HTC Hero
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HTC Hero Overview
For tech lovers dreaming of a magical phone, HTC's 3rd Android Phone - the HTC Hero - seems poised to rescue the masses from mobile phone boredom. The design is a more sleek, sexy version of the HTC Dream and HTC Magic and both hardware and software pack several powerful perks over previous Android Phones.
In addition to a bright and vibrant touchscreen the HTC Hero is graced with a 3.5mm headphone jack that music lovers will undoubtedly appreciate and a 5MP camera for picture lovers. And then there is HTC Sense.
Sense is HTC's custom build of Android that contains stunning UI improvements and unique application features, not to mention support for Flash videos and multi-touch web browsing. Management of contacts becomes a powerful hub that seamlessly integrates calls, texts, emails, social networking and more. The music playing experience is radically improved and widgets and profile settings allow users to truly make their phone "THEIR phone".
The HTC Hero was officially announced in London, England on June 24th, 2009 to immediate excitement on a design, hardware and software level. As the first phone featuring HTC Sense for Android, it is sure to be a sensational success that all types of mobile users will enjoy!
HTC Hero Specs
| General | |
| Form Factor: | Full Touchscreen |
| AKA: | |
| Date Released (YYYY/MM/DD): | |
| Size | |
| Weight: | 135 grams - with battery |
| Dimensions: | 112 x 56.2 x 14.35 mm ( 4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches) |
| Display | |
| Resolution: | 320x480 - (HVGA) |
| Size: | 3.2-inch |
| Type: | Capacitative , TFT-LCD, Touch-sensitive screen |
| Camera | |
| Video: | Yes |
| Flash: | No |
| Auto-focus: | Yes |
| Megapixels: | 5.0 + geo-tagging |
| Connectivity | |
| GPS: | Yes, A-GPS |
| USB: | HTC ExtUSB |
| Bluetooth: | Bluetooth 2.0, EDR, A2DP |
| Wi-Fi: | IEEE 802.11 b/g |
| HDMI: | |
| Multimedia | |
| Headset Jack: | 3.5mm audio jack |
| Radio: | No |
| Battery | |
| Type: | 1350 mAh Lithium-ion battery |
| Hardware/OS | |
| Operating System: | Android 1.5 (Cupcake) | Upcoming Android 2.1 (Eclair) with HTC Sense |
| Internal Memory: | 288 MB |
| External Memory: | MicroSD (up to 32GB) |
| RAM: | 512 MB |
| Processor: | Qualcomm MSM7200A, 528 MHz |
HTC Hero Reviews
HTC Hero Review By Phandroid We put the HTC Hero through the paces and accumulate an hour of video for your viewing pleasure... we tried to be as thorough as possible. The conclusion? HTC Hero rocks!
PhoneArena: Worth It These guys love HTC Sense and are encouraged by the direction of Android. They call the HTC Hero the best Android Phone to date and suggest its definitely worth the money.
GSM Arena: Born To Rise While noting many flaws, the say the Hero is still a clear improvement over the HTC Magic without much of a cost increase, making the choice obvious.
MobileBurn: Highly Recommended They give the HTC Hero a "Highly Recommended" without any hesitation whatsoever saying, "No other device that I've tested has been so easy to set up and so intuitive to use, whilst also being fun and functional."
ZDNET: 8 out of 10 Besides a few minor setbacks they LOVE the Hero: "The Android platform has come of age in the Hero. HTC's Sense interface is superbly implemented, the device itself is intuitive to use, and the software is largely well thought-out."
PhoneDog: 4.5 out of 5 John Walton says the Hero represents a new day for Android, giving the phone great marks all around.
MobileCrunch: 2nd Best In The World John Biggs writes, "I think the HTC Hero is the dawn of a new era of Android usability. Windows Mobile and Symbian should be shaking right now and Palm execs had better be planning a built-in vibrator/teleportation device combo in the next WebOS phone because anything they can do, it has been shown, HTC can do better. The iPhone is still #1 in my book but this is #2, supplanting my long-held love for the Sidekick LX."
Electric Pig: 4 out of 5 Stars "The best Android phone yet, the HTC Hero is a top–notch, high end smartie"
CNET: 9 out of 10 Epic customisability; well-designed home screen widgets with live updates; easy-to-use keyboard; convenient Android Market for apps; multitouch capability; Flash support; 3.5mm headphone jack; Facebook integration... but sluggish at times.
Engadget: Too Good For Its Own Good Engadget absolutely loves the new UI and Android OS implementation called HTC Sense... unfortunately they don't think the hardware is powerful enough to run it effectively.
Gizmodo: Great But Flawed Like Engadget, Gizmodo felt that HTC Sense does an amazing job in taking Android to new heights but feel the phone lags too much to be considered the dominant phone in the entire mobile world.
