GOOD NEWS! If you have a Sprint Hero and a PC, you can download the update from HTC directly.

If you have a Mac, bad news, you need to use a PC, since the installer is a .exe file.

The download is QUITE large (118 MB) and as everyone is swarming the server, the download speed is slow (as of the this writing, 3.3 MB per sec, which is a 2 hour download.)

Please NOTE: If you try to do a download via the Sprint Network, you will not see that there is new firmware available. You must download this from HTC and use a PC to install this.

May 7th came, and as expected there was NO UPDATE!

We are calling for the middle of June, right around the time of the release of the Evo.

There is a new rumor calling for a May 21st (Friday) update, but again, it’s just a rumor.

Of course, we’ll be checking our handsets on the 21st, but not going to get too upset when we see the “No Update Available” notice.

A number of rumors websites are posting screen images of Sprint Internal Customer Service websites which purport to an Eclair update in Early May.

We will immediately report when the update is available, but keep a few things in mind:

• These rumors are just… well, rumors! Every month since October 2009, there has been a rumor about the Eclair update coming to the HTC Hero, and none has been right yet.
• The update will be HUGE and Over The Air. So it will take a while.
• Back up your data. The chances are good you may lose all the data (pictures, music, SMS messages, account settings) on your phone.

We suggest you don’t get to worked up about this, and keep June in mind. We would LOVE to be wrong about this, and we would love to have Eclair NOW. Having used the HTC Incredible, the UI is just that.. INCREDIBLE! Pinch to zoom… awesome!

Still, some of us are counting down the release of the EVO.

Many rumor sites have offered a numerous dates on when the HTC Hero would be updated to 2.1.

April 26th was a mentioned date, but that is here, and there is no update.

It seems that June is the projected “preparatory” rollout. What will Eclair offer us HTC Hero owners? Quite a bit actuallly, since we missed the “donut” update:

• An improved Android Market experience.
• An integrated camera, camcorder, and gallery interface.
• Gallery now enables users to select multiple photos for deletion.
• Updated Voice Search, with faster response and deeper integration with native applications, including the ability to dial contacts.
• Updated search experience to allow searching bookmarks, history, contacts, and the web from the home screen.
• Updated Technology support for CDMA/EVDO, 802.1x, VPN, Gestures, and a Text-to-speech engine.
• Speed improvements for searching & the camera.

Eclair will add…

• Optimized hardware speed
• Support for more screen sizes and resolutions
• Revamped UI (this is the hold up, since HTC has the ‘Sense UI’ and needs to make it work with Eclair)
• New browser UI and HTML5 support
• New contact lists
• Better white/black ratio for backgrounds
• Improved Google Maps 3.1.2
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Digital Zoom
• MotionEvent class enhanced to track multi-touch events
• Improved virtual keyboard
• Bluetooth 2.1
• Live Wallpapers

But by the time June is here, we’ll all be drooling over the HTC Evo.

I discovered this issue recently, and if you come across it, the fix is simple.

Problem: Plug in standard headset and the “headset” icon does not come on. Further, when listening to music, it doesn’t come thru the headset.

Issue: The firmware that detects the headset plugged is wonky (it’s a technical term).

The Fix: Take out the battery to reset the firmware.

There is a problem with the MESSAGE application on the Sprint HTC Hero Phone. The application fails to release it’s connection from the network and keeps the CPU running, which drains the battery faster. While it appears as an HTC Hero Battery issue, the real problem is an application that refuses to sleep.

The FIX

1. From the Android Market, download “Handcent”, which is a free SMS application. I recommend since I use it, it’s skinnable, and does “speech to text” for your SMS… which is pretty handy!!

2. Disable the Message applications notifications.

1. Go to All Programs
2. Choose  ”Messages“
3. Press the “Menu” button
4. In “Settings” Uncheck AUTO-RETRIEVE and uncheck NOTIFICATIONS.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to ask!

So I headed down to my local Best Buy, where you can get the new HTC Hero.

Testing out the browser, I decided to see how this site renders… not bad!

Overall the phone felt solid and polished… I was impressed.

* This is the “Everything Data Plan” which is unlimited cellular calls to other cells, unlimited text.

The HTC Hero is coming to Verizon, as soon as possibly November. This is a picture of Verizon CEO Eric Schmidt holding Verizon’s version of the phone. Verizon is modifying the phone, just as Sprint did for it’s US rollout.

Don’t want to wait until SUNDAY morning to get your HTC Hero?

If you have a Best Buy Reward Zone Membership, you can get your HTC  Hero on Friday and drive your co-workers wild with jealousy.

You can easily get a Reward Zone Member by clicking here (it’s free), but how soon you will get the card/secret handshake, is anyone’s guess. Better off signing up in store.

Also, you do not have to wait for the $100 rebate! Best Buy applies the rebate immediately to your purchase!