Android 2.1 spotted running on a Hero

By on Nov 30, 2009 at 7:48 AM
Software November 30, 2009

android-21-hero

HTC has been rather candid when it comes to Android 2.0, having previously stated it will distribute the OS once it finishes optimizing its compatibility with Sense UI. Over the weekend, French tech blog Be Geek posted some screenshots of a Hero running Android 2.1 complete with — you guessed it  – Sense UI. No details accompanied the screenshots, it’s quite clear (at least to our eyes) that no major changes have been made to the overlay, although we can’t say the same for the so far mysterious OS until we see more of it. The question is, will HTC release Android 2.0 or skip it and on its way to 2.1?

Thanks to everyone that sent this in!

Read

Tags:
, , , , , , , ,
45 Comments

Related Articles

  • http://buzz.id.au Buzz moody

    Drizzy from XDA has this build running. He says that it’s blazing fast, has a kick a$$ browser & nearly everything is new except for a few icons. Something to look forward to.

    And yes, HTC are skipping 2.0 as 2.1 fixes some bugs found in 2.0

  • Droider

    Looks slick :D

  • Chris

    Where’s my Droid update??? LOL

  • JW

    So those who want an Eris, but have waited for fear of being stuck at Android 1.5 can reasonably expect to ultimately run 2.1 with Sense?

  • AC

    this would be a game changer for me as I am currently with AT&T. I am looking to switch to sprint, yes I am not an apple fanboy and i prefer value of services over the hype of devices that are more “toy” than phone. Anywho, the hero would be my choice if and only if will be available to receive the 2.0 or 2.1 update.

    Granted i could just hack the crap out of it over at XDA but i would much rather have an official update. No disrespect to XDA its just that WINmo is easier to work with because it has been around for so long.

  • http://www.khaled.us/ Khaled

    Does it support Arabic?

  • BB_Storm4me

    Sure hope this helps get a Droid killer from HTC out the door to Verizon before the end of December.

  • http://windowsmobile6.com Alessio Cheng

    When will Android 2.1 be officially released?

  • Kitch

    looks great
    hopefully the Eris will get rooted soon so one could apply this update lickety-split.
    that won’t solve eris’ poor battery life but third party batteries can’t be TOO far off…?

    also WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO ANNOUNCE THE VIDEO CONTEST WINNERS BGR?

  • MikeD

    there are so many holes in your tirade.

    1. there are more goof off apps than productivity apps on Android and that goes for all the smartphones for the most part including iPhone, Pre and Blackberry.

    2. Fanboy is too loosley used. Based on your use of the word, you’re a fanboy of Android. Oh so that makes you a better person? Supposedly more productive than say a Blackberry user?

    the term Fanboy should be reserved for a person that has lost reasoning. Judiging from your statments you have issue with anybody or anything Apple. Why, because you have lacked to see any value in over 100,000 apps of which a good amount are FREE and extend the usefulness of the device.

    3. Anybody that truley understands technology realizes that “app phones” are what a person makes it. The iPhone is a consumer success and is also being used in more and more work places.

    Also I see many of the SAME APPS on the other smartphones. I find your lack to call any other app phone a toy highlights your extreme bias.

    No device is perfect. choose what you like. more importantly what works for you. But the TALABAN like hate towards a platform that is clearly bringing value and is selling millions shows you are clearly blinded by HATE.

    I’ve come across so many types of users. And the most snobbish and closed minded people I have ever met are mostly IT workers. They behave like the Taliban and swear that they know everything. What I find more and more is that they are not creative and understanding what their users want to accomplish. These folks were very content with Blackberrys and Windows Moibile devices, and are mad that the iPhone brought the smartphone to people that don’t give a dam GEEK features. they just want a device that does complex things but is EASY to use. Now everybody wants to make an “iPhone killer”. And all consumers are the better for it. But the incesant biased is insults are ridicoulous.

    Your comment was just another iHateApple comment usually posted all over Geek sites.

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

    • T

      So very true… I think what people fail to realize is that the iPhone doesn’t need to be “killed”… and these devices are more appropriately “iPhone alternatives”

    • http://www.lotusgeek.com LotusGeek

      I can’t agree more. I am an IT “geek”, at the executive level now but I still sling my share of code and try to stay atop emerging trends and technologies like the next geek.

      But I wanted to post to support your statement about most IT geeks. What they forget – and this is SO important – is that we geeks are not normal “humans”. We don’t think the same, we don’t act the same, and we don’t like the same stuff – especially when it comes to technologies. We use everything differently, because we think differently. We are able to tolerate bad UI, no UI, and bugs much more than a normal “human” (read: consumer) because that’s the world we live in. We also want to tinker and play with our technologies much more than the humans because we want to know how EVERYTHING we’re interested in WORKS. Most humans just want something that doesn’t make them think (thanks Steve Krug), isn’t slow, doesn’t crash, and “just works”.

