HTC's delay of the promised Android 2.1/Éclair update to its Hero handset has been causing consternation among owners, and it has contacted TechRadar to issue a statement about the issue.
A number of users have been complaining about the lack of communication on the subject, and that has prompted HTC to speak out on the subject:
"The integration of Éclair on the HTC Hero took longer to develop than anticipated and we apologise for this delay.
"We are committed to meeting our customers' demand for this update."
Hero - not a Legend
We couldn't find out why this particular model took so much longer to migrate to the new firmware platform - especially when the HTC Legend and Desire are both happily running it.
The Android 2.1 update, which will bring a whole host of functionality (including Google Maps Navigation support) was first seen in November 2009, meaning most people assumed the update was imminent.
It was then tipped for launch in March, then April, and then HTC sheepishly confirmed it will be happening in June - which is nearly a year after the phone was launched.
Your comments (9) Click to add a new comment
dave1977
August 27th 2010
9. finally got my android 2.1 update on my hero which is on 3. put the date forward a year and the download screen came straight up.
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fgraser
April 29th 2010
8. Thank you for this article and the clarification that HTC issued the statement to you knowing that their statement would find a vast audience that way.
But I'm still a bit uneasy about the credibility of this statement. Normally, when a media outlet quotes a statement of the representative of an organization (be it a public one or a private one like a company) the media outlet gives the full name of the person issuing the statement and the area of responsibility of said person. That's Journalism 101. I don't trust any announcement - be it on the web or elsewhere - that can't be traced to a HTC representative who is clearly defined by a full name and a distinct area of responsibility. There are so many bogus statements floating around the internet that were issued by support workers like "Stanley B" or "Dana F". Mostly the don't know anything about the policies and intricacies of the company they are working for.
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garethtbeavis
April 27th 2010
7. Hey guys,
As the story says, we pushed for a response from HTC over this issue - while there's no announcement on their website, they decided to use issue the statement to us in the knowledge it would hit a large amount of people worldwide.
Cheers, Gareth
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siamack
April 26th 2010
6. All of us in IRAN ( Fans Of Android )apologize for repetition delay on update too .
This is bad news for HTC ; where HERO users doubtful for their selection not to android but to HTC.
Which month next broken promise will be ?
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zar69
April 26th 2010
5. same question: where is the public source for the apologies please?
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delanvital
April 26th 2010
4. Finally someone picking up on this. It is so incredibly poor and they have no idea how damaging this is. I was borderline HTC fanboy and now I dare not buy a new HTC out of fear of having an obsolete phone, not able to run the latest apps in say, 6 months again?
There is no excuse, despite what they write. The phone is not that different from any other Android phone in their assortment, I think the quick development in Android versions - 1.6, 2.0.1 and 2.1 - made it diff. for the developers to pick up on it properly, in time.
Sheesh. Bad HTC.
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themadczech
April 26th 2010
3. All these delays will alienate anybody who is thinking about buying or upgrading their handsets to the latest batch. HTC has made some cracking devices and is shaping up to become a good alternative to Apple. However, that also means that they need to look after the devices that have been sold and not just pursuing new sales. Whilst that might be more costly in the short term, fast disappearing customer base might be a consequence of such short term policies.
In the meantime, I suggest heading over to http://www.villainrom.co.uk/index.php where 2.1 Eclair is available as a customer ROM.
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andyp
April 26th 2010
2. As Paul says....where was this apology actually published?
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pwalton72
April 26th 2010
1. I think an apology is good. I really had a go at HTC about the lack of communication. I have several emails from them and from me to them on the subject.
But where was this apology issued? I had a quick look and could not see it. I had an individual apology which I did not think was good enough. I was banging onto them about making a public statement. If this is a public apology then good on them for listening etc, if this is an individual apology to an email someone sent in (like me) this shows they are not listening.
It would be good to see this publically on their site. Will dig deeper on this.
thanks
Paul
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