HTC this morning finally let out the great news that it is  finally bringing the much lauded Android 2.1 (dubbed Eclaire) update to the HTC Hero.  For a full list of features check out our Android 2.1 feature post

Here is the announcement in full from HTC:

HTC statement: “Android Éclair update for HTC Hero will be released by the end of June.

The upgrade will come in two parts, the first of which will roll out from this week and will be detected when the Hero next automatically checks for software updates.

The second part of the update will follow towards the end of the month. As the second part of the upgrade will wipe all data on the handset, Hero users should ensure any important data has been backed up before proceeding with the installation. Due to the size of the update, wherever possible, we would advise using a WiFi connection for this download to avoid additional data charges.”

No more Fragmentation…..for a while!

So that’s it confirmed! Hopefully this should be an end to the fragmentation discussion at least until Android 2.2 starts to roll out and will push Android 2.1 into the 80% mark on the  Android Version Report.  Looks like it will soon be just Motorola and Samsung that have phones left on Android 1.5 which we hope they will resolve fairly quickly.  There is already an unofficial ( ie VERY VERY VERY NOT recommended) version of android 2.1 on the Motorola  Dext, and hopefully Motorola will be following suit with an official version in the next few months.  HTC really deserves praise for continuing  to offer its existing customers the latest releases of android and all the new and exciting  features that they bring.

In an ideal world everything will get backed up to your Google Account however its not quite that simple. Small important things will not be backed- up to the cloud like:

• SMS messages,
• your pictures, ( backed up to your sd card)
• your MMS
• your bookmarks
• HTC widget settings
• Application Data

The best way to ensure that these are safeguarded is to purchase an app like Sprite Backup (  view our showcase  for instructions how to use Sprite backup ) or Mybackup Pro both which come highly recommended and are priced at $4.95-$4.99.  In addition  Sprite offers a program called “Sprite Mechanic” that will allow you to backup your apps to your sd card and this is currently free.

For those of you who don’t want to fork out, there are a few good options as well.

SMS Backup- Will backup your SMS messages to your Gmail account- ( here is a link to download from market)

Application Data- Programs like Evernote, Dropbox, Astrid and Springpad have synchronisation features that ( if activated) allow you to backup your items to the internet for free. Some applications like Secrets for Android  allow you to export your data to the sd card where it can be backed up.

Related posts:

1. Motorola Xoom Update to Honeycomb 3.2 out in UK!