XDA-Developers have once again come to save the day for smartphone users as the Sprint HTC Hero has now been rooted.  If the term ‘rooted’ is not clicking in your minds right now, just know that when a device is ‘rooted’ you are now able to install custom ROMs.  In even simpler terms this means that you will soon be able to load a variety of version of Android onto your Sprint HTC, namely Android 2.0 with Google Navigation.  Since we know HTC is currently working on incorporating their Sense UI into the latest version of Android, may of us will opt to skip the wait and run a vanilla Android 2.0 build so that we can enjoy the latest OS build immediately.  One additional newsworthy piece of information coming from the XDA-Developers is that apps2sd, the ability to run apps from your sd card, is already working.

[via Leakdroid]

The Sense UI is no doubt the most impressive feature on the HTC Hero which sets it apart from most other Android devices on the market, yes even the Motorola Droid can envy Sense.  Unfortunately it seems as though the Sense UI is a bit of a Catch 22, we have the superior UI over standard Android, but at the same time Android updates require a bit more care and preparation.  As we’ve seen from the missing 1.6 Donut update, the HTC Hero will probably not be getting updates as quickly as other Android devices and should be skipping intermediate updates in the future.  On HTC’s Twitter feed yesterday they confirmed that the rumors are true, the Hero will be getting the Eclair (2.0) update.  They ask for our patience but what exactly that means in terms of a time frame we have no idea.  If that means a week or two then I am more than happy to keep Sense because the UI is beautiful, but if this means we are months away from the Android 2.0 roll out I think it’s time to download aHome and cut the cord, my 2 cents.

[via]

You didn’t really think Google would let Verizon Wireless steal the thunder of Android 2.0 (Eclair) now did you, or course not.  Google has officially announced the launch of Android 2.0 today with two big announcements: SDK support  so that developers can go ahead and start building their wonderful apps and a comprehensive list of the changes found in 2.0.

• Support for multiple Google and Exchange accounts
• Third-party “sync adapters” allow apps to tie in to the phone’s sync services
• Quick contact menus for fast access to specific key pieces of contact information
• Unified email inbox (yes!)
• SMS and MMS search
• Text message auto-delete after a user-defined thread size is reached
• Significantly improved camera controls with white balance, macro, effects, and more
• Improved keyboard layout, dictionary, and algorithm based on multi-touch support
• Double-tap zoom in browser, support for HTML5
• Bluetooth 2.1 support with addition of OPP and PBAP profiles
• “Better” graphics hardware acceleration

Unfortunately Google did not make any announcements regarding the roll out of Android 2.0 to other carriers so we’re still waiting for new on that.

[Via]

We’ve seen Cupcake, now Donut and next in the rather ridiculous Android naming scheme is Eclair, or more popularly Android 2.0.  At the moment Motorola is confirmed to be launching the Motorola Droid with Android 2.0, but as Sprint users sit and wonder when their HTC Hero will even make it to 1.6, HTC has come to save the day.  The manufacturer has confirmed to GearLog that they have an Android 2.0 device in house and they are using it to build future phones.  Although this does not answer the question of when Android 2.0 roll outs will come to other carriers, it at least confirms that HTC is digesting the new build and they certainly plan to support it.  An official announcement for Android 2.0 is expected to come sometime this week and with any luck we’ll be announcing release dates for all of the existing devices.

[via]