As expected, the HTC Hermes will be coming to U.S. carrier Cingular soon as the Cingular 8525. Billed as the successor to the Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard), the Hermes adds Start/OK buttons, a scroll wheel, faster processor, redesigned keyboard and UMTS/HSDPA support. The 8125 has been a successful phone for Cingular and I expect the 8525 will be as well.

One item of note is that the 8525 will not include a front facing VGA camera as seen on other versions of the Hermes. The camera is normally used for video calling, and as Cingular is not ready to deploy this service yet they have apparently asked that it be removed. No information is available about cost yet.

As a Cingular customer I'm glad to see them pick up a great phone. There has been some question as to whether the incremental updates the Hermes offers are worth it, but if you add them all together they make quite a significant difference. If you're planning on picking up this phone, also check out the recently released tweaking program for it.