14 DAY TRIAL // Orange is the second wireless carrier in the UK to have kicked off the roll-out of the long awaited Android 2.1 software update for the HTC Hero mobile phone. T-Mobile UK was recently reported to have made the same move, and it seems that more mobile phone users in the UK would soon be able to enjoy the software on their devices.
The update process at the wireless carrier would be performed in two phases, some of the latest reports on the matter suggest. For the time being, however, it seems that only the first stage of the Android 2.1 update for Hero was started at Orange, but the second phase, the one that would bring the actual Android 2.1 Eclair solution on Hero, should kick off soon as well.
The HTC Hero was launched on the market last year with Google's Android 1.5 operating system on board, and HTC delayed the release of a software update for it for along time. However, the company promised in early 2010 that it would deliver Android 2.1 for HTC Hero, and the first steps in this direction have been already made, starting with May.
The first Hero to get the Android 2.1 solution was Sprint's model, in late May, followed by the European Hero in June, in a process that also took place in two stages, just as the one at Orange now. In the meantime, T-Mobile UK and Cellular South in the US were two other wireless carriers that offered the new software solution for their users.
Some Orange UK customers already started to report that the software solution arrived on their devices, a recent article on eurodroid states. It still remains to be seen when the second stage of the update process would start, since that is the one that would actually bring the Android 2.1 software solution on HTC Hero units out there.
[UPDATE] Orange has just posted a statement from HTC announcing that the Android 2.1 solution won't land on Hero until next week: "We apologise for the delay in Orange Hero customers receiving their Éclair update. Testing the update across European markets took longer than anticipated. However, we hope to receive final approval by the end of the week and Orange handsets should start updating from next week." - HTC
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