Sprint HTC Hero Android 2.1 Upgrade Now Available

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We’ve covered the up and coming Android 2.1 (Eclair) update for the HTC Hero pretty extensively here on TFTS as its been both much anticipated and, frankly, seems to have taken an age to hit, but the good news for those of you packing the HTC Hero smartphone courtesy of Sprint is that you’ll be able to get your hands on the Android 2.1 OS upgrade from today.

So what’s on offer here? Well, for a start you can factor in support for Google’s navigation service offering turn-by-turn directions sans any monthly service charge whilst you can also bank on greater speech-to-text support (allowing input text via voice) whilst there’s also enhancements to the Sense UI, the most interesting of which sees the inclusion of a new feature known as FriendStream – a feature that serves to pool postings made to social sites such as Facebook, Twitter et al.

Additionally there’s new widgets allowing for the display of multiple emails as well as one offering an agenda view for the Hero’s calendar.

Those looking to upgrade should be warned that, unlike other upgrades, the upgrade to Android 2.1 OS will result in the loss of all data and information currently stored on your phone so you need to ensure that you have everything backed-up as, according to Sprint’s advisory:

You will lose contacts that have not been synced to an email account, text messages that have not been forwarded, saved voicemail messages older than 5 days, voicemails older than 20 days that have not been listened to, and call history. The calendar and email settings will also revert back to factory defaults. Pictures, music, videos and files are stored on your microSD memory card, which should be removed before updating your phone.

Accordingly its recommended that users pay particular heed to the instructions offered by Sprint here concerning preparing your phone for the upgrade prior to making the jump.