HTC HERO quick review
HTC HERO has been the MOST anticipated phone of the year 2009, almost at par with the iPhone 3Gs. Most of the news sites and reviewers from all over the Internet are touting it as the first real iPhone alternative. Has it lived up to its hype? Read the review to find out!
I know we do not review mobile phones, but we could not help ourselves reviewing the first main iPhone competitor. So, here it goes!
The HTC HERO sports the same chin as seen in the previous Android models. The HTC MAGIC (AKA HTC G2) and HTC DREAM (AKA HTC G1) had this chin too. This chip provides brings the mouthpiece more closer to the mouth and it may improve cell phone clarity.
So how does it feel in hands?
The phone is very compact, certainly not as huge as HTC TOUCH HD (3.8-inch). It is about the same size as my HTC DIAMOND 2.
Having used iPhone in the past, this phone has hardware buttons which unquestionably make the life much more easier. I was able to use the D-Pad to scroll through the lists and navigate through various menus too with ease.
How is the screen?
Well, without a doubt, the screen is great. It has the same number of pixels as sported by the iPhone (480×320). My Windows Mobile phones, HTC DIAMOND and HTC DIAMOND 2, both contain more pixels than HERO and iPhone. Diamond has VGA resolution (640×480) and DIAMOND 2 (800×480) has WVGA display. That said, the display looks very sharp and well saturated. Oh, and we absolutely loved its default wallpaper.
For those who do not know, the T-Mobile G1 (AKA HTC G1) did have a onscreen keyboard. So to enter any input, you must use the hardware keyboard to enter the text. The onscreen keyboard first made its appearance in the HTC DREAM (G2) and is used in the HTC HERO too. I used it for a while and it was similar to iPhone.
Few other notable things.
Since the device has a chin, it looks weird when the device lays upside down on a surface.
The voice quality is crisp and clear just as I expected from any other HTC phone.
Some software screenshots
Final Verdict
This phone is slim, light weight and has the incredible HTC SENSE UI that is smoother and sleeker than the iPhone UI. However, not having much built-in memory seems to be the only con. We love the fact that it comes with removable battery and thus, you won’t have to send it back to the HTC just to get the battery replaced. Battery life is pretty amazing too. We easily got 2 days of use with moderate usage.
mobile shopping:
Htc are releasing a wide range of mobile phones, so be sure to visit a well updated blog like the one at dialaphone.
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Good precise review. I believe that there is one thing in which it does not surpass iPhone: screen size
[...] the complete review here that is inclusive of its comparison with HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Diamond [...]
[...] Read GadgetMix.com’s quick review of HTC HERO [...]
Sense UI smoother than iPhone OS? Have you ever held any iPhone?
i own iPod Touch 2G 8GB and iPod Touch 3G 64GB
[...] Read HTC HERO REVIEW [...]