm…I was told that I will get an upgrade before fcking 1.6 showed up. So, I am on 1.5, but 1.6, 2.0 2.1 and now another is showing up and I am on 1.5. are u kidding me!@ Thats like taking an antares and putting windows 7. Still, I will like to know what 2.1 has to offer! Give me the fcking option.
Oh, I hate Sprint Nav and I want Google Nav on my phone. Fkc u Sprint.
i know my hardware specs are sucky compared to EVO and the “next generation” phones, BUT, again, sprint should fcking take time to upgrade!@!
BELIEVE ME….SPRINT WILL NOT RELEASE AN UPGRADE FOR HERO!!!! MARK MY WORDS. THEY HAVE NO INCENTIVE! JUST LIKE NEXUS ONE DNT HAVE A SHOT, HERO DINT…HERO HAS A SMALL USER BASE AND THEY REALLY CAN GET AWAY WITH NOT “WORRYING” ABOUT THIS CRAP. THEY GOT EVO….JUST LIKE VERIZON HAS DROID….THEY WILL WASTE FCKIN RESOURCES TO GET “NEW CUSTOMERS” BY ALLOCATING 100 MILLION JUST LIKE VERIZON DID TO DRIOD, BUT…..SPRINT WILL FAIL! 2010 IS TOO ADVANCED TO THINK YOU CAN PULL LAME ASS SHIT LIKE THIS AND GET AWAY WITH IT! FCK U SPRINT.
Another Sprint Android 2.1 Rumor. Yawn. I’m so sick of it I really want to puke. Until I see the update on an offical website or tweet, let’s just chuck this rumor in the garbage until we see it for real. Sprint has officially fallen behind AGAIN, with the Droid Eris getting theirs first. I still have a feeling that they are going to delay to shore up the Evo. If you are out shopping for a phone in June, would you take a Hero or Moment over the Evo? Of course not. You’d only buy the Hero or Moment because it has a better sale price, have no intention of running 4G, or the other devices somehow impressed the customer. So it makes no sense to hurt Hero & Moment customers with an Android delay. But Sprint only sees dollar signs. I wish they’d work on their tech support & customer service. Two of the biggest Achilles Heel’s of Sprint’s Not Anytime Now Network!
Some of you people need to take a nap, or go for a walk or something.
People like some of those commenting above are the reason companies think it’s good business to pump crap out and fix it later.
@Jose G. – some of us actually care about physical keyboards. Other than simply not wanting to give Apple any more money simply because they’re outright evil these days, I don’t have an iPhone because I’m not going out with a phone that uses half of its screen real estate for a virtual keyboard. Until we get an EVO or Galaxy with a keyboard I’m still just going to have to hold out for the Moment to get the 2.1 update and be as happy as I can with it. (and thanks to the rumor mill I might even continue to hold out for what appeared to be a Moment 2 with a slightly less goofy keyboard)
Sprint understands that happy customers make dollar signs, not carrot-on-a-stick’ing customers around hoping they’ll buy something else they weren’t planning on anyway. You hurt your competition by making your clients happy and that keeps them loyal and that gives you steady revenue. I’ve been with Sprint for ten years and if I ever have to call in to customer service those people bend over backward to make sure I’m happy with them before they hang up.
@cool – NO one CARES when YOU type IN randomly CAPITALIZED words. YOU just LOOK ridiculous.
tl;dr: you kids need to calm down. Sprint would do well to get people the updates they want but I’m glad they’re taking the Blizzard approach of “it’s ready when it’s ready” instead of “it’s ready for Christmas season or it goes out anyway and sucks until we patch it”
K for one yes simmer for 2 HTC has already said sry for taking so long its all on the HTc becuase they want a good release of course when they told me that i was like well what happened to 1.5 then if u guys like no hiccups of course i got crikets on the other end of the phone but it will be here when it get here for the ppl thats been waiting for a cpl months iv been waiting since it came out and im not upset eger yes. So relax its coming just not when u want it and sprint said possiable early 1h but will be by the end 1H (June 30th) final date.