      Oh, and the UI thing – because we don’t think the same way, and because we don’t use things the same way, we should be FORBIDDEN from designing the UI ourselves. The BEST people to design a UI are the users themselves!! I am a HUGE proponent of Low Fidelity Prototyping (LFP), and I mean LOW fidelity – roughly drawn, not printed (if something is a nice printed wireframe humans are less likely to change it or criticize it). Let the humans design the UI they want, then it is our job to GIVE THEM THAT EXACTLY. Anything less is an EPIC FAIL.

      Remember, our jobs – the reason we even exist as an industry – is to make the lives of humans EASIER (damn I wish I had italics instead of caps – sorry). And in that end we must accept that we do not know what they want until we ask them, and we don’t know what they want it to look like until we let them tell (or with LFP – show) us. Then it is our job to make the impossible look like child’s play, like a couple of simple clicks and **poof!** the impossible is done.

    • AwsmAdm

      i agree with a lot of what you’re saying but Godwins law… seriously look it up.

      • http://www.lotusgeek.com LotusGeek

        LOL – wonder if the Taliban mention earlier should be added as a corollary to Godwin’s Law? Maybe a “Bin Laden/Terrorist corollary”? LOL

  • Scott Ricketts

    We just moved off the Sprint Hero after a week and went back to iPhones on AT&T. Sprint’s customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced. We’re brand new customers and we discover that we have .5 bars, maybe in our home. They suggested and airrave box, I said great, they said gimme $100 and I said no freaking way. Tried multiple times to get a box but no joy. Went and got new 3G’s at the at&t store and things have been great since.

    • ChocoTaco

      What does this have to do with anything regarding this story? Take your iPhone prattle elsewhere, no one here cares you switched from Sprint to AT&T.

    • Dan

      I had poor service in my home, and Sprint gave me an airrave for no charge. They also gave me a monthly, recurring discount that more than makes up for the inconvenience of needing the device. As a long-time Sprint/Nextel subscriber, I can tell you that there have been times in the past where I had issues with their customer service, but since I got my HTC Hero, they have bent over backwards to be helpful and have been more than fair when it comes to remedying my problems.

      I’m not saying that your situation was not appropriately handled, but my experience has been that when I have called them and laid out my case reasonably and respectfully, I have gotten more than I expected and was more than satisfied with their response.

  • MikeD

    @Joe,

    Glad you’re happy with your Droid.

    Verizon does have the best coverage no doubt. Funny, ads too. But they’re over exagerated and it’s going to make their users look foolish.

    FYI, I read your comment while on a phone call. and able to submit this reply. with out having to hang up via 3G. So it works good enough for me.

    Again glad you are happy with what you have. enjoy :-)

    Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).

  • MSgtSimon

    If I get an unlocked Hero from Telus, and throw my AT&T SIM in there, it will work on US 3G. If I then flash the ROM up to 2.x, the unlock shouldn’t be destroyed, right? Since it is probably a factory unlocked device?

  • Popeye’s Fried Chicken

    @ Wendys Spicey Chicken

    Not only do you suck, but you are also overhyped trash

  • Akulamenuri

    @ Wendys Spicey Chicken

    Not only do you suck, but you are also overhyped trash

  • StevenGlansburg

    I switched from the iPhone to the Hero a week ago and the Hero is simply not as good.

    The advantages to the Hero on Sprint over the iphone are fairly obvious. You get better call quality, legit multitasking, better camera, and pretty much unlimited customization with the Sense UI. The notification bar is awesome too.

    Unfortunately, while all of the things that the Android offers sound good on paper, the cons far outweigh the pros on the Hero compared to the iphone.

    As much as people hate itunes, the syncing ability it provides with the iphone is great. You don’t have that ease of use with Android. You drag and drop, which is slow and does not do as good of a job.

    Media sucks on Android. The music player is no where near as good as the iphone. Movies are not even close. Sound quality is worse. Organization is bad.. I mean, seriously this is a big issue with me. In a world where Mp3 players are being replaced by phones, this just does not cut it.

    There is no Beejive IM available. If you have a Blackberry or Iphone and don’t have Beejive you are missing out. This alone is a enough to make me switch back.

    Browsing on the web is comparable since the Hero has multitouch. However its no where near as smooth. Sprint’s data is faster than At&t’s 3G though.

    the App store. I can now say from personal experience that the App store on Android is a joke compared to the iPhone’s. People claim all of the iphone apps are fart apps.. I laugh at that. There is so much UNuseful crap in the Android market.

