HTC Hero to get Android 2.1, new Sense UI in March

HTC will release a new version of its Sense user interface, based on Android 2.1, for the Hero smartphone next month.

According to a post on Tuesday from the Dutch agency Whiz PR, the update will bring Bluetooth 2.1, extended social networking integration and a better Exchange client to the HTC Hero. New HTC widgets will include a parking timer and a translation tool.

Given the timing of the rollout, it is likely that HCT will announce the revamped Sense at Mobile World Congress next week.

The new Sense, being based on Android 2.1, will also bring with it significant updates to Google services, including turn-by-turn navigation, pinch-zoomable Google Maps, a redesigned market and Google Buzz, the company's social networking play that was announced on Tuesday.

As Hero users are currently stuck on Android 1.5, they are able to use none of the above-mentioned functionality. This highlights a weakness of Android when compared to the iPhone OS, in that the fragmented nature of Android means updates are applied to different models at different times — much of the above-mentioned functionality is already available to users of the Droid and Nexus One handsets, while even users of the T-Mobile G1 (the first Android handset, and as such a precursor to the Hero) get the redesigned market by having Android 1.6.

There are three tiers of Android device: Google Experience phones such as the G1 and Nexus One (which have 'Google' written on the back and get over-the-air updates directly from Google); manufacturer-specific phones such as the Hero (which are manufacturer-branded and rely on the manufacturer, then the operator, to gradually tweak their exclusive UIs); and the cheap Android phones that are generally made by Chinese companies and sold there without any involvement by Google itself.