HTC Hero Cell Phone
Overview
What's good: Killer virtual keyboard; Sense UI is inviting and full of wow; gorgeous 3.2", 320 X 480 display with oleophobic coating; design is sophisticated but makes a statement; 3.5mm headphone jack; 5MP cam; Teflon on select colors; Hero represents a new day for Android.
What's bad: You need to go without the Sense extras for a snappy experience; my browsing experience on EDGE was very slow (issue for running on unsupported carriers); video camera isn't even worth using; some people hate the chin and asymmetrical button layout.
Introduction
As the first OEM to sell a phone running Android, HTC holds a unique position in the Android market. They are well aware of the operating system's strengths and weaknesses, technical ins and outs, and surely what the public has adored and despised in previous implementations.
Much as they have done with the unappetising surface of Windows Mobile, HTC remedied the blandness of the vanilla Android home screen by way of a new experience and (as much as I hate to say this) a philosophy, called Sense.
The most readily apparent aspect of Sense is the user interface, which is actually still called TouchFLO - as it has been on the company's WinMo devices. This may change, but you can test it at the time of this writing by installing a home replacement such as aHome or dxTop. After install, hit the home button and you'll find that the Rosie UI (as it was termed in early leaks) has now been branded TouchFLO.
Sense also integrates Android devices with the user's online life; pulling friend's images from Facebook and allowing the aggregation of multiple data streams under one contact. For example, Jim may send you two emails from two different accounts. They may even be sent to two different accounts that you have set up on your Sense-equipped phone. When you look at Jim's contact entry, you'll see two or more new messages: the two emails, and his latest Tweet or Facebook update. Pretty cool stuff. (cont.)
 Design & Features
In terms of beauty and style, HTC has a reputation for bold and sleek design. The Hero is no exception. However, as HTC's CIO admits, the Hero aesthetic is polarizing. People love it or hate it. There isn't much of a grey area. This is largely due to the phone's prominent chin, which juts out from the body of the device at a fifteen-degree trajectory.
If you ask me - and you are if you're reading this - the chin just fits. It feels and looks natural when held against the face, and there's something about it that gives Hero an air of future-retro chic. Yes, that is a real phrase. I just used it. The dark black/brown model I was sent is gorgeous.
In order to maintain sharp lines and a smooth surface, a sparse control layout leaves the phone without a dedicated camera button. In fact, beside the face control buttons; send, end, back, search, home, menu and trackball (action), the only hardware control element on the phone is the subdued volume rocker.
The lack of a camera button was not much of an issue for me until I tried to take a one-handed shot of myself and my wife. Those are always awkward, but trying to hit that scrolling action button and keep two heads in frame with no preview while ensuring the phone's safety is no easy task. This turned out to be less of an issue than I originally thought it would be, because I didn't have much use for the camera. I would count on Hero for shooting sights on vacation, but not for a birthday in a bar.
You'll get great, even stunning, still shots in bright light. But without a flash, dim situations are grim. And the camcorder is just plain bad. I'm hoping an update will resolve the horrible maximum resolution of 352 x 288 for video. Seriously, that department is hurting. I can optimistically report that the positive side to having a mediocre camera is that I'm not draining the battery unnecessarily.
Other aspects of Hero are just what they should be. You get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a sweet virtual keyboard (which is, to me, the greatest concern for a touch screen without a hardware QWERTY), a lovely interface, useful and beautiful widgets, and a bold body. What am I missing here? Ah, yes. The processor. (See next section)
 Usability & Performance
I think I'm the only reviewer who doesn't have a serious gripe with Hero's 288 RAM, 512 ROM, and 528 MHz processor. I've seen a video where one reviewer loaded up some power-hungry widgets on Hero and then complained that the G1, running no widgets, is faster. I admit that the lovingly designed widgets are tempting, but their simultaneous availability does not mean they all must be run at once.
If you push Hero with widgets and background apps (which I admit, Sense is begging you to do), you're going to experience lag. I ran it very lean. This means that I missed out on some of the features that are achieving so much buzz for the device. In the near future, I think you will be able to run your Twitter widget and app, music player, and browse a website with Flash on an HTC Sense device - getting in return a snappy response. But right now, it's not happening. That may appear to be the phone HTC is selling, but it's not the phone you're buying. Caviat emptor. What's the Latin phrase for, "But it still kicks ass?"
