It looks like a cross between the Apple iPhone and just about every large screen smartphone out there. Even the spec list reads just like any high end smartphone. But you just have to spend a few minutes with the HTC Hero to realize you have a winner that can sweep the competition away in this class of smartphones.
Some user impressions
- First off, the slim form is at once an enticing feature of this phone, making it stand out among the crop of smartphones in its class. But for a mobile device without a physical keyboard, the Hero is a bit thick when compared against its HTC Magic, Nokia N97, and iPhone 3G counterparts, but just minimally.
- It uses beveled edges at the back with a Teflon coat making the handset a nice fit and feel solid in your hand
- The HTC Sense UI (User interface) is a compelling feature that gets a big boost with iPhone-like capacitive touchscreen. This proprietary feature promises a more human-centric approach to managing phone data - though sharing much with the TouchFLO features.
- The on-screen keyboard is quite useable with a really impressive simulated haptics-based feedback bounce when striking each key in either portrait or landscape mode (which gets activated by tilting the phone accordingly). Designed from the ground up, this HTC-built touch keyboard offers the most responsive touchscreen typing experience in its class. It suffers no lag and offers useful visual cues for auto-correction. and has great colorful visual cues for its auto-corrected words
- The feature list is among the best for smartphones such as
- Qualcomm's MSM7200A that runs at 528MHz using the Android OS
- 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM
- 320 x 480 resolution using a 3.2-inch TFT-LCD capacitive touch screen
- Quad-Band GSM and 900/2100MHz HSPA
- Uses trackball
- Includes internal Global Positioning System
- Support for Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP and EDR functionality
- 802.11b/g WiFi.
- 5 mega pixel camera with auto-focus
- External memory expansion slot support for microSD
- Gravity sensor or accelerometer
- Industry-standard 3.5mm audio jack
- Hero’s built-in camera is, for the most part, an acknowledgement of what the competition has and that camera phones are here to stay. Nothing spectacular about it, responsive, yes, and certainly does a respectable job with its auto focus capability.
- Battery life is typical of feature-rich mobile phones. For heavy users, HTC promises the Hero to last through a day’s work. Rather vague as a day’s work can be just 8 hours or 24 hours.