BGR: Almost Perfect, Hardware Boost Needed 100% better than the Pre but the hardware lags a bit, causing BGR to prefer the G1 or Magic over the Hero. More powerful hardware guts would solve that, he says.
TechRadar: Hero Falls Short They wanted to love the HTC Hero and loved it at first... but quickly became irritated that it couldn't compete with the iPhone. Or so THEY say.
HTC Hero Pictures
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HTC Hero Videos
Phandroid First Look From LondonAn HTC Rep gives us a tour of the HTC Hero right after it is announced in London!
Phandroid first look from London eventAn HTC Rep gives us a tour of the HTC Hero right after it is announced in London!
Phandroid get a look of the Hero/ G2 Touch from LondonAn HTC Rep gives us a tour of the HTC Hero right after it is announced!
Phandroid HTC Hero Tour 2A second HTC rep gives us his Hero tour and we get a closer look at a few different benefits the phone and sense provide.
Phandroid Hero Tour Round 3We go for one last spin with the HTC Hero courtesy of another friendly representative. What can we say... we can't get enough!
Meet The HTC HeroHTC gives us an overview of the Hero hardware in a pretty awesome and concise video.
Customizing HTC Hero - Make It Yours!This video highlights the customization features of the HTC Hero and HTC Sense including Scenes, Widgets and much more!
HTC Details Hero FeaturesHTC provides a 3-minute overview highlighting the most exciting features of the HTC Hero including: dialer, contact/communication, photos & videos, sharing and social networking, flickr, twitter, music and more!
Stay Close - HTC Hero Contacts & CommunicationHTC shows us the unique features in the Hero that allow you to easily and effectively stay in touch with your friends and family in a variety of mediums.... all in one place!
HTC Hero - Coming Soon PromoThis is an official HTC video made to promote the Hero as "Coming This Summer"...
Orange UK Reviews The HeroBeing one of the HTC Hero carriers obviously means Orange UK has the phone - and they were nice enough to do a quick look at the phone for all their customers... and soon to be customers!
CrunchGear on the Sense/HeroThe guys at CrunchGear get a quick 40 seconds on the HTC Hero before the phone is forced to fly away and save the day elsewhere.
Great Hardware/Software OverviewFirst they go through the hardware quite thoroughly and then they do a pretty in depth yet concise review of the software - great vid.
Can The Hero Live Up To It's Name?Stuff Magazine attempts to find out if the HTC Hero can live up to its bold and brave name. After a 2-minute overview the survey says... DING DING DING!
Hottie With A HeroCall us sexist, but it isn't often you see such a beautiful woman hanging out with the hottest new handset. Has Superwoman replaced Superman with a handheld Hero?
A Week With The Hero By CoolSmartPhoneThis is Day 1 of a 7-part series called "A Week With The HTC Hero". To see the others simply click on the related vids after you view this one!
Official HTC Sense Debut PromoKind of similar to the First Look promo, this focuses a little bit more on the OS rather than the Hardware. Remember, this is the first Android Phone with this custom build called Sense!
Official First Look PromoAn Official HTC Video that gives us a calm and cool first look at the Hero while diving into some of the great new features atop a soothing tune.
London Launch Event (1 of 3)The HTC Hero was announced on July 24th in London, England and this is the live footage from the announcement event!
London Launch Event (2 of 3)The HTC Hero was announced on July 24th in London, England and this is the live footage from the announcement event!
London Launch Event (3 of 3)The HTC Hero was announced on July 24th in London, England and this is the live footage from the announcement event!
HTC Hero News
HTC Hero Receiving Minor Update Fixing Peep Twitter App While we have no word which HTC Hero handsets will receive it, an update is currently going out bringing the phone’s firmware version to 3.36.405.1. The update won’t provide any major changes to your Hero’s software, but rather does some maintenance on the built-in Twitter application Peep. The update is a small 6MB file and [...]
HTC Hero for Sprint Receives a Maintenance Update The HTC Hero has been a real trooper, quietly thumbing its way along as an Android workhorse for so many. Alright, let’s forget the whole Android 2.1 debacle and think of the good times with the now aging handset. For users on Sprint it looks like another maintenance update is available for your handset, bringing [...]
Cox Wireless Provides New Carrier Option with two Android Phones to Sell Cox – the cable and internet provider that everyone loves to love (and some love to hate, too) – has just launched their small, yet respectable, cellular phone service in three markets – Orange County, CA, Omaha, NB, and Hampton Roads, VA – and they bring with them two Android phones to start with: the [...]
TELUS Updates to HTC Hero to Android 2.1, HTC Desire Gets OTA Update to Froyo TELUS isn’t skimping on the firmware updates today with new Android software going out to both the HTC Desire and HTC Hero. Let’s start with the Hero, a phone that has has a long path to Android 2.1, and while most carriers around the world have made the update available at this point, some owners [...]
