Almost immediately after we opened our tips line, someone whispered to us that France Telecom was prepping the HTC Hero for launch on Orange UK and Orange France sometime in the last week of June. This was the first time this source had contacted us, so we were a bit wary; we dug a bunch, couldn’t find any leads, so we held off on posting it.

Now, a second, entirely unrelated source has come forward saying that they’ve heard the same thing: Last week of June, Orange UK/France. It’s by no means absolute proof, but it seems a bit too coincidental to be a complete sham. With the HTC Hero already making its way into promo videos, a release roughly one month from now doesn’t seem too deep in the crazy zone. Assign this rumor whatever grain of salt keeps you comfortable – we’ll keep our eyes pealed.