HTC move goalposts….again. Will we ever see an update?

So, after we were told by HTC representatives that the Android 2.1 update was coming at the end of April, it now transpires that the update won’t be seen until June. Tech Radar received word from a Google rep at the Google Maps Navigation launch event that current HTC Hero owners, who have been waiting for an update, any update, since Android 1.6 appeared in September last year…that’s 7 months folks. During that time, we’ve been told that the 1.6 update was on it’s way, but then, in October, that got put back so that HTC could skip it and concentrate on the far superior 2.0 update, then that was also put back, so that HTC could release Android 2.1 and…blah blah blah.

Here’s what they had to say this time:-

“HTC will be providing a free update to Eclair 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.”

The “preparatory update” thing is interesting, in that it suggests there’s something that needs to be sorted out prior to 2.1 being installed, a fact that’s surprising, given that the Android 2.1 toting Legend, isn’t light years ahead of the Hero performance-wise. We’d love to know what the preparatory update involves. Regardless, it’s beginning to look as though we HTC Hero owners are going to have to resign ourselves to not seeing Android 2.1 until we upgrade to another phone, because, let’s be honest, a fair bunch of us are going to be at or near upgrade time when…no wait, sorry, if, the update ever appears. What is more worrying is that the Froyo version of Android, 2.2, has started appearing in the wild. I’d imagine the odds on HTC stating that they’re now skipping 2.1 and focusing on the superior 2.1 instead are probably pretty short…

{from TechRadar via EuroDroid}