HTC Hero is a Giant Leap Forward for Sprint's Family of Android Phones
HTC's third Android OS smartphone, the HTC Hero ($180 with a two-year contract from Sprint; price as of 9/23/2009), is a giant leap forward for the company's family of Android phones, both in hardware and software. It isn't without its flaws, however: Performance can be slow, video playback is unreliable, and the touch keyboard isn't the easiest to use. Even so, the Hero is jam-packed with features, and I appreciated all of its easy customization.
Wed, September 23, 2009
PC World — HTC's third Android OS smartphone, the HTC Hero ($180 with a two-year contract from Sprint; price as of 9/23/2009), is a giant leap forward for the company's family of Android phones, both in hardware and software. It isn't without its flaws, however: Performance can be slow, video playback is unreliable, and the touch keyboard isn't the easiest to use. Even so, the Hero is jam-packed with features, and I appreciated all of its easy customization.
HTC Hero Arrives with a New Look, Surprising Price
Slideshow: Best Smartphones for Under $100
Compared with the European Hero, the Sprint-branded version looks like a completely different phone. Its corners are much more rounded, and it no longer has the trademark HTC chin (also seen on the T-Mobile G1). The hardware buttons are rearranged and now surround the trackball, instead of being placed above it. I'm not really a fan of the chin, so I found that these design tweaks actually improve the ergonomics of the phone.
In pictures, the Hero looked a bit bland with its black and silver motif. Once I got my hands on it, though, my opinion changed. The Hero is eons beyond the T-Mobile myTouch 3G in build quality; while the myTouch 3G feels cheap and plasticky, the Hero is sturdy and solid. And it has sleek lines, too: Measuring 4.5 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches thick, the Hero is about the same size as the myTouch 3G, but a bit heavier at 4.5 ounces. Still, the Hero is by no means bulky, and a little added weight is a small tradeoff for sturdier construction.
The Hero has a softness in the casing that feels really nice in the hand for long phone calls. Call quality was very good over Sprint's 3G network with ample volume and no static or hiss. Callers on the other end of the line reported little background noise, even when I was standing on a busy city street. I had only one instance where a colleague reported that my voice sounded faint and distant.
The brushed metal navigation area has six buttons (Talk, Menu, Search, Back, Home, and End/Power) surrounding a BlackBerry-esque trackball. The Talk and End/Power buttons are small, but slightly raised. The other buttons are set flush with the metal case, but are not hard to press. The trackball is brightly lit (which, as far as I can tell, you can't switch off and could become an annoyance in a dark room) and glides smoothly through the menus.
