Following HTC's promise to finally release the long awaited Android 2.1/Eclair upgrade for last summer's launched HTC Hero, HTC has now released the Android 2.1 upgrade. As mentioned by HTC, it's a two stage upgrade which includes Firmware over-the-air (FOTA) client update and and YouTube player update, which allows to download the 2.1 upgrade over the air (OTA) after. Since the Android 2.1 upgrade will wipe the Hero's data, it's strongly recommend to back up the data first. Furthermore it's, as always, recommend to use a free WiFi connection to download the Android 2.1 FOTA upgrade.

For sure, today's Android 2.1/Eclair upgrade isn't Google's Android 2.2/Froyo upgrade, Google today launched for the (HTC) Nexus One but at long last, HTC Hero users can benefit from a way newer firmware which allows to use many Android Market applications which aren't Android 1.5 compatible anymore.

Cheers ~ Arne