If you’ve been following the “Moment/Hero 2.1 update” threads, on your Android forum of choice, you know there are a lot of folks that are anxiously awaiting said update.  HTC and Sprint initially said “1st half of 2010″.  Then Sprint let slip the phrase “in the coming weeks”.  Well those weeks have come and gone.  The most recent news has been “the first week of May”.

A member of the XDA Developers forum recently posted a picture of a memo on the internal Best Buy Employee Toolkit.  The pic looks legit (and promising).  It does say “by this Friday”, which means it could drop before.  If I were a betting man, I’d say it won’t.

Here’s the copy from the post:

UPDATED MAY 3: HTC Hero ROM Update

UPDATED MAY 3: There have been some questions about this update. It is a firmware update. Due to changes made by HTC on Friday, the deployment was delayed until this week. The update will be in all stores by this Friday, May 7.

A new ROM update will give customers additional features and improved functionality on their HTC Hero. Although this update is available to customers on the HTC website, you may have customers come into the store requesting assistance in performing the update. The update is available on the Mobile Genie and the UME touch and can be accessed through the start-up menu on the device. To see the update instructions, click here or go to Employee Toolkit > Quick Access > Best Buy Mobile > Wireless Phone Activations > Handset Software Updates.

Here are some key things you should know and inform customers before performing this update:

Installing the ROM Update Utility will delete ALL information and data on your Android phone that is not saved to the SD card.

Make sure every customer inquiring about the update has read the HTC Hero ROM Update Information document. You may wish to print a copy of this document to show customers.

Although Best Buy Mobile employees have ability to back up and re-install a customer’s contacts using a USB provided by the customer, it is recommended that the customer back up all information on his or her home PC prior to coming into the store for the update.

Best Buy Mobile employees do not have the capability to back up photos, e-mails or apps. These will be deleted unless the customer backs them up at home prior to the update.

The update will take 10 to 15 minutes (this includes backing up contacts, installing the update and re-installing contacts).