HTC would have to be out of their collective mind to *not* push the widgets in terms of PR, but in a way I think this has set people up with unreasonable expectations - like they can run all of the widgets at the same time while going about their business of making phone calls and surfing the web. Many reviewers have been dissatisfied with a less-than-stellar experience rather than pleased by the wide variety of new functionalities HTC has bestowed on Android. They praise the battery and curse the processor. I, however, found the processor sufficient and the battery lacking - despite my minimal use of add-ons.
I personally like to keep my phone running light - using only what I need, which isn't much: phone, texts, maps, and a little bit of social app interaction. In turn, I had a very pleasant experience with Hero. When I put the words Hero and experience together in the same sentence, the first thing that pops into my mind is that fantastic keyboard. I would love to see it for sale in the Market.
Conclusion
I am as excited about the Hero as I was about the G1 at launch. I think this phone represents something big. I think it signals a sea change in the way people use their phones, and a major bump for the Android's profile in the eyes of the average consumer. But I went into my time with Hero recognizing that early adopters pay a price for the opportunity to taste features before they hit the mainstream. I didn't expect to run all of those lovely widgets at once without a slow, so I wasn't disappointed.
I also give this glowing review as an Android enthusiast counting on HTC to optimize the Hero ROM and extend battery life. All of us reviewers are talking and writing about an early preview, after all. We were told that Hero would hit the States by the end of the 2009. A push-back or two would not surprize me. So when you search for a Hero review and find results unfavorable to the Hero team, remember that the phone that the reviewer held is not the same one you'll eventually find in an American store. I have no stake in seeing HTC succeed. I just think think (and hope) they're being underestimated at this early stage in the life of a ground-breaking device.
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Here's one of HTC's two new video ads: "You." Me? I like it (but not as much as the other one). You? Hit the comments and let us know what you think.
Here's one of HTC's two new video ads: "You Are Different From You." Me? I like it. You? Hit the comments and let us know what you think. A preview of the happy dilemma facing Sprint customers this Winter? Could be. Noah pits the Palm Pre vs the HTC Hero in the final chapter of this PhoneDog Dogfight! A preview of the happy dilemma facing Sprint customers this Winter? Could be. Noah pits the Palm Pre vs the HTC Hero in part two of the latest PhoneDog Dogfight! A preview of the happy dilemma facing Sprint customers this Winter? Could be. Noah pits the Palm Pre vs the HTC Hero in part one of the latest PhoneDog Dogfight! Paul from MoDaCo got his hands on a build of the forthcoming firmware update to HTC's Hero, and he says the new build takes the Android smartphone "to the next level." Gone is the lag. Smooth are the flicks between home screens. And that annoying thing where the analog clock updates itself - while you watch - every time it reappears on your display? That's gone too!
Seriously, if you've never used a Hero, that analog clock thing is super... Verizon jumped into the Android game with both feet last Friday, selling the much hyped Motorola Droid and its more-than-capable little Sis, the HTC Droid Eris in stores across the nation. With the US' number one wireless carrier now selling phones built around Google's Android OS, the platform is poised for a big uptick in mass consumer adoption. Heck, AT&T might even start carrying a Google phone before too long.
We want to take you on a...
Billed as one of the best Android devices to date, it appears that the HTC Hero may be experiencing a few text messaging issues. Reported by several on the Sprint Community forums, the troubles range from occasional text messaging problems to not being able to receive any at all. Users have reset the devices, exchanged, removed applications, and come up with various solutions, only to have the issue return after a certain period of... Though the rumors have varied slightly from source to source, it's been pretty much confirmed for the past few months that the HTC Hero was coming to Sprint. Thanks to a Best Buy internal computer screenshot BGR obtained earlier in the evening, it looks like the popular Android device could arrive sooner than we think. Though the in-stock date is listed as September 13th, it's important to note that the date most likely refers to the...
