Read part II of the Sprint HTC Hero review
Read part I of the Sprint HTC Hero review
Keyboard
The virtual keyboard on the HTC Hero works very well, especially due to the fact you get feedback each time you press one of the keys. It's slightly cramped together, but it is very easy to get used to. It is just as useful as a physical keyboard.
Phone
The HTC Hero absolutely shines as a phone. The sound quality on both ends is excellent. In fact, two people we called said they couldn't tell that we were actually on a cell phone. The speakerphone is also excellent - it's the best speakerphone we have seen on a cell phone. The signal strength is excellent. We have been getting perfect reception in areas where the reception is usually mixed.
Battery life
The 1500 mAh battery provides decent battery life. With heavy web surfing, GPS use, and about a half hour of phone use, we were able to get through most of the day without having to recharge the battery. On an average day of use, we would have no problems getting through a full day with the HTC Hero. It's also important to note that the battery recharges very fast.
Overall impressions
The HTC Hero is definitely a success as Sprint's first Android cell phone. However, it definitely doesn't live up to the early hype that called this phone an iPhone killer. In fact, we would even recommend the Palm Pre over the HTC Hero.
Sprint HTC Hero review Part I
Sprint HTC Hero review Part II
Comments
I have had both the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre. This is a better phone. Great size / weight, great screen, multi-tasking (iPhone still can't), great applications (10,000), fully customizable, and like you said a great quality phone. It is a Phone. The iPhone / AT&T is a horrible phone.
Daryl Deino you are a nobody and obviously know nothing about phones especially a good one. How you could recommend the pre over this is absolutely unknown and you obviously have an iphone so far up your ass that you fail to realize that the only good thing about it is its apps other than that this phone kills it. I'd recommend you get a new job cuz you obviously suck at this one.
He doesn't complain a thing and then recommends palm pre.
Someone owns an iPhone I think...
the best device is the htc hero. 5.0 MP camera, more than 10,000 applications, footprints, scenes... and a lot of things that you can explore every day...
I owned the Palm Pre and then switched to the HTC Hero. It is a good phone but it's just not as "perfect" as early reviews made it out to be. I do find myself missing the Pre though. I miss the 24 bit color system. I also miss the mail preview notifications right on the screen. I miss being able to play my mp4 videos without so much choppiness.
This is the best phone on Sprint hands down. The Pre is decent, but is very small and not many applications are available. HTC Sense is comparable to WebOS and is better than the iPhone. I agree this guy has an iPhone shoved up his ass and should not be reviewing phones. The Pre was over hyped and is not selling well which is why the new price is $149. The HTC allows for external storage which even the iPhone can't do. Whether it's an iPhone killer or not, it doesn't matter b/c the iPhone is not available on Sprint.
Okay Iphone fanboy. You have no clue what you are talking about. So why don't you go to your little corner and play with you iphone and let us adult use a real smartphone.
Wait for the Samsung Moment, coming to Sprint 1 November. It addresses all the Hero's issues (speed, camera, screen) and with a real keyboard. It will clean the iPhone's clock
you might consider mentioning how the flash support affects the web experience. since the iPhone still has no concrete plans to offer flash, some might consider that feature an "iPhone killer" by itself.
I'm not sure how long the reviewer spent with this phone but I live in the UK and have had this phone for 3 months and it is definitely on a par with the Iphone (which I owned previously).
The honest truth is that in terms of slickness you can't beat the Iphone BUT its not trying to multitask so you would expect that!
In terms of customisation the Hero does best the Iphone. Everyone iphone looks the same - Same black background with same app icons lined up one after another. The Hero has some cool widgets that can be used to make the device feel brand new again just by switching things around.
In terms of "killing" I think its fair to say that neither phone slays the each other completely.
Got to say, I was quite horrified by the review's I-phone-centrism. Then I got to the keyboard and battery sections so he is not totally biased.
The iphone is an ipod touch with a radio. Daryl obviously values the ipod functions over the phone functions.
Sounds to me that with Daryl's preference he can still give the hero a "fair" review hero is a balanced smartphone, I can't wait for my contract on another carrier to end.
Flash, android flexibility and sd micro definitely interests me than stunning 24bit color in screen that's the size of my hand. If the video is a bad as reviewed I'm confident the video capture can and will be improved by firmware updates.
Daryl, I'd have a much easier time believing the stuff you say if your review wasn't so simplistic. It'd also be nice if you backed up some of your negative comments with proof - especially with regard to the camera and video quality.
While I can understand and even agree with some of your criticisms, this lazy review is why people go to Gizmodo or Engadget for their in-depth information on new technology. Sounds like you had a mission to counteract the Hero hype and went a little overboard.
Better review at Gizmodo.
Gotta agree with Kevin on this one. Seems like Daryl wants a media device first and a phone second.
I've been using "smartphones" in various form factors since the Audiovox 5600 back in '03 and I seriously doubt I've spent more than 2 hours combined watching video on them. The screens are just too small for me. Maybe if I had to take the subway or bus every day it would be a different story, but with such a small screen I find it hard to enjoy movies or TV. I've tried, and even on long plane rides I generally end up just throwing on music and reading a book.
Coming from WinMo most recently, I would say that the fact that I can't listen to Pandora and browse the internet (or play games, or do anything else) at the same time (unless something has changed) pretty much makes the iPhone a non-option for me.
I agree the iPhone has a great interface and does some things very well. But I, like many others, am tired of the iPhone being considered the "best" when it is so limited.
someone smokin crack.....
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