HTC Hero (CDMA)
Average Ratings
one awsome device!
this is my first smartphone and i'm really glad i chose the sprint htc hero and the android o.s.
pros - great build quality
sense ui and its widgets!!
very good camera
very good speaker
android market
true gps
great signal
call quality
3g speeds
chrome lite browser plus flash
great touchscreen, love the trackball
pinch and zoom
great virtual keyboard
it's not a iphone
hardly any lag: 528mhz processor
expandable memory up to 32gig
email is full html
form factor is perfect
sprint nav
3.5 jack
so much more..... love the hero!!!
cons- no flash for camera
Day 1
So i have had this phone for a full day and so fare it is grate, i have had the iphone, palm pre and every blackberry out, this phone can do so much and so fare i love it ill post a new review in 5 or 10days with more full detail. but so fare it worth the money
A Hero In The Making
This is going to be a great phone. There are a lot of good programs to use. HTC Sense is a sheer joy. I love the facebook integration (I don't use twitter). The screen is bright and responsive. I don't even miss having a physical keyboard. I thought I was going to be able to view flash content in the browser. It doesn't work on most sites, it's only flash lite. They blew the flash capabilities way out of the water. Coming from windows mobile and using the skyfire browser, this is really a step down. Also they need codec support so the media player can play more formats. Overall I like the phone, but it will be a step closer when Adobe releases flash 10.1 for android.
Pros:
Big bright screen
Android is fluid, smooth, and doesn't freeze
Touch screen is very responsive
Plenty of apps in the Android Market
On screen keyboard is great in landscape
HTC Sense is VERY customizable
Cons:
Flash Lite is a joke. You can't even go to the desktop version of youtube to view anything
Needs more codec support, can only watch mp4 and 3gp videos
Still on android 1.5
Overall a good phone but it will be even better when android gets full flash, and more video player support.
The Best Phone I have ever had Bar None...
It is important to note that I had been with Verizon Wireless for over 10 years as a matter of fact, Verizon was my first cell phone and I have had the account and many phones since.
I do think that the service I received from Verizon was very good. The Bill especially the last year or so for a three phone 1400 minute family plan was absurd.
I have been looking at Sprint for a few months now and finally made the change yesterday. The service at the Willow Grove PA store was incredible. We got two Hero phones and an Exclaim. The staff and store manager were the nest I have seen anywhere .. Really impressive.
I am coming from a Blackberry Curve. I went trhough 5 of them (Verizon) in 11 months. Verizon had no problems in handing me new phones but what a pain.
Now the Hero....
I can't believe this device.. So well thought out.. I am still experimenting and learning. So far, everything works extremely well. It is a very intuitive phone, great display, easy to customize and navigate.. Call quality is excellent.. GPS and Navigation features are top notch... Sprint Loads the phones up very nicely.
I was up all night last night exploring various applications, creating scenes, customized home pages and so forth. The contact book is great, the touch screen is the best I have seen. I really am impressed with this phone all the way around and would very much recommend it.
There is a slight lag when changing the phone from vertical to horizontal. This is a good thing as the device makes sure that it is an intended change in position and not an inadvertent flip
I will stay in touch as my experience with the phone and Sprint develops further. So far they both get an A.
HTC Hero/Sprint
I purchased this phone on Oct 12, 2009 in St. Louis, MO and run the phone on the Sprint network and the phone came with Android 1.5
Pros: I highly recommend this phone and would buy another HTC Android phone if needed. Outstanding screen and visual detail. The Sense interface is great with only minor tweaks needed here and there. Customization of the 7 screens really handy. Integration of texts/contacts/social networking/messages fantastic. Internet brower and the 'windows' function is awesome. Music player really nice and clean. All the apps work great, most are free from the Android store. I was dying for an iphone, but I believe this phone is it's equal plus. Visual voice mail will change your life. I had a wet dream about how this phone handles all my voice mails. Sprint has been fine in St. Louis and outlying areas. I had Verizon before and don't notice a difference. The touchscreen sensitivity is 8/10; a software upgrade would be welcome but it's by no means frustrating like on the old touch phones.
Cons: Battery life is poor. I realize I play on the phone all day but that's what it's designed for and the battery should be ready for such use. Ergonomics of the handset could be better. Specifically, the 'back' and 'home' keys, which are used all the time, are at the bottom of the phone and thus my thumb is getting sore from reaching to that position every time I need to use back/home. The trackball is ok but seems rather useless. The plastic that houses the controls on the bottom of the phone feels kind of cheap and 'flexy' and this is a problem because to unlock the phone you have to press the Power key and thus you encounter the flexy plastic a lot. The rest of the handset feels really good, however.
A few odds: Not every scenario allows for a landscape keyboard, sometimes in places you would expect a landscape. Vibrate could be stronger.
Overall a dynamite phone and once a few very minor tweaks come out in an update it will be a 5/5.
What a Neat Phone!
The Hero is the most fun I've had with a phone in a long time, and it's my first android device. I upgraded from the Palm Pre (sounds like others did too), but the Hero is a much better phone. It compares favorably with the iPhone - I'd rank it right up there in the top 1%.