Tom, our noble leader and Top Dog, tipped us Editors off late last night to a forum post by which all other forum posts should be judged. So long as you're not a stickler for grammar and punctuation, that is ;-)Seriously, PhoneDog reader "elserg" went above and beyond in outlining the happy dilemma facing Sprint customers this holiday season. With all of these super tricked out smartphones supposedly ready to launch, which one should he... Last week I posted a Top 5 phones list. Funny thing about Top 5 lists, college football Top 25 polls, beauty contests, and most any argument ever held in a bar: People love to hear other people rank things, and love to then rip those rankings apart. What makes it fun is also the point, that there's no way to get everyone to agree on which cell phone is "the best," which Muppet is the cutest, or which BCS team is the undisputed king of the... This one is gonna be tough. Smartphones are getting smarter. Dumbphones are as smart as last year's smartphones. And Internet rumors and leaks are so rampant, it's hard to talk about today when we (think we) know what's coming tomorrow. Not to mention the fact that my favorite phone may well be your worst nightmare.That said, here's my stab at the five phones I would most likely recommend to anyone, in order of preference. Note that I am... Pros: Love Sense UI, Feels great in hand,Great looking screen, Camera quality is excellent, Impressed with just about everything,the predictive text entry is awesome, makes typing a lot easier..Internet with Flash is amazing Cons: Battery Life is shaky at best, Video playback is sub par, especially compared to Palm Pre and iPhone, Typing takes a little getting used to Summary: Great phone... In my opinion this is hands down the second best phone available right now with the iPhone being ahead slightly and I do mean slightly. The phone is very well put together, loads of features and the Android market is only going to continue to expand! Love how you can customize pretty much everything..I would definitely recommend! Pros: Excellent sharp display, impeccable phone sound quality, crisp video playback (on Sprint EVDO A). Cons: None so far Summary: This is my first exprience with HTC and android phones. I purchased the phone on Saturday (10/10/09) @ a local sprint store. The build quality is excellent and I really don't have a bad word to say about the phone. I've been with Sprint for 11 years, and have used only Sanyo phones. This is the closest phone I've seen with the functionality of a blackberry and I-Phone 3G S. I'm very impressed! All HTC Hero user reviewsI have read that many people are having problems making their clock find the right city. In the main application menu select the clock. It will automatically show you the world clock autoset list. Press Menu and Delete a city or two. Delete the home screen clock and re-add it. When the list comes up to choose your city, select Add City at the top. From here you can locate the Metro area close to your... [quote user="dee3pr"]Hey John,
When you were on the T-mob network for the Hero did you have problems sending pictures?
I have that problem with my Hero.. I can receive them but I can't send them (MMS)
I would like your input
Thanks, Dee[/quote]Hey wat's up John how things!?.............im in jamaica and my good fren bring this phone fr the US for me.(htc hero) luving it like wow! 2things tho i cant send a text and the bluetooth dont... there isnt a chin if you look at the updated sprint version
The chin is perfect. Beceause of the chin there's less pressure on your phone screen from your leg or something else in your pocket. Because of the shape, it fits perfectly with the screen against your leg.
It prevents the screen from scratches when you drop it on the table as well.
Besides that, in my opinion, it's ugly from the outside(sorry if I hurt your feelings my dear Hero:$) and the most beautifull of all phones from the inside(l)
ive been reading alot on the web about this phone and looks great, just wondering about carrying it around in your pocket with its 'chin'. any users had issues with this or is it unobtrusive? well you can get sense on your mytouch right now.
i have a g1 and have never root or even had a mytouch. but i do know a lot about android and the two phones arnt that different.
http://forum.xda-develope...
if you have anymore questions feel free to ask.
http://www.youtube.com/wa... I agree. I have finally found a phone that does everything I need. And with the news of the possible Tmo and Sprint buyout staying with Tmobile seems like the right choice. They seemed to be on track to being the leader in the Android phone market.
No, I haven't rooted my My Touch. What are the advantages to doing that and is there a guide anywhere to that process? first off Welcome to PhoneDog!!!!
well ive seen where htc was going to make a sense ui for the mytouch just not the google ones. but if that comes out youll probly be able to get it from xda and be good to go but if you want the hero i think its a great phone. but i think id stay with tmobile so that way your not just hoping between carriers every time a new phone comes out lol.
and have you rooted your mytouch? what is the point of buying unlocked phones? i wanted to but the htc hero, but you would have to pay 600$ and then add a contract to pay even more money, rather than just buy like a mytouch 3g for 100$ with contract and save 500$. i dont know to much about phones but so i dont know why would people do that... I have another question and need an EXPERT opinion. i wanna know what phone should i get. my att contract is over in 2 days and i need to see what phone i should i get. The Unlocked HTC Hero or the Unlocked Touch HD. I need to make phone calls, use it as my main music device, browse the web, and mainly, customizing + many apps. i dont kind the price tag on either but i really need an expert opinion on this. i narrowed it down to these two as my... Buying choicesWith new service  This item is not being sold with a service plan by any online merchant. With pre-paid service This item is not being sold with a pre-paid service service plan by any online merchant. Purchase phone only Accessories Purchase compatible accessories for this phone Ringtones & MediaShop for compatible mobile content for this phone
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4.3 out of 5
4.8 out of 5
but it looks totally different.
i prefer the UK one or the Europe ones...as you seen above.
Oh and does the Hero have a keyboard?