Well THIS is an interesting turn of events. You know the Sprint HTC Hero? The one that adds a brushed metallic finish and removes the angled curvature in the mouthpiece? We thought this phone might be exclusive to Sprint – at least in the United States – but a relatively small carrier called Cellular South is saying not by the trackball on my chinny chin chin. They’ll be offering the HTC Hero for pre-order on October 5th:

Cellular South is only the 11th largest carrier in the United States according to *cough*cough* Wikipedia with only 700,000 subscribers. Getting the Hero is a BIG win for them and the company has been leading the charge to the FCC that hopes to remove the the various carrier exclusivity agreements from the industry. If you take a look at their coverage map you’ll see that their voice services cover almost the whole United States but they’re certainly stronger in the eastern half of the country. Their data services are a little more spotty.

Thanks to Steven who sent a us a link to the full Press Release last night!

Cellular South’s new Android(TM)-Powered Smartphone Gives Consumers Access to Company’s Superior 3G Network, Unique Apps and Discover Center Support

RIDGELAND, Miss., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ — Cellular South, the nation’s largest privately held wireless provider, announced plans today to launch its first Android-powered smartphone, the new HTC Hero(TM). Consumers will be able to pre-order the device as early as October 5. The company is among the first U.S. wireless carriers to announce the availability of the highly acclaimed Android device with Google(TM) mobile services. The HTC Hero is the first of a variety of Android-powered smartphones Cellular South plans to offer in the near future.

Android-powered devices are one of the fastest growing device segments in the wireless industry with worldwide sales expected to soon eclipse the most popular smartphones on the market today, including the iPhone(TM), according to a March 2009 report by Informa Telecoms and Media, a London-based research house specializing in the mobile, broadband and television industries.

With the Android open source mobile platform, an advanced web browser and stylish look and feel, Hero is a great Android-powered phone and is poised to emerge as a popular device for consumers. According to Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics, “Android has fast been winning healthy support among operators, vendors and developers and is now in good position to become a top-tier player in smartphones over the next two to three years.”

The HTC Hero, featuring Android, developed by the Open Handset Alliance(TM), a partnership of more than 40 global mobile industry leaders, will allow consumers access to thousands of the latest and most relevant wireless applications. The Hero also has built-in Google mobile services with synchronization, including Google Search(TM), Google Maps(TM), Gmail(TM), and YouTube(TM).

“Cellular South is excited to be among the first carriers worldwide to offer this industry-changing platform,” said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for Cellular South. “With Android Market(TM) and applications built on Android, combined with Cellular South’s superior 3G high speed mobile broadband network, we will continue to offer our customers the best products and experience available in the market. When you add the full support of our industry-leading online, in-store and now on-device Discover Centers, Cellular South will provide our customers an experience unmatched in the industry.”

The Applications

Android’s open source platform, which includes Android Market, an open marketplace for applications, will give customers access to more than 9,500 of the latest applications they want and need, and is growing at a phenomenal rate.

The highly-touted Layar(TM) application by Sprxmobile will be available to download on Cellular South’s Android smartphone. This next-generation reality browser built on top of Android shows what points of interest are around the wireless user by superimposing real-time digital information on top of reality through the camera on the mobile phone.

The Features

Android is an open platform which enables manufacturers from around the world to develop unique user interfaces. HTC Hero is built with a user interface based on the HTC Sense(TM) philosophy. This user experience creates personalization through fully customizable home screens. It also integrates social networking applications into the experience with its Twitter(R) widget and seamlessly ties in Facebook(R) and other social networks into the contact and message functions.

Additionally, this Android-powered smartphone gives customers the option to flexibly upgrade its memory with a MicroSD memory card, so they can easily add more memory without having to purchase a new device.

The fully-loaded smartphone also features a 3.2 inch HVGA touch-sensitive display with Wi-Fi capability, GPS with digital compass, accelerometer, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and a 5 Megapixel autofocus camera and camcorder with expandable microSD memory. HTC Hero features simple personal and business e-mail accessibility with instant messaging and text messaging, as well as Stereo Bluetooth(R) 2.0 Wireless technology.

The Network

Smartphones are only as good as the network on which they operate. Cellular South’s 3G technology is the most reliable and advanced high-speed mobile broadband network available and supports all of the advanced services consumers expect, such as mobile broadband connectivity, e-mail, music downloads, video streaming, internet radio and television, social networking and location-based services.

The Discover Centers

Cellular South’s Discover Centers available online, in stores and on the HTC Hero, provide customers with real-time support and relevant tools that help them get more out of their wireless devices. Cellular South Discover Center Specialists are Android experts and will be able to assist customers in learning about all of the features, applications and overall utilization of their new Android-powered device.

For more information about the HTC Hero at Cellular South, its smartphone offerings and Cellular South’s Discover Centers, visit www.Cellularsouth.com/DiscoverCenter.

Android, Google, Open Handset Alliance, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc. Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple, Inc. HTC Hero is the trademark of HTC Corporation.