Plagued by bugs and will not receive Android 2.2 upgrade

This is a very attractive phone and the HTC Sense enhancements to the native Android OS makes HTC phones much more polished than non-HTC phones. HTC enhancements include multi-touch, integration between Facebook and contacts (the Facebook profile photos of your contacts can automatically be associated with the contacts in your phone, for instance), and more. Android by itself is great, especially if you use Google Contacts and Google Calendar since the ability to sync between the phone and these apps is part of the Android OS. The phone looks cool, has a decently-sized screen, isn't bulky, has a nice built-in camera, and is generally a nice product from a hardware standpoint.

The problem is that Sprint's version of Android leaves a lot to be desired. Specifically (based on my own experiences and/or experiences of others):

* The phone ships with Android 1.5, even though 1.6 was released in September 2009, 2.0 in October, and 2.1 in January. The Sprint/HTC version of Android 2.1 doesn't actually provide full Android 2.1 support, however. Live Wallpapers, for instance, is mysteriously missing from the upgrade. And, to add insult to injury, the upgrade to 2.1 requires a Windows computer. The irony here is that Android is built on Linux, yet Linux users can't use Linux to upgrade their Linux phones. The last time I checked, even Mac users appeared to be left without a way to upgrade.

* Android 1.5 for the Hero is buggy. Receiving picture messages (MMS) while the phone is connected to WiFi, for instance, is just one huge bug. There are also GPS-related bugs requiring either temporary disabling of GPS and/or reboots of the phone (which take several minutes to complete) and problems where the phone will go to voicemail after only ringing a couple of times, if at all.

* Sprint/HTC's Android 2.1 upgrade has released even more bugs that include reports of random crashes, delayed dialing (in some cases it takes several minutes to be able to dial out), inability to answer some incoming calls or shut off the alarm, and problems with Bluetooth among other things. A quick web search should turn up a lot of complaints.

* The Android ships with preinstalled NFL, NASCAR, Sprint TV and other apps that use resources but cannot be uninstalled. Personally, I like the Sprint TV app but have no need for the NASCAR or NFL apps but I can't uninstall them. The only way to get rid of them is to "root" the phone, which voids the warranty on the phone.

* Sprint has confirmed that it will not be providing the Android 2.2 upgrade for HTC Hero phones, despite the fact that 2.2 actually provides incredible speed enhancements for Android phones and Hero users who have rooted their phones and installed 2.2 from other sources report huge performance increases with the Hero.

If you want a phone that fully supports Android 2.1 and above, and if you want a phone that will support Android upgrades in the foreseeable future, do not purchase the Hero--and certainly not on a 2-year contract in which your contract will outlive Sprint's commitment to keeping the phone upgraded (that appears to have already ended). There are a lot of angry Hero owners who are furious at how Sprint has handled upgrades for this phone. You're probably better off either paying a bit extra for the HTC Evo, or looking at other Android phones from other service providers.

If, on the other hand, you don't mind voiding the warranty and hacking the phone a bit to use non-Sprint Android software, you may find that you're able to tap into the phone's real potential and surpass the limitations and frustrations experienced by those who have played by the warranty rules.