There have been several reports on the Interwebs that some folks were receiving the first of two updates yesterday, the one that prepares the phone for the main update, and now it seems the final 2.1 build could be rolling out early next week.  Orange, in a statement earlier, said that testing took longer than expected:

“We apologise for the delay in Orange Hero customers receiving their Éclair update. Testing the update across European markets took longer than anticipated. However, we hope to receive final approval by the end of the week and Orange handsets should start updating from next week.”

There has been a great deal of frustration among Hero owners as to when Éclair(2.1) would land, and as it turns out its 7months after its original release on the Nexus One. We can only hope nothing like this happens again with future updates such as Froyo, if it ever gets that far.

I have an Orange HTC Hero but can not confirm the first update because my phone has been rooted with Sense 2.1 for several months, but how about you guys, have any of you Orange Hero owners received an update, and what is your reaction to this whole saga?

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