Wake up HTC!

Posted by Stevieb | Filed under Tech

When I decided to take a foray into the Android market, I chose the HTC Hero as my companion. Solid reviews coupled with a very good deal from a friend that manages a Three store (biiiiiig managers discount, good times….) seemed to make the Hero the obvious choice. I wish I did some more research.

The phone isn’t the problem; quite the opposite the phone is great! I have been using the iPhone as a comparison, there are a few features I’d like to see available on the Android OS that’s currently native on the iPhone, but these things are minor.

What really bugs me, is the shocking speed in which HTC work on implementing the new OS versions. Android is currently sitting on V2.1 (I think but don’t quote me!), and all us poor old HTC Hero chumps are STILL on 1.5! The myriad of features on the newer versions make me wish I had just manned up and spend some cash on a Desire instead. The new Google Maps has turn by turn GPS introduced, and this morning the guys over at the Firefox mobile site released a pre-alpha Fennec build for Android! The only problem, both require 2.0 as a minimum. There are hundreds more awesome apps out there, none of which I can use.

Is this perhaps the idea from HTC? The Hero was a great way for HTC to introduce a handset to the Android market, now they have a good foot hold, fuck the poor Hero chumps; we’ll only actively work on upgraded OS on new models. Is this a ploy to make us upgrade to new shiny handsets? They haven’t given us any other reason to support any other logical conclusions. If they had turned round and said that there were compatibility issues, or some kind of hardware conflicts, then I’m willing to bet the community would have rallied round and helped work towards a resolution. The Android OS is great that it has a dedicated developer user base, why not use that to your advantage when developing and working on compatibility for your HTC hardware?

HTC have said they will release a prerequisite update in June, once the new Éclair OS goes live, then the networks here in the UK will have to fuck about with them to keep them relevant to their network protocols. This is a promise HTC have been making for some time now, I’d be surprised if we see 2.1 for the Hero anytime before October…please PLEASE prove me wrong HTC.

Read more | Comments (0) | April 28th, 2010