HTC Hero Smartphone

So, after over a year of living and loving my Blackberry Curve I was itching for a new phone. A part of me lusted for an iPhone, but I wasn't in love with the price nor the fact I'd have to switch to AT&T.  I'm on Sprint, and have been for years.  I was pulled in by the allure of the Moto Droid phone, but again - I'm on Sprint.  I went to the Sprint store to see my options. I saw the Samsung Moment, that was an Android phone with a pullout keyboard similar to "The Droid" and was tempted. I tried it, and couldn't get into the landscape keyboard or the fact that it felt big and heavy like a brick. Then, I saw the HTC Hero - also a Google Android phone. It was all touch screen, it looked cool. It was $279 with a $100 rebate, and I qualified for the upgrade. I took the leap. The phone requires an unlimited data plan, which I was already on for my Blackberry so it was just a matter of buying my new phone and getting started.

About the HTC Hero
The HTC Hero comes in 2 versions - CDMA (on Sprint) and the European GSM.  They look completely different - both in shape and button placement so keep this in mind when purchasing aftermarket accessories (such as a case).  The Sprint Hero is more curved vs the GSM which is more rectangular and has an angled "chin" at the base.  This review will deal with the HTC Hero for Sprint.

In terms of size and appearance - The Hero is very streamlined and attractive. The underside of the phone is a steel grey color that her a "soft touch" finish on it. The face of the phone is framed in black and under the what seems gigantic to me (coming from a blackberry) is a brushed metal plate that houses the controls and a roller-ball. The dimensions of the Hero are: 4.46 inches tall by 2.2 inches wide by 0.54 inch thick, it weighs just 4.5 ounces.  The touchscreen is 3.2-inch, 480x320 - with a built in light sensor to optimize viewing based on your lighting environment. The screen also automatically switches  from portrait to landscape based on the orientation of the phone.

Technical Specs (from the HTC website)
Processor -Qualcomm MSM7600, 528Mhz
Memory - ROM: 512MB, RAM: 288MB DDR, 2GB microSD memory card (I swapped mine out for an 8GB card)
Battery - Rechargeable battery — 1500 mAh, Talk time of up to 250 minutes, Standby time of up to to 360 hours
Internal GPS
Bluetooth
Display  - 3.2-inch 320 x 480 HVGA resolution, 262K-color TFT LCD touch-sensitive screen with LED backlight

There are just a few buttons/controls on the Hero and the rest is the touch screen. There are actual Talk and End button keys and then areas you toggle on the brushed metal plate for Menu, a Home shortcut, Back (arrow) button, a Google Search launcher (magnifying glass), and a large trackball navigator. These are all useful but secondary to the Hero's touch screen - you can tap, touch, flick, swipe, and pinch to control applications and navigate while mobile browsing. The keyboard is a QWERTY touch screen that is "smart" in that it anticipates what you are typing or uses proximity of keys (in the case of fat fingers) and provides word suggestions. This makes typing on a touch screen easier and a more pleasant experience. The keyboard also rotates based on phone orientation and it is easier to type in the sideways position (landscape) vs upright (portrait). The keyboard defaults with a vibration/feedback mode on so that when you type it provides a little bit of feedback as the letter is touched (you can turn this off, which I haven't).

The HTC Hero uses an interface called Sense (not the standard android interface).  It was designed so that users would have more customization for their phone's look and feel. You can set up multiple scenes so that your phone has certain applications, programs, shortcuts at close by based on what mode/scene you put your phone in. It comes default with scenes for Social, Work, Travel, Play or standard HTC  - you can customize or "tweak" these however you choose.  Each of these scenes has 7 screens that you can slide through left to right.

Because this is an Android phone you can run applications developed for the Android market. At this time the Sprint Hero has Android 1.5 with a projected 2.1 upgrade for the first half of 2010 (I'm hoping sooner than later!) To access and install applications you can visit the Android market application to search and install (many/most are free).

This is a smartphone that can be synced with your outlook and/or google calendar, contacts, and email addresses.  It comes with the HTC sync program and you can sync wirelessly or via USB.  It has a 5 megapixel camera with autofocus on it which is better than many of the cellphone cameras out there. You can also take movies on the Hero.

My Thoughts on the HTC Hero
When I first got the Hero, I felt crippled because I wasn't used to the touchscreen. I'm a big texter and was used to the physical keyboard of the Blackberry Curve.  My hands are small and I still fat finger quite a bit on the Hero (especially in portrait mode). I'm definitely thankful for the fact that it suggests words, spell-checks, and auto-corrects as this saves me from spacing back and fixing every word that I type - now its only about half of them.  After a months time of using the phone, I am getting much better with it. By the time I master it - it will be time to upgrade.


