HTC Hero looks set for 24 June launch

Fingers crossed for the new HTC Hero this week
Fingers crossed for the new HTC Hero this week

UPDATE: read our full HTC Hero review

The rumours that the UK will be getting another Android phone in the next few weeks have gathered pace after it was revealed that the HTC Hero has made it through the Global Certification Forum.

It seems that the 24 June, when HTC has a mystery event booked in London, will be the release of the new phone, with the 'HERO100' turning up on the GCF's books.

There was an earlier promotional video of the Hero leaked onto the internet, which clearly shows that the phone will be running Android, with the first skinned interface showing a slightly different outlook.

Lancaster bombing in

The rumours that the HTC Lancaster will also be shown at the event are also growing in pace, which has been tipped to be rocking a QWERTY keyboard stuck to the back of what is essentially a rebadged HTC Magic.

All the rumours together, combined with the impending event, make it almost impossible to believe that it won't be this phone coming in the next few days, as Android gets the first of the rumoured '18 more phones' this year.

There's not a lot of information on the Hero as yet, apart from the reskinned version apparently taking a version of HTC's TouchFLO 3D, previously used to hide the horror of Windows Mobile 6.1.

Check back to TechRadar on Wednesday to find out what all the fuss was about... we're really, really hoping it's something cool to kick off what promises to be an awesome mobile phone summer.

Via The Unwired

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.