Hmmmm,  the new Eris's at the Verizion stores have 2.1 onboard?  Wow, considering how many Eris's are out in the community it would probably really get HTC and Verizon's attention if suddenly, mysteriously all of them were damaged and had to be replaced with a new unit, which presumably would already have 2.1 on board. They might find that expediting the upgrade may be a cheaper alternative.

Pics or it didn't happen! No pics? Oh that's right, because you are full of it. 2 Days ago purchased an Eris for mum, and it is 1.5. Verizon's website even says 1.5. Everything everyone has said has been nothing but a rumor. It isn't being released today, nor tomorrow, nor next week, nor next month. Anyone paying attention knows that Q1 has come and is about done, so that kills that rumor. Today is the official release of the Incredible, which is 2.1, and the Eris is still 1.5, so that kills that rumor.

Here, I will start another rumor, though it really isn't a rumor. When picking up the phone 2 days ago, I asked the Verizon dude, when will it get 2.1? His response was, just root it. How do you like that one? Haven't seen that rumor where someone says they emailed the CEO of Verizon because they are so upset about having version 1.5 and that Apple updates all their stuff, blah blah blah. If you really need 2.1, root it! I am guessing most people want 2.1 and don't need it. I took mum's phone and went through the Verizon forums looking at the issues people were having. As a software developer, an open source software developer, I like to do a bit of QA myself and test to see if the bug is present. I couldn't confirm more than 90% of the issues. And the ones I did confirm are things mum won't even be using or doing with the phone.

Me? I was smart, I got my Incredible for free at an Android meetup in Chicago this week. Heck, I wasn't even planning on updating my phone just yet.

I really don't care what you believe. I'm simply telling you that my phone clearly has the 2.1 version and was purchased new at a VZ store about a month ago. I don't know how this happened. That's why I posted all the numbers under 'phone information'/'software information.' I was trying to help the rest of you figure out what's going on.

That's soooo weird, because when I go into settings, there is no "phone info."  There is "About Phone."  Within that menu item, there is no "Software Info" submenu.  All of the firmware, baseband, kernel, etc are right there in "About Phone.".

Agree with DOG1...

Pics or it didn't happen!

I bought my droid eris "NEW from Verizon" last week and it clearly came with android 1.5.  

Just because you got screwed on your phone doesn't mean someone else is full of it....  Actually Mr. Software Developer, that makes you full of hot air!  You are the reason that forums get filled with B.S. complaining momma's boy's....  Do us all a favor & keep your complaining about other peoples posts to yourself next time.  Have a great day with your 1.5 OS fella!

Thanks for the support! Here I go trying to give the other guys around here a little insight and something to use in their quest for 2.1 and what do I get back? "You're a stinking fraud

I know what you're saying Psych!  It's people like them that will never get anywhere in life because they'll ask for help and then ignore the help they receive.  Let them keep their 1.5 OS's while we get the enjoyment of the 2.1 Droid Eris!!!

Blah blah. Google my nick and then tell me I am getting no where in life. If Psych has a 2.1 phone, it wasn't brand new, or it was, but someone in the store had fun with the phone. Fortunately, I know people who work on the Android platform and work for the companies we have in question here. Kind of cool being a member of the open source community. People are everywhere saying, "Oh my super reliable source said next week!" Then a month goes by and nothing. And then people start showing off a leaked 2.1 Eris, which is legit, but they call it the leaked OTA, which is a fraud and isn't true.

So, on a hunch, I would see if I could find an Eris at the Verizon store that had 2.1. I told the employee there who I have dealt with for a few years about this forum post. So, we went through 23 or 24 phones there to see if we could get lucky. If so, mum's phone was getting traded in, as it meets the less than 30 days deal. Every phone was 1.5. So, I decided to call a few more stores, and the one store in Schaumburg had actually read this forum post, so hello to those of you in Schaumburg! They had gone through their stock looking for a phone already and had no luck.

So how is it, you are in the only person in the world reporting that you got 2.1 on a brand new phone from Verizon when everyone else and their mother is chilling with 1.5 or dropping the new rooms in root? The reason I snapped the way I did, is this is obviously a touchy subject for Eris owners, and to have someone come in and saying they have 2.1 out of the box from Verizon on their Eris has the tendency to start yet another shite storm. I contacted some of the Android peeps and pointed them to this thread, some who run fairly known droid-based sites, hoping that maybe they would look into it, as they typically have some pull (especially Engadget).

Sorry if I hurt your feelings, wasn't meaning to do so. Seriously if your phone came with 2.1, then your phone was messed with by somebody. Interesting thing I found out as well, googling your version numbers, none of them are found, which was a bit interesting honestly.