I totally agree with you aabill, Iv’e been with sprint for 14 years and had my up’s and downs. People do need to relax over this upgrade thing, but it’s pretty sad to see that the current 1.5 version we have won’t even allow us to view YOUTUBE! Hell i was able to view it on my old phone that i had7 years ago and my instinct. So when i go to buy a new phone thats suppose to be one of the coolest phones out their, i expect to atleast be able to watch youtube on my damn phone! That’s BS! The salesmen should of told me they where having that problem before i bought the phone! Hell he owned the phone himself so it’s not like he didn’t have a clue. That’s enough said about that.
The 21st lol wow guess what its a rumur its not coming out on the 21st if it was then HTC and Sprint would of twittered it or told there customers this best buy is told a estimate thats all and if u havent noticed they have said about 3 or 4 times it will be out and it isnt yet so there is no way im believing best buy it will be out when HTC decideds to release it probablly after the evo is released or maybe before buut i doubt it.
Just root the phone already. I knew nothing about this stuff I did some research and had 2.1 working perfect within an hour. There are no bugs it works flawless not to mention how much better it is. So stop whining if you really want it just go get it. You can’t possibly believe another false date wake up get it and you really won’t care what sprint does I know I dont
Check this out people! Pisses me off! Hope the hero is next and soon!!!UPDATE (5/13/2010, 11:32 PM EDT): An Icrontic commenter going by “Kent” has once again confirmed that the Sprint firmware download is Android 2.1.
A user by the name of chrisfeltdrum on sdx-developers has made a happy discovery: Sprint has uploaded the Android 2.1 update for the Samsung Moment ahead of the official release, which is evidently scheduled for tomorrow.
The 101MB download update, located here, is Android 2.1 in the flesh, as several members of the sdx-developers community have already confirmed it after bravely running the update. Providing further evidence, Sprint also uploaded the complete upgrade guide (PDF), which is also dated for tomorrow.
In all, the upgrade process could take up to one hour, so users should be prepared with a full charge and some time free of incoming calls.
Things to know
Sprint confirms that the Moment’s Android 2.1 update will wipe the handset clean, and outlines what to expect in the upgrade guide:
The upgrade process will Erase ALL User Data from the device. Please ensure that all critical information has been Backed Up before applying this upgrade. Please Remove Your MicroSD Memory Card before you start the update process.
Gmail and Moxier Mail Contacts and Calendar on your SPH-M900 Moment are stored remotely on the Google and Microsoft Exchange server. After the upgrade, you can log back into your Gmail and Moxier Mail accounts to retrieve your information.
Pictures, music, video, and files are stored on your microSD Memory Card. Please remove your microSD Memory card before you start the update process.
Text messages on your handset will be lost. To save important text messages, you can forward it to an email address.
Tap the Applications Tab and then tap Messaging
Select text message that you want to save.
Hard press the text message. You will see a menu to Forward the message.
Any installed applications downloaded from the Android market must be re-installed. To re-download applications follow the steps below:
Tap the Applications Tab and then tap Market
If prompted, sign in with your Google account credentials
Tap My Downloads
Paid applications will populate the list shown. Free applications will have to be searched for again and downloaded manually.
This Upgrade Tool is Not Compatible with any other handset.
NOTE: Remove all previously installed Samsung New PC Studio and Samsung Drivers before installing this software update tool: Previously installed Samsung New PC Studio and Samsung Drivers may interfere with the software upgrade. Please remove them before installing the Software Upgrade tool.
What to expect
Android 2.1 adds a huge number of features to handsets running Android 1.5, and we’ve got the complete list below. Check it out:
Improved OS stability.
Improved battery life.
Free turn-by-turn GPS based on Google maps.
Three-way calling enhancements.
Incoming call quality is improved.
Speakerphone remains on when call waiting kicks in.
Better Bluetooth, background echo eliminated, improved phone book transfer of contacts to in-vehicle systems.
GPS icon will disappear after a GPS app is closed.
SMS and MMS messages can be received after an EMS message is received.
SMS and MMS can now go to seven-digit addresses.
Google contact merging supports seven-digit numbers.
Visual Voice Mail notices arrive instantly.
Universal search from the home screen.
Camera, camcorder and gallery features integrated into a single UI.
Corporate calendar widget is updated.
802.1x VPN support.
A comprehensive battery usage indicator in the setting menu identifies all sources of battery drain, and what percentage they’re consuming of the whole.
