OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & BELLEVUE, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sep. 3, 2009– Sprint (NYSE:S) and HTC Corporation today announced the upcoming arrival of the much-anticipated HTC Hero™ from Sprint, the first wireless device offering the combination of the open and innovative Android platform with the high-speed connectivity of America’s most dependable 3G network¹ (EVDO Rev. A.) Offering a rich mobile Internet experience, the much-anticipated HTC Hero offers synchronization for built-in Google mobile services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™, and YouTube™ as well as access to thousands of applications built on the Android platform.

Beginning on Oct. 11, customers will be able to purchase HTC Hero through all Sprint retail channels including Web (www.sprint.com), Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and our national retail partner Best Buy for$179.99 (excluding taxes) after a $50 instant savings and a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year service agreement. Pre-registration begins today at www.sprint.com/hero.

“The arrival of HTC Hero and the Android platform to Sprint’s network is an important milestone for our customers and the U.S. wireless industry,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development for Sprint. “With the dependability and coverage of Sprint’s 3G network, HTC Hero users will appreciate a much better experience than is possible now with any other Android phone operating in the United States. They will enjoy the robust potential to personalize their wireless experience as well as the best value in wireless with a Simply Everything plan from Sprint.”

Link: HERE

Let’s go through the steps together, shall we? A “senior member” forum poster on the xda-developers forums has posted the above pic as proof that the HTC Hero is coming to the US on October 11th — a claim he’s been making as far back as April, but this is the first time he’s brought a picture with him. The poster says he works for a wireless developer firm, and while this picture can easily be faked, we don’t think it’s necessarily that much of a stretch. Let’s look at some of the other phones listed. There’s “Samsung Q (Android),” which could provide a missing link between the InstinctQand the company’s mysterious Android phone that was supposed to be out on Sprint and T-Mobile by now. BlackBerry Aries is the CDMA version the Curve 8520, and traditionally RIM’s CDMA devices wind up on both Sprint and Verizon. The LG LX610 / Lotus 2 is a new one to us, but Lotus seems to have been well-received for Sprint. So to pull all that data together, if this list is the real deal, we’d say it came from Now Network company. This is the sort of phone Dan Hesse would be glad to have waited for, isn’t it?

Recently at Fortune’s Brainstorm: Tech event in Pasadena on Friday, Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse made a huge announcement. He stated that he was “Glad we waited on Android,” adding “The reviews say now it’s ready for prime time. It wasn’t when it first came out.” This is excellent news for sprint users! I have been speculating for a while now that sprint will be getting an android powered device, specifically the HTC hero. Android’s official code repository has been updated with a release of Andriod 2.0  ”Donut” build,  the codebase is showing signs of CDMA support — a must have for Sprint and Verizon. I must say that the announcement from Sprint’s CEO and the codebase of Android 2.0 seem to “mesh” perfectly with the release of the most anticipated android device of the year, the HTC hero. Sprint has a Strong history of supporting HTC devices more than any other carrier with the HTC vogue “touch”, HTC Raphael “touch pro”, HTC Diamond, HTC Maple “snap”, the upcoming HTC Rhodium “touch pro 2″, and the upcoming HTC Topaz “touch diamond 2″. It seems that Sprint has decided to move onto Androiod power devices and hopefully replace the failure of a phone also known as the Palm Pre. If I had to take a guess, I would place the Hero release date around Oct-Nov just in time for the holiday season.

If anyone has a ps3, now is the time to let out a sigh relief. If you follow the ps3 software history updates then you will know that only certain ps3′s can play old ps2 games. Interestingly, it seems that Sony just recently filed patents on a ps2 emulator to run on the ps3 cell processor.  Sony originally pulled the software emulator from ps3′s when they released a newer firmware update for the ps3. PlayStation 2 sales are still strong being that they sale for 99 bucks now and even cheaper at pawn shops around the nation. It has a huge library of games as well. Rumour has it that these patents could mean that backwards compatibility may be brought to all ps3 or perhaps on the mysterious ps3 slim. However it may come about you can be sure that the emulator can work on all ps3′s because they all share the same processor.  Sony’s powerful little baby, the “Cell” processor. Or could it be the 3.00 FW update all the fanboy’s on the ps3 forum are ranting about? LOL

Reports of heat-related discolorations appearing on the white model of the iPhone 3GS are surfacing on the Internet.

According to Wired.com’s Gadget Lab some white Iphones are getting so warm that their plastic cases are discoloring to pink or brown. The article continues with other examples and suggests that the issue could be related to faulty power-management software in Iphone OS 3.0.

Other Web sites reporting the issue includeNowhere Else, Le Journal du Geek,iLounge.com and Engaget.

The discolorations are white, pink or brown “outlines” around the battery. Its too early to tell if Apple will issue a recall or even if all Iphone 3GS’s are affected.  So far only users of the pearl white model have reported this issue and only time will tell if others are having this issue as well. If you have been affected or have more photos please leave a comment below.

Ben, an iPhone user in France,

took this photo of an affected white iPhone.

(Credit: Le Journal du Geek via Wired.com)

Currently the HTC-Hero™ is the most talked about phone on the web. Even more so than the 3GS lets see why….

HTC-Hero™ Specifications:

1. Qualcomm® MSM7200A™, 528 MHz (not as fast as the 3gs’s 600MHz processor but still close..)
2. 3.2-inch TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution (Multi-touch)
3. ROM: 512 MB
4. RAM: 288 MB
5. Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
6. Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
7. HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
8. 3.5 mm audio jack
9. 5.0 megapixel color camera with auto focus ( Iphone doesn’t have this for sure)
10. microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible) (again Apple™ doesn’t have this)

360 of the Hero

And on top of all those features Its running a version of Google’s Android™ and HTC’s TouchFlo 3D™ mixed properly titled “Sense UI” The only downside I can see from this phone/computer is the “Jay Lino” chin, as Internet guru’s are calling it, curve to it’s body. As you can see from the photo it may fit weirdly into a users pocket however, it would help protect the touch screen as well as the trackball when placed faced down on a table. The device is said to launch first in Europe on a GSM network obviously, and then in the US on an unknown carrier.  Rumour and I repeat RUMOUR has it that Sprint/Nextel is internally testing a CDMA version of the device for a late 2009 release.  I honestly think that this phone can give Apple™ a run for their money. What do you think?

Click to see the image—>