24th August HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update 3 (UK) Is this my last HTC Hero post?

* Update *

The Android 2.1 Update for HTC Hero been released on the 3 (UK) network last night (23/08/2010).
It arrives in two package. The first one is approx. 30Mb and the second one is approx 78Mb.
If you can't see the update, set your phone clock a few months into the future and the update will pop up in a minute.

Details about the update:
Firmware version: 2.1-update1
Baseband version: 63.18.55.06PU_6.35.15.14
Kernel version: 2.6.29-36d5cb8d htc-kernel@and18-2 #1
Build number: 3.35.771.1
Browser version: WebKit 3.1

* /Update *

I am hoping that this will be my last post about the HTC Hero 2.1 update. On the 3 (UK) blog the Moderator confirmed the release date which is now set to Tuesday 24th August 2010.

@Jeebee: "So you’re guaranteeing the update by the 24th August?"
@Mod: "Yes it’s full steam ahead for the 24th."

3 (UK) previously confirmed that the long waited update will come in one OTA package and it will update the HTC Hero Android 1.5 firmware to Android 2.1.
@Mod: "The 2.1 update for Hero contains a lot of new functionality. Most Heroes on our network are currently on 1.6, so this is a big version change. Our testing process is not about adding in Planet 3, but we need to check that any changes don’t break the functionality we have already built for the phone, like Skype, Windows Live Messenger and My3. We also need to test that it works seamlessly with our network settings, and that the technical changes don’t impact the way you can send MMS or roam onto 2G for voice, text or data for example. The reason we want to do a thorough job on this is because of the big version change – 2.1 to 2.2 for example would be a much simpler process – plus we’ve had to prioritise this testing along with all of the other updates and launches we’ve currently got on the roadmap. We promise that we are going as quickly as we can, and we’ll get the update to you as soon as possible.
To answer a couple of the other questions that have been asked, the update will come as one package and will be delivered OTA. You’ll get a notification in your top notification bar when it’s ready."

3 (UK) and HTC also confirmed that there will be no Android 2.2 (Froyo) update for the Sprint HTC Hero. If you would like to run the latest Android on your phone, you need to use a custom ROM.

@Sprint: "As work on finalizing the software is under way, Sprint expects to launch Android 2.2 in the near future.
Sorry for any confusion created when we initially made this announcement.  HTC EVO 4G will receive the 2.2 update, Samsung Moment and HTC Hero will not.  Future devices launching with 2.1 also will be updated to 2.2. With the Android 2.2 upgrade, customers can expect improvements to include the following benefits: updates to user interface, improved EAS Support, improved browser performance, including Flash 10x Support, voice dialing over Bluetooth and application storage on external memory."