Sync support for contacts from multiple data sources including Exchange. Handset manufacturers can choose whether or not to include Exchange support in their devices.
Developers can create sync adapters that provide synchronization with additional data sources.
Quick Contact for Android provides instant access to a contact’s information and communication modes. For example, a user can tap a contact photo and select to call, SMS, or email the person. Other applications such as Email, Messaging, and Calendar can also reveal the Quick Contact widget when you touch a contact photo or status icon.
Combined inbox to browse email from multiple accounts in one page.
Search functionality for all saved SMS and MMS messages.
Auto delete the oldest messages in a conversation when a defined limit is reached.
Camera: Dramatically improved auto-focus
Camera: Built-in flash support
Camera: Digital zoom
Camera: Scene mode
Camera: White balance
Camera: Color effect
Camera: Macro focus
An improved keyboard layout to makes it easier to hit the correct characters and improve typing speed.
Revamped Android Marketplace with a new UI and new options to sort apps by paid/free.
The framework’s multi-touch support ensures that key presses aren’t missed while typing rapidly with two fingers.
A smarter dictionary learns from word usage and automatically includes contact names as suggestions.
Refreshed UI with actionable browser URL bar enables users to directly tap the address bar for instant searches and navigation.
Bookmarks with web page thumbnails.
Support for double-tap zoom.
Support for HTML5.
Calendar: Agenda view provides infinite scrolling.
Calendar: Events indicate the attending status for each invitee.
Calendar: Invite new guests to events.
Revamped graphics architecture for improved performance that enables better hardware acceleration.
Bluetooth 2.1
New BT profiles: Object Push Profile (OPP) and Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP)
I have the unlocked gsm version. We probably won’t get it till after the sprint version. So why blame it on sprint? Htc is the problem.
@swazedahustla – “The release date for Android 2.2 Froyo will be announced May 19th, at the Google I/O event….
In the beginning we expect the new Android 2.2 Froyo update to be available only for the Google Nexus One smartphone, other phones will have to wait for their carriers to make them compatible with the new update…”
http://free-pc-guides.com/news/googles-android-2-2-froyo-turns-your-phone-into-a-portable-wi-fi-hotspot-01418
Click “Full Specs”… says “Android 2.1” http://now.sprint.com/evo/
Cool is right, but the dates released then taken back is kind of annoying. The Moment has gotten 2.1 now, and that makes me want it more, after seeing the interface and changes made, I can only imagine how awesome the Hero is going to be.
UNOFFICIAL TECH SUPPORT: the 2.1 UPGRADE for HERO IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE RELEASED UNTIL AFTER EVO JUNE 4th RELEASE. As of today, the unofficial word is that HTC has not finished the Sprint Hero 2.1 update, and HTC is not expected to have the update ready for the Sprint Hero 2.1 upgrade until after the EVO is released June 4th. Sprint denies the rumor, that they might be holding back the Hero update to enhance the EVO’s release, and says to the contrary, they are in a big hurry to get the update from HTC and will release it when HTC provides it.
Welp, even if this is true, I’m handing my Hero down to my Fiancee since the Evo is coming out on the 4th of June. She likes the hero so if it has an update, she’d like it even more lol, my main focus is the Evo now.
tl;dr: you kids need to calm down. Sprint would do well to get people the updates they want but I’m glad they’re taking the Blizzard approach of “it’s ready when it’s ready” instead of “it’s ready for Christmas season or it goes out anyway and sucks until we patch it”
Amen brother!
original post 29. from aabill
tl;dr: you kids need to calm down. Sprint would do well to get people the updates they want but I’m glad they’re taking the Blizzard approach of “it’s ready when it’s ready” instead of “it’s ready for Christmas season or it goes out anyway and sucks until we patch it
Thats why we still wait for Diablo 3, cause it’ll be well worth the wait!
Seriously. Ya’ll make me laugh! JUST CALL SPRINT TECH SUPPORT. I Did. You what they told me??? They have 2.1, it works, it has the Friends Feed and everything else this “Leak” doesn’t have and…it comes Thursday night or Friday morning. Seriously. Cry some more or….call Sprint and they will tell you that for sure it is coming. And I’m spent!