We have some great news for owners of the HTC Merge, as it turns out U.S. Cellular has finally released the Android 2.3 Gingerbread update.
The update adds improved power management, a refined user interface, easier copy and paste and more control over running apps. There is a new Flashlight app for the camera LED and the Merge now supports 802.11n Wi-Fi connections for faster downloads. Users can download the update from U.S. Cellular’s website and install it on their smartphones through a PC.
Users should beware that once you have connected your device on a computer using HTC Sync, it will wipe your device clean of emails, contacts, calendars, apps, bookmarks, and any other custom additions — it’ll basically be back to stock. Unfortunately, there’s no OTA update, so you’ll be stuck using a computer, not just any computer either as you can only use a Windows computer. Now that blows.
If you don’t feel comfortable upgrading your device yourself be sure to call your local US Cellular location to see if they can do it for you in-store. But if you’re up for the challenge, and want to do it yourself — the entire procedure is detailed in this PDF. Although Gingerbread (2.3) has been out for a whole nine months, but it’s still good to see an upper-mid range Android handset get updated to the latest version of the Android OS.
[via Android Police]