Friday, March 17, 2006
HTC Hermes "HSDPA-Ready" But Will Require "Future" Software Update
Posted by Raphael Salgado in "HARDWARE" @ 11:00 AM
Reliable source MarcTGFG has just posted some good news and some really bad news on his blog regarding the upcoming HTC Hermes. According to a written response from a Vodafone senior product manager, "...the device will be 'HSDPA ready', meaning that the hardware is already prepared for HSDPA, but the ability to use it will be accomplished only sometime later through a software update."
The "sometime later" phrase is the "insult to injury" for HTC Hermes fans who were hoping to utilize all of the device's capabilities right out of the box. For now, the Hermes' HSDPA hardware will feel like that ominous I/O port on your PVR marked "reserved for future use." The upside to this story is the fact that T-Mobile will not have exclusivity to the Hermes' initial release, as Vodafone expects a "June or July" timeframe for their branded Hermes, known as the Vodafone VPA Compact III. Also, one can only dream that this looming "software update" might allow support for the 1900MHz band that Cingular is using for their future HSDPA rollout in the United States.
The "sometime later" phrase is the "insult to injury" for HTC Hermes fans who were hoping to utilize all of the device's capabilities right out of the box. For now, the Hermes' HSDPA hardware will feel like that ominous I/O port on your PVR marked "reserved for future use." The upside to this story is the fact that T-Mobile will not have exclusivity to the Hermes' initial release, as Vodafone expects a "June or July" timeframe for their branded Hermes, known as the Vodafone VPA Compact III. Also, one can only dream that this looming "software update" might allow support for the 1900MHz band that Cingular is using for their future HSDPA rollout in the United States.
