77
HTC Hero
$150.00
Released October, 2009
The Pros:3.5mm Headphone Jack. Expandable memory (Up to 16GB) via microSD slot. Support for (even fullscreen) Flash.
The Cons:No camera flash. Need a better processor. Not all applications can switch to landscape mode. Most do, but a few cannot.
The HTC Hero is the Taiwanese manufacturer's latest flagship smartphone, a touch-screen device launching in 2009 and attempting to rival Apple's iPhone. Powered by Google's Android operating system, the Hero features a 3.2-inch multi-touch LCD display with a 320 x 480 resolution.
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Navigation is achieved through a trackpad and onscreen keyboard in addition to the touch screen. The user interface is highly customizable, and aims to integrate basic applications like email and text messaging with social networking services Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter. The Hero enables a variety of multimedia content with support for Flash 9 (and later, Flash 10), not available on the latest iPhone. Other features include a 5-megapixel camera, 3.5mm audio jack, and microSD-expandable storage. Battery life is rated at 420 minutes talk time on WCDMA, and 470 minutes on GSM. It is available in the US via Sprint and Cellular South.
Features
- Google Android operating system
- 3.2-inch multitouch LCD display (320 x 480 resolution)
- 5-megapixel auto-focus camera
- Trackball
- Customizable 'Sense' UI
- Social networking integration
- Flash support
- 3.5mm audio jack
- microSD slot
- GSM/WCDMA data interface
- Down-link speeds up to 7.2 Mbps
- Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP
- Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g)
- 1350 mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery
- 420 to 470 minutes talk time
User Reviews (39)
Pros & Cons
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24
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20
Expandable memory (Up to 16GB) via microSD slot.
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17
Support for (even fullscreen) Flash.
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16
Is not restricted in the media formats it can play, which means (unlike the iPhone) there is less time-consuming file conversion !
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14
The majority of the apps in the Android Market Place are Free !
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14
great integration in social networks
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13
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12
Text reflows when you zoom in the browser so you don't have to scroll left-to-right
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11
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10
First phone to feature the HTC 'Sense' User Interface
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10
Highly customizable - including time-responsive themes (work, weekend, etc.)
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9
Has familiar "call" and "end call" buttons
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9
Trackball that doubles as an alert beacon
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9
Automatic adjustment of screen brightness using light level sensor
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7
Microsoft Exchange integration
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6
Has the most immaculate and original look.
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6
Recently release firmware update which completely removes lag and sluggish behavior
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4
new update coming to fix performance and add java
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2
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2
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2
WIFI support, excellent integration.
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2
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1
Open source applications, great software development suite, easy to install and use free software.
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1
Astonishingly huge battery life.
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1
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1
Gyro-sensors are easy to calibrate (one button calibration), and are very sensitive, making games & other applications very responsive.
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1
Internal compass is accurate, and easily incorporated into software.
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1
Touch-screen supports multi-touch zooming of web pages, etc.
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1
First real IPhne alternative on the market
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9
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9
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2
Not all applications can switch to landscape mode. Most do, but a few cannot.
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1
Uses an older generation ARM 11 CPU, considerably slower than that used by Pre and iPhone
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0
If you don't buy it sim-free you will wait too much time to install the android updates
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-3
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-4
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-5
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-6
video record quality leaves much to be desired
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-6
battery life not as good as iPhone
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-6
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-7
sluggish performance at times - especially in comparison to the new 3GS and Palm Pre
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-8
Expensive when bought Sim-Free !
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Comments (3)
Michael R Ireland:
#htc_hero Okay, we've owned this phone for quite some time now. We still love it in our house. It's super fun for playing with, but it's also fantastic for phoning with (amazing, right?). We particularly love the way google maps, GPS, and phoning are all integrated together. We still highly recommend this phone. I would also like to point out that the battery life on this phone is crazy! We get a good two or three days of fairly heavy use out of it (games, phoning, gps, WIFI all running constantly). Just a great phone.
May 22, 10
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Michael R Ireland:
#htc_hero I purchased this phone after reading a lot of reviews and handling it in the store. I would like to note that while the "chin" on it is different from other phones like the iPhone, it is by no means a detractor. I can't quite figure out why people have a beef with it really. Anyway, once you have used this phone, I think you will see there are some really sweet details that set it apart, one of which is the way the applications can cross-reference eachother.
Mar 8, 10
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