HTC confirms another delay to Hero upgrade

18. Hi Fellers. i email HTC AU Last week and got reply back today. HTC AU's EMAIL REPLY :Dear Steve, Thank you for contacting HTC regarding the Android 2.1 update. I can confirm that the update has been pushed back till the 1st of June. This I know this is frustrating with those as well as yourself who have been waiting for the 2.1 update roll out. I can add that the reason is for a technical issue that our developers are making strides to fix in rolling out the software to the handsets, but I cannot state what the technical reason is. I would like to personally thank you along with HTC in having patience with this update, it was not something that was to happen and HTC had planned on the update being on your phone sometime ago. I hope that your image of HTC, our handsets and our support have not diminished while you have been an HTC customer. Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to give us a call at 1300 482 482. Our business hours are from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm SYDNEY Time, from Mondays to Saturdays and close on Public Holidays. Thank you and kind regards.

17. I heard that the Elcair update is finished for the Sprint Hero. The reason why HTC is no releasing the Hero Upgrade is only money. Per some people, Verizon has payed HTC to delay the Hero upgrade until 30 days after the the Droid Eris upgrade is finished.

16. @ pwalton72

I am not sure. I can see a comment on this article ere: http://www.techradar.com/comments/article/htc-apologises-for-android-2-1-hero-delay-685681

Is that the one you were referring to?

We only delete comments if they are spamming or are otherwise against our posting rules:

http://www.techradar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7095

Nick,

Editor in Chief

15. Not sure what is going on with this blog. My comments have gone!!!! So have others which asks where publically has HTC gave the apology. Whats going on here?

14. HTC send me this today :

Dear Mr.Siamack Hejazi Thank you for contacting HTC. We do apologize for the delay. Yes, we are working on an Éclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Éclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on Hero. HTC will be providing a free update to Éclair for European HTC Hero variants. Starting in June, anyone owning an HTC Hero will receive an initial preparatory update, shortly followed by the full Éclair update. For the full update, we would recommend using a free Wi-Fi hotspot or an unlimited data plan, otherwise standard data charges may apply. Again we do apologize for the delay If you have any other inquiries, don’t hesitate to contact us again. Please note that you can contact us via support line.

And i send them this :

Please STOP these type of Repetition and apathetic messages . (Just coping texts and send us with dead and fixed words.)

You Proved that you have problem on planning and customer satisfaction .

What do you mean "...Because Éclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS ..." ?

You have problem with your developers .

Or may be you are thinking on having more profit on your new products !!! ( Of course virtual profits.)

I am going to sell my HERO and replace that with IPHONE for become ready on 4G OS on it.

We have not saw these type of delays on APPLE products updates and customer care .

13. Excuse me for mistake on post 12 .

this is true post :

Where is my previous post ?

I had complaint on it about delay on update .

12. Where is my previous post ?

I had apologized on it about delay on upadte .

11. And another petition to HTC to publish source codes of the Android 2.1 kernel :)

http://www.gopetition.com/online/35756.html

10. I emailed HTC asking for clarification on this and they confirmed it. So this looks as though it may be it.

9. Please sign the "HTC! Stop lying to us!" petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/a6262/petition.html

8. HTC are basically asking people to root their phones if they want an update.

If I had a Hero and couldn't get Google maps voice guided navigation that had just been activated in the UK, I would be peed off bigtime.

Even with the new Legend and Desire, you still cannot use voice search.

7. I feel I have been seriously let down by HTC. Even then G1 has been upgraded to 1.6.

Duskrider, it is a big deal when you suffer from dropped calls on a daily basis and T-Mobile have said that the upgrade to 2.1 will help. This continued delay for nothing other then marketing reasons has already made my mind up to stay clear of HTC phones in the future.

6. I don't know... I don't think it's a big deal... I bought my phone with the original version of the OS and have enjoyed it since. I'll enjoy the update for sure, but I don't think that not having the update has taken away from how much I enjoy using the Hero. @lewchenko's issues don't seem to be mine. My phone works great.

I played with a Nexus One last night and, while it was very nice, it didn't make me like my Hero any less. The Sense UI is still ahead of any other UI out there.

5. This has pushed me to root my G2 Touch.

I was waiting like a good boy, but no longer...

4. If this is the case, I find HTC inefficient. It would be unprofessional for such a company to make empty promises (even though a date is not fixed, the estimated month(s) of release disclosed to public were far from accurate) and focus on development of new phones rather than developing updates to upgrade older versions for the good of all customers. Perhaps too profit-driven i would say. I own a HTC Hero and I would say that there are a lot of room for improvement for the phone and all that is needed for the phone to shine would be an update. It would be an insult to the phone, producer and the consumer if the phone is simply left outdated. Given the strength of the company, I trust that an update can surface by late April or at worse, early May. Prove me right.

3. Yep. Google will release Android 2.2 in May and HTC will release 2.1 to us in June. Of course. Goodbye HTC! I adore Android and I've loved (LOVED!) HTC phones since 2002, but that's it. This deliberate and disrespectful with-holding of the update is the last straw. I will NOT buy another HTC phone and I will dissuade anyone I know from getting one.

2. This is irritating to hear. Clearly the upgrade is not seen a a priority by HTC.It is frustrating to note that my last phone (Nokia N95) was the better of the two in a number of key areas - in particular Turn Based Sat Nav. Living without this feature once used to it is difficult!

One of my reasons for jumping from being a regular Nokia user (a big deal for me) was that I felt the operating systems were lagging behind the competition.

This lack of post-sales support means that the situation is much the same with HTC.

Excited as I was by android initially, I cannot say that my next phone will be an HTC.

1. Pretty pathetic really... one delay after another whilst they release a whole host of new Android phones in the meantime.

The post release support of the HTC Hero has been a joke. The issues with the phone on launch day are still there ..

1. Barely functional Bluetooth useless for most stuff.

2. Accelerometer very slow

3. Laggy keyboard and patchy recognition

4. Slooooow

5. Gobbles memory like cupcakes as the day goes on.

And for the slow (if not non existent) support, my next phone will not be a HTC. They are nearly as bad as Samsung for post phone release support (and they are horrific!)