Orange has been in touch to let us know its variant update to the HTC Hero is now available, leaving just T-Mobile customers struggling with last year's software.

Both operators sell the handset, with T-Mobile branding it the G2 Touch, but customers have been frustrated at the speed with which the two networks have struggled to create variant versions of the latest update, denying customers access to significant performance improvements as well as numerous bug fixes.

All operators apply variant settings and branding to handsets, to a greater or lesser degree depending on the network, the handset and the subsidy offered. But that takes time, and delays both the launch of the (variant) handset and availability of subsequent updates: the latter being an increasingly important issue.

Some Orange customers have managed to install an unofficial update, but that's no longer necessary, as an official update for Orange users is now available from HTC. T-Mobile, meanwhile, is asking its customers to be patient, telling them (via a forum posting) that development has been accelerated and they should be able to download an official update within the week, though the company still hasn't responded to our questions on the matter.

T-Mobile's G2 Touch is more heavily branded than Orange's, so it makes sense that it would take longer, though the company admits that customer complaints about the delay have taken it by surprise:

"The G2 update was initially scheduled for release at the end of October / early November. However, as a result of your feedback on our forum this is no longer the case."

Operators do get early access to updates, and will need to work more closely with manufacturers in future to reduce the time it takes to apply the variant, or make their variants easier to apply. ®