At last. Sprint has made Android 2.1 available to the HTC Hero Android device. Additionally, T-Mobile has made a significant software update available to the HTC HD2. What do these updates offer?HD2 Update

HTC's HD2 runs Windows Mobile 6.5.3. In the time that I've used it, I've notice it to be a bit unstable. In fact, the more you load it up with apps and content, the more bogged down it tends to become. Thankfully, T-Mobile is offering a minor firmware upgrade that irons out some of the bugs.

The update requires users to download the software to a PC and then install via USB. T-Mobile takes pains to mention that the update will completely erase everything on the phone and restore it to factory settings. That means all your settings and personalized stuff will be nixed -- including purchased apps and media. T-Mobile warns users to back up their phone's settings and data to Microsoft's My Phone cloud service and their media to a hard drive or microSD card before performing the update.

You can find the instructions here.

Hero Update

The shift from Android 1.5 to Android 2.1 is pretty huge, and HTC Hero owners should be excited about it. The number of new features is staggering. What's annoying is that Sprint isn't offering the update over the air. Instead, users have to download the system software to their computer and install it via USB cable. That annoyance aside, there's a lot to like.

Follow these instructions.

Feature Enhancements

• Sync support for contacts from multiple data sources including Exchange
• Enhanced device settings
• Exchanges support
• Merged folders across multiple accounts for Inbox, Unread and Flagged email
• Support for built-in flash
• Improved Android keyboard layout and responsiveness
• Smarter dictionary
• Refreshed user interface with actionable browser URL bar
• Support for double-tap zoom
• Calendar Agenda view with infinite scrolling
• Attendee status and guest invites
• Ability to search MMS and SMS messages
• Auto-delete of older messages when short on storage
• Universal Search
• Google Navigator
• Enhanced Google Maps
• Enhanced Android Market and apps

• Keypad backlight optimization
• Bulk Bluetooth contact push
• Various Bluetooth fixes
• Increased speed and performance
• Swipe to Unlock/Mute/Speakerphone
• New camera features
• Pandora enhancements

• Turn on/off Bluetooth, device and service discovery and send/receive data
• New APIs for contacts sync adapters to connect to any backend
• Centralized account manager API to securely store and access authentication tokens/passwords across one or more services
• New Contact APIs that allow for data from multiple accounts
• Support for third-party sync adapters
• HTML5 support
• Database API support for client-side databases using SQL
• Application cache support for offline applications
• Geolocation API support to provide location information about the device
• Video tag support in fullscreen mode

• Completely revamped graphics architecture for improved performance, enabling better hardware acceleration
• New Bluetooth profile support