I love the Sense UI of the Hero. I set up my default scene to have the clock (with weather) HTC app at the top and icons for the camera, shortcut to my pictures, Google Voice, my browser, address book, email, and text messaging. Additional screens include the shortcuts to applications that I use frequently like Google Talk, Andro-Blogger, Pandora, Facebook, Twitter Apps (like Twidroid and Twitteride), Pixelpipe, and more.  One of my screens is a full monthly calendar that sync with my desktop and Google calendars for appointments and reminders. You can also access all the programs on the phone with a single touch and scroll through the shortcuts. It is very easy to customize the scenes with as many or as few shortcuts and widgets.  I have set up a scene for the kids that includes several children's game applications, a browser, youtube, etc and doesn't include my email, calendar or text messaging so they can't mess my stuff up if they are playing with my phone (handy when waiting at a restaurant, etc).

I really like how easy it is to scroll between my screens and navigate among applications. I like that the phone goes to sleep and needs to be unlocked with a finger swipe. Of course I have set my phone up with fun wallpapers and photos of my kids to "make it mine". Also handy is the fact that you can pull down "notifications" like a shade from the top of the phone and see what new messages, twitter mentions, emails, meeting details or missed calls - all literally with the touch of a finger.

Web browsing is super intuitive and easy on the Hero. The phone has built in google search and the large screen makes viewing pages a pleasure and not a chore.

I love the 5 megapixel camera on this smartphone. The pictures it takes are very impressive. I even used one for my christmas card, it was that good. My blackberry often took blurry/grainy phones and the pictures on the Hero look much more crisp. It does not have a flash on it, so it is only good when lighting is in your favor. Also, to snap a picture you depress the rollerball which sometimes causes a few misfires.

You can store MP3s and play them on your Hero, and it is connected to the Amazon MP3 library for purchasing more media. I haven't purchased mp3's this way but have used the phone as a media player and have no complaints. Speaker output is good or you can use headphones.

In terms of performance - The Hero is responsive but sometimes I have noticed lag time when switching from portrait to landscape or going from one application to the next. Firing the phone up in the morning and shutting it down also seems to take more time than it should. I want a phone that you can just turn on and off with a press of a button not one that has multiple start up screens and graphics and requires confirmation at shut down much like shutting down a laptop!  I also do miss my auto-shut off and on that the blackberry had. Because I like to use my phone as an alarm it won't turn itself on for the alarm to go off. I need to remember to keep my phone on and in sleep mode at night so the alarm will go off in the morning.

Which brings me to battery life - I wish it was better. I find myself constantly charging my Hero where my blackberry could go for days. I did find that the messaging program that the Hero came with was a battery hog and ran in the background all the time. A tip from a hero message board led me to install a different messaging application (Handcent messaging) and immediately I noticed improved battery performance.

I love the android market and the fact that there are literally thousands of applications that I can customize my phone with. Most of these applications are free and the Android Market is easy to use. I love that it shows the apps that I have downloaded and whether there is an update to them available. I replaced the twitter and messaging applications and have added several handy applications for messaging, social networking, blogging, and games.

When I first got my Hero (a month ago), I hated the facebook for android application. I found it seriously limiting and it didn't have the capabilities that my blackberry had. Admittedly I'm a facebook addict so it was tweaking me a bit but maybe it weaned from from constantly checking FB even when I wasn't home.  Well, over the past month the Facebook for Android application has seriously improved and is now quite powerful and easy to use. The only thing it seemed to be lacking is the ability to upload video taken on the Android which can be remedied by the free Pixelpipe/Facebook app or by the more powerful Pixelpipe pro (which is a whopping 99 cents - well worth it for media sharing).

Making and taking calls on the Hero is so easy. I love that to dial you can just start pressing a number and it will search your phonebook as you enter numbers to narrow down your contacts. Making and Ending calls is as easy as a press on the screen. The sound is clear and the speakerphone has good volume. You can also use this with bluetooth (mine is a standard motorola). It also has some pretty cool "toys" in that you can talk into it for text messaging or have your texts read aloud to you.

My only 'nit' with the Hero is that I occasionally get a crash message from the Android Calendar application causing me to force a close. I am not sure if it is a syncing error because of running multiple google and outlook calendars or has to do with recurring appointments - but I am hoping that it gets resolved with the new android platform release to 2.1 coming soon.

Overall, I really love my Hero phone. Not only is it a very powerful smartphone running the "hot" android platform, it looks cool and it is fun to use. When I got the phone I went into it thinking that I'd try it for 30 days and possibly swap it out for a different phone or go back to my blackberry but I am definitely sold and keeping my Hero!