First, the hardware: clean design, solid feel, smooth glass capacitive display, attractive soft feel coating on the back, 5MP camera, and a real metal cover plate over the function keys below the screen. It feels really nice in the hand, having a good amount of weight - doesn't feel like a toy, and it seems like it will hold up well over time. Credit that to HTC's years of experience building phones in this form factor. GPS works great, as does WiFi and BT.
As for the software, I am thoroughly impressed. Syncing with Google out of the box was a snap, and if you're a Facebook user, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the built-in functionality. Once you link your contacts with Facebook friends, you'll see everything in one place - status updates, photos, text messages, etc. - slick! I haven't even begun to scratch the surface with other applications - the built-in ones will satisfy most every user, and the flexibility to customize will appeal to power users and gadget freaks (like me). There's a lot of eye candy, particularly with HTC's Sense UI. And Android Market opens the door to tons more apps.
I think the most amazing part of all is how well the phone is performing right out of the gate! Sprint has had some botched-up launches in the past. I guess it was worthwhile for Sprint to wait this time... as a result, they are able to release a smartphone with a nice, polished UI, most of the bugs already worked out, and an app market that's full of useful things. Can't say that about the Instinct or the Pre!
Ways it could be even better: Add a flash for camera, physical keyboard, better battery life, give it more processing power (CPU/RAM), AMOLED screen (though the TFT is nice!)
Best Phone YET!!!!!
I have owned everything from the old windows mobile 6.0 PPC6700 to a blackberry, Palm Pre, and HTC Touch Pro, and this new phone hands down takes the best of all these phones and places them together. Although I had never used an android phone it was intuitive and easy to set up to how I want the phone. Everything about it is above my expectations.
Pros:
Screen is easy to clean beautiful and is sensitive.
battery life is good for a full feature phone (alot better than the Palm PRE).
Excellent build quality I love the soft touch back.
excellent call quality and reception
Lots of apps to customize the phone
Cons:
screen on/off is in a funny place (I am just getting use to it I wish it was on the top of the phone)
Trackball seems useless I never use it and I just keep bumping it
screen rotation could be a little faster
Overall if you are a phone buff and overall geek like me this is the best phone I have owned to date!
Took it back
I took it back, and went back to my old Sprint Blackberry Pearl. Sense UI really took Android to a more refined level, unfortunately I donât think the hardware is fast enough for the OS. Android is really awesome & versatile but the GUI is messy, I hope 2.0 refines this more. Also since HTC added Sense UI it will take longer to get updates when the new version of Android come. This phone has a major flaw that has yet to be fixed, you have to download an 3rd party SMS program so that your phone will sleep. The mini USB is funky but a regular cable still works.
Pros:
GPS location (not data) works in remote areas with no network
Applications
Flash in browser
It is on Sprint, so data and messing doesnât cost arm and leg
Trackball (some do not like but I find it handy, esp in games)
Google voice search (say it and it Googles it)
Cons:
Battery life (Dead at end of day with little use)
Lag laggy user interface
Needing to run âapp killerâ so that phone works with reasonable speed
Browser speed even on wifi
Fit and finish is not as nice as the GSM version
Doesnât seem to get as good of a signal as my old Pearl
Dropped more calls the first day than my Pearl does in a month
Speaker phone was not as loud as my Pearl
Gets a little on the warm side with regular use
I only have it one because of Android
KEYBOARD COMPLETELY RUINS THE DEVICE!!
SOOOOOO Frusterating, great phone, apps, camera, internet, network, all the above. I just dread taking the thing out of my pocket if I have to do any text imput, I'd rather avoid it and use my palm pre. Even after countless applications and keyboard suggestions it is still terrible, I could text with greater accuracy using an old nokia bar phone. HTC still feels a little buggy on the sprint even with the android. I don't know what to do......I guess hope that google decides to work with a worth while manufacturer.SHAME ON SPRINT AND HTC FOR NOT FIXING THE PROBLEM!!! Just get the samsung sprint droid phone, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!
Finally, a Great Sprint Smart Phone
Pros:
Outstanding Reception
Outstanding Call Quality (Warm Full Voices)
Rock Solid Construction
Small Form Factor
Easy to type on screen keyboards (3 styles)
Excellent Spelling Correction
Loud Ring-tones
Speedy, Flexible Internet Use
Full-Duplex Speaker-phone (try it)
Beautiful Screen
Speedy Manipulation of Media
HTC Sense just Rocks
SD Card as Hard Drive mount works perfectly
You do not have to remove the battery to unmount the SD Card
Snappy OS, with no lag at all
Cons:
Camera auto-focus/anti-shake could be better implemented
HTC Sense next version should incorporate an auto-close option for all but a few necessary programs
Other than those two minor cons, it is a perfect phone that was impossible to return. It just does too many nifty things exceedingly well to be without. Oh yes, it is a far better smart-phone than the Palm Pre is, mainly due to the inclusion of the SD Card expansion option which enables large files to be carried (far in excess of 8 GB) and used without encroaching on the system program and RAM memory areas.