    Perhaps my biggest complaint is just how terrible the battery is. I had always thought my iphone 3G had a terrible battery… but the Hero’s battery is awful even at moderate use. I could always buy a spare battery, but how about I just have a phone I can leave on all day?

    So I got 30 days in which I can return and not be stuck on contract here. You get way more for you money with Sprint and better coverage than At&t, but I don’t have the same experience with my phone, which is ultimately more important to me. Hopefully this update comes out in that next 30 days and blows my mind. If it doesn’t I will be getting the 3GS and going back to overpriced At&t.

    • Scott Ricketts

      This is exactly the conclusions we reached. Maybe this 2.0 update will make a difference but Sprint’s customer service was abysmal.

      • Con

        How does your issue with customer service have anything to do with anything on this post? At least StevenGlansburg was “reviewing” his experience with the hero and talking about the phone itself, thus tying back into the original topic of software on a hero. I’m sorry you had a bad experience, and I’m even more sorry that you feel the need to have someone hear such a worthless story, but take it elsewhere b/c this is a post about android 2.1 NOT sprint customer service.

    • Dan

      Re: your statement that the Hero is simply not as good, I have to respectfully disagree. Whether the Hero or iPhone is better is not an objective issue; it’s what suits your needs better. It seems you prioritize apps and media sync. I prioritize call quality, network speed, coverage, and personalization. So, for you, the iPhone works better. For me, the Hero. But I’d be incorrect to say “the Hero is simply better.” It’s not a one-size-fits-all, and reasonable minds can, in fact, differ based on their personal priorities.

      Re: syncing, I agree that iTunes is easier, but it’s also a closed system. I can drag and drop on the Hero without iTunes standing as some sort of paternalistic gatekeeper. It may require a bit more know-how for me, but ease of use, in my opinion, is not the highest and best metric to use to determine superiority. I’d rather have a more robust system that requires a bit more work but yields greater flexibility and use over the life of the device. I believe the Hero does this (but, again, it’s a matter of preference, I concede, which undermines your blanket and categorical statement that the cons of the Hero outweigh the pros).

      I will never use IM on my phone. It’s a priority for you, clearly… and I’ll let people judge that on it’s own merits. :)

      Re: your statement on browsing, you knock the Hero for smoothness and give it credit for speed. For me, personally, I’ll take speed every day of the week, no question. While I agree the Hero is not as smooth, its “lack” of smoothness isn’t anything that has proved distracting. Its delay in pulling up a screen, by way of contrast and to the extent it exists, has. I can only imagine how much less satisfied I’d be with an iPhone if that delay were augmented, as you assert it is. But to each their own.

      Re: the battery: I have bought another battery, so your statement about its stamina is true, although I could quibble about it being “awful”… it lasts me a full day with fairly intensive use (even if I’m not IM’ing people all day ;) ) I don’t find the difference between the devices’ batteries when comparing it to a friend’s iPhone to be overly broad. Assuming, without conceding that it is, however, I’d much rather have the lifespan of the Hero’s battery where I have 30 seconds of downtime to swap out a battery than pray for a convenient outlet or USB port that I’d have to tether myself to while my phone’s battery takes a breather.

      Finally, while I’ll state at the outset that I love Apple and have a great deal of respect for the iPhone and what it’s done for the smartphone market, you candidly concede that it does not (a) give you as much for your money or (b) give you comparable coverage. I wouldn’t give up either of those for any phone, especially the latter. But that’s just one Hero fan’s rebuttal.

  • Dustin

    I’ve been a Sprint customer for 6 years. I am thrilled with the hero and am looking forward to the update. I love hearing about the new updates because I know they are fixing the small (and wow do I mean small) issues I experience. That being said, everytime I’m in one of these forums someone says something about Sprint’s service. I have had to call them a few times for issues, and have NEVER had an problem with their customer or tech spport. Seriously what are you calling them about? The phone doesn’t make dinner for you or it can’t predict the weather? My experience with them has always been good I sometimes wonder if it is the customer rather than the service.

    • StevenGlansburg

      Agree. I don’t get people who constantly complain or argue over customer service. Am I missing out on some cool trend to have a very close and intimate daily relationship with my respective provider’s customer service? In my opinion, the best customer service is the one you never have to call or use.

  • Maulik

    Good for HTC Hero users

  • Michael

    I have had the UK Hero on T-Mobile (G2) for little over a month. Over the course of this story I have been annoyed that Hero wasn’t getting 2.0 but then 2 minutes later I’m reading that we’re going to get 2.1! Happiness is back!

    My only hope is that this doesn’t continue indefinitely. By that I mean that there are going to be rumours of getting every new version of Android but then nothing ever happens.

    I want to ignore all the Android vs. Apple garbage, someone along the thread said that we no OS is perfect and we pick whatever suits us best. I can’t say it any better.

