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The third HTC phone to cram Google Android under the bonnet, the HTC Hero has enough going on to sate even the most demanding of techheads needs. As well as the incredibly slick and intuitive Sense UI, it also comes with a HTC Magic–matching 3.2–inch touchscreen, Wi–Fi, GPS, compass and HSDPA. And that’s before we even get to the T–Mobile G1–bashing 5–megapixel camera.
Be in no doubt. The HTC Hero is a massive leap from the rightly lauded HTC Magic and the hugely outdated T–Mobile G1 (known elsewhere as the HTC Dream). It’s all thanks to the aforementioned HTC Sense UI. Overlaid on top of the regular Google Android platform, it offers tons more widgets and even multiple homescreens (there are now seven), making it easy to switch between work and play.
Then there’s that rather lush capacitive touchscreen. HTC’s Windows Mobile Touch Diamond 2 can’t come close to this. It’s a joy to behold, with typing either in landscape or portrait a breeze thanks to auto–correction. The HTC Hero’s body is none–too–shabby either, it’s Teflon coating meaning only the heaviest of fingerprints remain.
Perhaps the best addition to the HTC Hero is the 3.5mm jack, something which HTC has said will now come with all its handsets. That means your own headphones will play nice. Throw in a full day’s battery for getting said tunes into your lugholes and you’re looking at a winner.
HTC Hero hands–on photo avalanche!
That’s not to say the HTC Hero doesn’t have its problems. There’s no flash on that 5–megapixel camera, and video remains a problem for Android. Playback is shonky in spite of Flash being present and codec support is not a patch on other smartphones currently doing the business.
Then there’s that god–awful lip down at the bottom. It’s about as big as Jimmy Hill’s chin and means the Hero doesn’t sit comfortably in your pocket either. Quite why HTC has persisted with this design quirk remains a mystery.
These are small quibbles though. Having threatened to do so for nearly a year, Google Android has at last come of age, thanks to the HTC Hero. Finally, the iPhone has a proper contender for top spot.
Do both models come with the Teflon coating? There seems to be some debate; aparently only the white model does.
my mouth is watering…I can’t wait to take a bite out of this phone. Okay, no teeth marks, but I will be ever so happy when I get to review this baby.
[...] then look at Gizmodo’s indepth review , Slashgear/ Android communities great review and Electric pig’s review. All these reviews show a slightly different take on the with Gizmodo perhaps being a bit harsh [...]
[...] HTC Hero has been stealing the headlines lately thanks to its position as Google Android’s top dog. [...]
[...] HTC Hero and Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 are already showing us just what the mighty Google Android can do when [...]
[...] for multitouch in the future. But let’s face it, we want to see phones with skills like the HTC Hero and Sony Xperia X3 packing the very best a gadget can [...]
[...] Nigh on every phone maker under the sun has been eyeing Apple’s iPhone App Store with a deep green hue of envy and Samsung is one of the last major players to play copycat. The difference here is that Samsung is opening up its touchscreen TouchWiz platform, so users can come up with everything from Twitter to fart widgets for their home screens, making them more like the HTC Hero’s Sense profiles. [...]
[...] browser, so you’ll be able to watch videos within webpages at the push of a button, just like the HTC Hero. RIM’s even hoping to offer Microsoft Silverlight support too to get all its bases [...]
[...] Hero Already outed officially, the HTC Hero is without doubt the Taiwanese titan’s hottest Android handset to date. HTC Sense UI takes [...]
Why have you only given it four star when in the review you said so many good things about it? The only problems were a lack of a camera flash, jittery flash video and a strange lip. Compared to the iPhone’s problems like poor call quality, no customisation, no camera flash, plasticky feel, static icons, no push notifications, poor battery life, restricted app store, poor bluetooth, tied to O2 network and same old looks). I think the Hero deserves another star.
[...] Samsung Galaxy here in Blighty and if you like your Android without the bells and whistles of the HTC Hero, it’s well worth a [...]
[...] (2.8-inch, QVGA alas), but keeps the GPS, HSDPA, Wi-Fi, 3.5mm audio, microSDO slot and HTC’s gorgeous Android Sense skin, with embeddable widgets that make the iPhone home screen look as static as a brick [...]
[...] out more than respectably, with 3G, Wi-Fi and GPS to match even top class Android phones like the HTC Hero. The camera’s nothing that’ll worry Annie Leibovitz though at an average 3.2 megapixels, but [...]
[...] love the HTC Hero and its swish take on Android, but one of the big problems it suffered from was the lag when it [...]
[...] Read our HTC Hero review now Speaking of software issues, Samsung’s late to the party with the Samsung Galaxy i7500: we’ve now reached the point where plain Android doesn’t cut it anymore. We expect jaw dropping skins draped over the top like the social network tooled HTC Hero has with Sense, and going back to that instantly recognisable blue screen feels a bit, well, boring now. [...]
[...] Clicking through on to one lets you drill down and see their Facebook happenings, just like on the Hero, and there’s also Peep, the integrated HTC Sense Twitter [...]
[...] new music streaming tariff official, along with the network’s first Android phone: the HTC Hero! Read on for all the facts and [...]
[...] HTC Hero is all set to get a facelift, with Android 2.0 heading to arguably the hottest Google phone going. [...]
[...] That’s not thanks to the OS hidden underneath the stunning HTC Sense skin last seen on the HTC Hero and HTC Tattoo, more down to the manner in which HTC has built this mobile from the ground [...]
i love htc’s but this one is hit and miss for me. i should of probably waited for the htchd2, i got a few off of gsmallover.com and one of off ebay and i like them but they are bigger than i thought and I don’t like that it drops in at the bottom. the camera is nice and i like the processor though. good phone.