Taiwanese handset maker HTC has finally started rolling out the Android 2.1operating system, codenamed Éclair, to European owners of its Hero smartphone. HTC said in a statement that it was rolling a firmware-over-the-air update for the Hero as it wanted to provide the best possible user experience.

The 80MB update will bring a number of improvements. It will also make some of HTC Legend’s software features available to the Hero. The new version of Google’s Android 2.1 operating system will allow Hero users to use the interface.

Android 2.1 will bring Microsoft Exchange, a revamped UI, HTML 5, built-in Flash and improved Google Maps. It will also help to optimize hardware speed.

It may be noted here that the HTC Desire and Wildfire already comes with Android 2.1 operating system.

HTC suggests that Hero owners should use a free WiFi hotspot or an unlimited data plan to bring the new update.

Commenting on the update, HTC said, "Your phone will receive a notification of this update when it is made available. Simply press OK to accept the update via a data connection such as Wi-Fi or GPRS/3G."

Separately, Google announced that it started rolling out Android OS 2.2, codenamed Froyo, to Nexus One smartphones across the world.