    There will always be a better phone that comes out tomorrow. That’s the nature of technology. This year I have the Hero, next year I’ll probably go with something else that works better, faster and has more memory. Exactly how all these companies make so much money.

  • Sonya

    Ill be glad when the iPhone goes to more carriers so everyone can stfu about it.

  • Jeff

    I think one thing that people missiing in all this vapid iphone/android debate is that Android is mostly open-source, open to any manufacturer or developer, embraces rather than supresses customization, and in a state of constant improvement. I perfer android because I like choice.

    • StevenGlansburg

      I can agree with your point of view because I think HTC did an awesome job making Android more intriguing. The Sense UI makes the boring vanilla Android far more palatable. However, underneath Sense, it’s still Android and Android has a way to go until it meets the fluidity that Apple has accomplished with the iPhone. I definitely like the potential, but here in the NOW you don’t have the future yet. It’s good to be excited about future developments, but I don’t understand how people base their decisions solely on potential advances. Perhaps it would be wise to look at what’s really available, rather than what might be. Some people on here sound delusional with their claims and expectations of both Android AND Apple.

  • metalman213

    I don’t know why people like the iphone so much. I have the droid and an ipod touch and basing on my experiences with my ipod touch (jailbroken 2nd gen) I would have my droid over the iphone any day. Regardless of network, although verizon has much better cell reception and 3g. Another pro of the droid is the keyboard. I just whipped out this long message on my droid. Even after a very long and extensive use of the ipods virtual keybord I would never be able to type this out on the ipod or iphone. Lots of pros without even mentioning emulators or themes or stuff like that. Sure the droid has its flaws, everything will but overall it is a very poweful and awesome phone

    • jude

      That’s because your droid can make calls. The phone implementation of the iphone, vmail, call logging, merging calls, etc. Is awesome. The Droid is a nice device but the phone implantation is secondary and needs polishing.

      NOT A HATER. I am waiting for the Droid to become awesome and I will be all over it. I’m sure that is coming soon.

  • Brian

    Well.. Well.. Our AT&T commercials have Luke Wilson! Take that Verizon and your huge 3G network!!!

    I will admits Verizons coverage is the greatest. However, I don’t have (rarely) any signal issues. I’m not a fanboy, but I really love my jailbroken 3GS

  • jude

    I would like to see all devices on all carriers so the true phone selection can be measured.

    If you could get the SAME Droid, or iPhone, or winMo device on any carrier then the stats could be read accurately.

    There is too much noise and bias between carrier and phone. A lot of the iPhone hate is confusion between apple and at&t.

    A lot of the hate of the Droid falls on VZW…

    One day through natural capitalism the device/carrier link will break much like the phone number porting mandate. Hopefully the gov’t doesn’t have to break this link.

  • Joe

    you wouldn’t say that if you played with one. I got all the best nes, snes, and sega games on my droid. I want to see other phones with that. Not to mention it can make phone calls unlike some phones I know of. (iphone)

  • powderaddict

    Well you are obviously obsessed with it as you post this in every article, regardless if it’s about the Droid or not lol

  • tRICKster

    Damn you jdizzle,
    I was hoping you choked on a turkey bone or something.
    Oh well….

  • brad

    you’re a stupid cunt who argues opinion.

  • Dio

    “droid is for Verizon fanfags who get sucked in by their commercials and HIGHLY overrated network.”

    What? those statements are about AT&T…

  • Bring Home the Wopper

    You’re right if the iPhone was on Verizon no one would care about the Droid, but guess what, it’s not. It’s on you’re “drop-call network”. You can kill Verizon all you want, but when was the last time you heard a Verizon customer complaining about drop calls and poor 3g coverage.

  • Bring Home the Wopper

    I too live outside of The City I know plenty of people with At&t and they all drop calls like crazy. I can see why you’re an iPhone Fanboy… You are the only iPhone user in US with don’t drop calls. Can you try something for me on your iPhone please, download Heros of Sparta and see how long it takes Fanboy!

  • Cpete

    yea i actually live outside the city too and use verizon and have never dropped a call. i’m not a fanboy i actually hate how verizon has you by the balls when it comes to data plans but they have great coverage here. but i mean you’re dead set on bashing the droid and verizon because you’re a fanboy. and this news was about Android 2.1 not the droid but if you cant tell the difference than that just shows how ignorant you are. and even if the iphone came to verizon i still wouldn’t get it because after three years of the same thing i get bored

  • Bring Home the Wopper

    I while you wait 2 days for it to finish, try reading some emails and watch some YouTube videos. Do that for me Fanboy. Stop hating Verizon and the Driod, give them some credit man. No other phone has come close to the iPhone in 3 years and now the Droid is breathing down their necks.

blog comments powered by Disqus