Looking through your posts you seem to have something against people who have any critical view on the HTC Hero....
No, not really, but that is your opinion and you are entitled to it.
so first off let me say that my goal is not to bash the Hero, HTC or Sprint. I happen to really like HTC, so much so that have shelled out thousands of dollars on their phones. Unlocked GSM phones, full price Sprint locked phones etc etc all HTC ( I did defect to Nokia for the n95 but that only lasted 3 months - and the Pre - lets not talk about that). Personally I think Sprint is a great carrier and they give me exactly what (except EVDO) I want for a great value. The Hero, my hero, in my humble opinion happens to be the greatest phone ever. I never find myself saying "Oh it's a good phone but I wish it had feature/option X from phone Y I used to own".
If this is TRUE, then you are shouting into the Grand Canyon and KNOW that neither the Device Manufacturers or Carriers are going to make a commitment on an update.
Do I need reassurance? If you happen to look at my posts on this site and others you may notice that I have never posted once asking about the update prior to this thread being created. You may notice that I have made some post attempting to help people understand the update process, the difference between HTC updating GSM phones and Sprint requesting updates from HTC for it's branded phones. I know that if Sprint and HTC never release an update for the Sprint Hero the xda community will eventually, using a combination of the Droid Eris ROM and GSM Hero ROM, will provide us Sprint users with a 2.x ROM.
No update, but a hacked ROM to replace what is on the phone... sometimes better than what is offered by the manufacturer or carrier for sure.
So lets talk about that, I am a big fan of the XDA community and custom roms. On my previous HTC devices I was constantly flashing new ROMS or cooking my own (I never released any because they were all built to fill my own specific needs). The XDA community has already worked wonders on the current 1.5 ROM and I give them mad props for that. However having an official Sprint/HTC ROM will only further the capabilities of the XDA community. This means better custom ROMS for us rooters and flashers. I have yet to flash my Hero for a few reasons - I normally do not unlock/root my phones right off the bat, I like to experiment with the stock ROM for a while, until I am completely sick of it. With the Hero at this point I don't see a lot of reasons to start yet.....however I am starting to feel the ITCH.
No reason to talk about it... The phone is out here in the US a little over a month. There are so many posts about it that the subject is boring and quite frankly there were enough already on the forum that it didn't require another. You could've jumped on any other and expressed your opinion there too.
If Sprint and HTC never update this phone that's fine by me, a little disappointed in them I would be, but it would not be the first time I have experienced this. Personally I am entirely positive that this phone will be updated to 2.x, my only question is how long. Sprint has a history of dragging these things out as long as possible. Typically HTC releases an update to their GSM device and then MONTH later an update appears for the CDMA version. I am fine with that though I really am.
So I know what you are thinking now....
"Mr. Idaho, if you are completely satisfied with your phone, happy with the current iteration of the operating system, and a rooter/flasher who does not *NEED* an official update because they enjoy the XDA community, then why are you attempting to get everyone to twitter bomb Sprint and HTC, why are you running around on this and other forums spouting off a bunch of rhetorical crap trying to get people to follow you?"
Let me break it down for you:
To make people like you happy. Yes you people who throw a hissy fit everytime someone says "Where is the update?" or a speculation thread pops up. With a confirmation from Sprint a lot of those posts will die down.
To give an outlet to everyone who is not happy about not being able to run new Google Maps or Google Goggles - why fill this forum up with posts about that when those angry people can just direct their anger @sprint and @htc.
To help ensure that non technical users, who may not be inclined to root their phones, get an update. In the greater scheme of things those of us who can root and flash are a small minority. The other users who only know that "Verizion has 2.x and I don't - **** sprint - this phone sucks!" are the users who will make or break the platform. More Sprint Hero's on the market, the better support we get, the more XDA movement we get, more apps tailored for Hero's. It's a win win situation.
I also thought frankly it would be fun. Fun to see if we as a community of Sprint/HTC/Android users spanning many different websites could band together and force Sprints hand on something.
Sadly the idea has received more flack and resistance on this web forum then any other I posted it in. Honestly I don't know why - it's easy if you twitter right a quick message to sprint and htc. It's harmless, it might not accomplish anything - but then again it might (See the BAW forums and find the petition for MMS on Windows Mobile phones and see how that turned out). If you don't twitter or don't want to sign up an account to twitter, or think it's dumb - cool don't do it.
Personally, I get more satisfaction on point. If I have a problem with Sprint, they know about it. I have received GREAT satisfaction AND have been compensated for both my TIME and TROUBLES when I have pushed the issue and not backed down from them. I don't have a hissy fit and if you READ my posts you would see I have had my share of troubles, especially on my last PALM phone with WinMo which I had to hack to death to get to work correctly. I am confident they will (update)and like you, I made a decision to purchase this phone. Primarily I did so, knowing the open platform would allow me to make changes to the OS(ROM) in the future if in the event Sprint or HTC didn't support it.
Google maps works fine on my phone... and I can use the search (Google) to locate an address and usually it will have a link to click which will open Google maps... am I the only one who has this? All my GPS and location services on the phone work fine. Or is it that you feel we should have the newest due to someone else having it? It all just doesn't make sense to me to gripe about it so soon.
Anyway...
I'm confused though... COOK your own ROM's??? Then why are you needing THEM to do it for you? Write your own and be done with it, hell, if yours is better I might even buy it from you, lol... but I just don't get your post, it's intent, or the continual dialog on the responses. That is why I responded in the first place, because you posted an idea and had something to say to anything opposed to it as well! Totonka had a legitimate and reasonable reply and which I responded to your reply to that, is all... no need for the MANIFESTO! lol... SMILE
Have a nice day!