According to Android and Me ,most  buyer's don;t care about the OS version, keyboards are king.

.  androidandme.com/.../qwerty-is-king-for-u-s-android-buyers

"the Motorola CLIQ appears to have out sold the myTouch 3G. T-Mobile launched the myTouch 3G first, heavily promoted it, and upgraded it to Android 1.6. The CLIQ went on sale several months later and only included Android 1.5, but it looks like more customers are choosing it based entirely on the form factor."

I stopped by Verizon today.  The Incredible is indeed incredible.  The camera pops up right away, absolutely no lag whatsoever.  Guys, this phone is the real deal.Tight, tight, tight.  Crisp, snappy, responsive.

The main reason I stopped by was to show them some flakiness with my phone changing screens all by itself and the screen shifting to a non-Home screen when I hit the home button.  Alas I was unable to make the phone behave badly in front of them - ain't it a b_tch. Anyhow I got chummy with the Verizon guys who were standing around entertaining each other.  They measured their words carefully but they inferred that its likely 2.1 has been ready for a long time for the ERis but Verizon doesn't want to kill the buzz for the Incredible while its launching.so they are waiting to upgrade the $79 Eris (vs. the $199 Incredible) until the Incredible has some traction.  This is the first thing that has made sense to me. By releasing the leaked version of 2.1 they have given existing customers a way forward if they want without threatening the superiority of the Incredible.  Publicly Verizon can legitimately claim that the Incredible is the only HTC Sense phone with 2.1.  If you were buying a new phone would you choose a 1.5 phone with a slower processor for $79 or 2.1 phone with Snapdragon processor at $199?  Pretty simple decision, right?

I asked the salesperson about rooting the phone and he played dumb, at first.  Then he was careful to point out that your warranty is voided if you do it.  However, when Verizon does release the OTA version, it would reset the phone and no one would be the wiser.  He also said to be VERY careful about which copy of the leaked 2.1 you use.  Anyone know where a known good 2.1 version exists?  I'm certain, now, that rooting the phone is what HTC and Verizon want us existing customers who are pissed off to do.  Well, actually they want us all to upgrade to the Incredible and pay a ton of money to do it, but that's besides the point.

Man! These Verizon guys seem to talk out of their butts. I've heard so many rumors now that I don't know what to believe. I've read people's posts, blogs, statements from Verizon, statements from HTC.To me it sounds liek these guys know nothing and will tell you anything to get you off their backs. Frankly, I'm not buying the "only HTC Sense phone with 2.1." I doubt Sense is that important to anyone and the Motorola is 2.1 also. I mean, common, you pick the Incredible for the hardware upgrades, not which version of Android it has on it. This is more BS in my opinion.

Eris:

528MHz Qualcomm

Screen size: 3.2 inches

Screen resolution: 320 x 480

5MP camera

Internal memory: 512 MB

Incredible:

1GHz Snapdragon

A 3.7-inch 480×800 WVGA OLED 

8MP camera

8GB of internal memory,

don't forget a most important part of the value proposition:

Eris $79

Incredible $199

The Eris is at the end of its lifecycle and the Incredible (with alot more margin in it for Verizon) is at the beginning.  The cycle starts out with a lot of margin and the service provider has to max out their margin for as long as possible and with as much volume as possible at the beginning to minimize the upfront subsidies they have to get you locked into a 2 yr contract.  And the inventory for both products has to be sold thru - its a balancing act to transition from one phone to the next. 

And the MOTO droid has a hard keyboard with no Sense UI, so its really in a different category.  The MOTO droid is an unfriendly phone.  The HTC Sense phones are much more user friendly.  Apples and Oranges. That's why Verizon offered both phones simultaneously last year - because they knew a large portion of the population would be turned off by the Moto droid.  Many people opted to buy the Eris instead of the Moto.  Some bought Moto Droid and downgraded within the 30 day window to the Droid Eris. Not many upgraded from the Droid Eris to the Moto, I would venture to guess.  Nonetheless I'm sure the the MOTO droid was a better seller due to the strong marketing push.  Each phone serves a different target market.  The Incredible with Sense UI and virtual keyboard is the next generation of the Droid Eris.  That's how product roadmaps work.

Well I'll be a monkey's uncle.  I installed 2.1 tonight.  What took me so long!  You folks worried about bricking your phone or voiding your warranty or screwing it up are going to kick yourself that you didn't do it sooner.  Its really quite easy to upgrade it.

Seems to work well.  Navigation - great.  Google Goggles - fair.  Cannot find Google Earth in the App store.  The App Store has a totally different UI and is nicely grouped.

I'm happy.