TELUS Discontinues HTC Hero We knew we’d be seeing this day eventually, and now the aging HTC Hero is slowly finding itself less and less at home in a handset market that has grown exponentially since its initial launch back in 2009. TELUS picked up the handset in November and now just about a year later they have officially [...]
HTC Hero for Sprint Receives a Maintenance Update Everyone has gone update happy this week, so update happy that even the HTC Hero for Sprint is getting in on the action with a bump up to firmware version 2.31.651.7. The update fixes issues with the phone dialer and GPS, but we are afraid that this may be getting to the end of the [...]
Cellular South’s HTC Hero is Back in Black Forgive my reference to AC/DC there, but Cellular South has released a black version of their HTC Hero – essentially the same Hero we saw the more popular carrier Sprint release back in 2009. There’s nothing terribly different about it: the back and sides of the device are now nearly pitch black instead of the [...]
Three UK: HTC Hero’s Eclair Upgrade Awaiting Final Push from Google Those of you on Three with the HTC Hero have been waiting for Android 2.1 for a good chunk of time, but it seems we’re finally about to see them deliver. an HTC Spokesman said on Three’s blog that the upgrade has been fully tested and approved. The only thing left to do is to [...]
Orange Says HTC Hero Eclair Update Should Begin Rolling Out Next Week We reported yesterday that some folks with the HTC Hero through Orange were already receiving the first half of the two-part Android 2.1 update, and now it looks like the actual 2.1 part of that update could be rolling out as early as next week. Orange issued the following official statement on the matter: "We [...]
Orange HTC Hero Getting First Half of Android 2.1 Update As the HTC Hero update to Android 2.1 continues to make its way to all corners of the world, the latest reports are that those that purchased the phone for Orange’s network in Europe are now receiving the first part of the two part update. This initial update is not Android 2.1 itself, but rather [...]
Cellular South’s HTC Hero Upgraded to Android 2.1 Some of you Cellular South customers were disappointed that the regional carrier missed their “first half of 2010″ window by nearly a month now, but a few weeks never hurt anyone. You can now download your upgrade to Android 2.1 for manual installation (sorry, folks: no OTA to be had here). Be sure to stop [...]
HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update Rolling Out to the UK and Surrounding Areas If you are among the many loyal HTC Hero owners in and around the UK, you no doubt have had your fair share of ups and downs waiting for the promised update to Android 2.1 We are now receiving reports that areas including the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden are all seeing instances of Hero [...]
Just to Clarify: Samsung Moment and HTC Hero Will Not Receive Android 2.2 We touched on this briefly in our previous post covering Sprint’s tentative plans to bring Android 2.2 to their network on at least the HTC EVO 4G (and other Android 2.1 phones launching this year), but for those that missed it, official word through Sprint’s Twitter says the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero are not [...]
HTC Android 2.1 “Second Package” OTA Now Headed for Southeast Asia The HTC Hero update to Android 2.1 is slowly spreading. It started earlier this month in Taiwan and is now available for countries in Southeast Asia. The over-the-air update is being pushed to phones in the two part package that has been seen in other areas. The first preparatory update (firmware version 2.73.728.91, or 2.73.707.91 [...]
CyanogenMod Targeting Eight Devices for Android 2.2 Now that Google has open-sourced the code for Froyo (Android 2.2) you better believe the folks at CyanogenMod aren’t just going to sit on their hands and wait for the manufacturer’s to port the OS to their phones. Not in the least, as the team is already plugging away at the next version of their [...]
HTC Hero May Get An Update to Android 2.1 Starting June 29th… in France I know some of you are getting just about peeved by now, but we have to report it anyway. If Frandroid’s sources are correct, HTC Hero owners in France will be receiving Android 2.1 in traditional OTA style this June 29th.The firmware’s version is currently being broadly numbered “3.XX.405.XX”. After taking my trusty “Google Translate” [...]
Yes, the HTC Hero is Getting 2.1 VERY Soon Yesterday, we reported on the rollout of an OTA firmware update for the HTC Hero that we thought could be a prerequisite to an eventual Android 2.1. “Soon” was all we could assume, but that’s now a very accurate assumption seeing as its coming straight from the horse’s mouth: the HTC Hero will updated to [...]
HTC Gearing Up For European Hero 2.1 OTA Soon? HTC’s just updated their support page for the HTC Hero with a new OTA firmware update. The update – which seems to specifically target YouTube – could be a precursor to an even bigger update soon (June has long been a rumored date for the European Hero). Thailand’s already got Android 2.1, so it can’t [...]
Original GSM HTC Hero Gets 2.1 Upgrade in Asia Once again, there is good news and bad news for some of our HTC Hero owners who’ve been stuck with Android 1.5 for nearly a year now. The good news is that HTC has finally brought the upgrade to Android 2.1 out for the phone. The bad news is that it’s only for the Taiwanese [...]
HTC Hero Now $29.99 on TELUS This is a public service announcement to let anyone up north in the market for a great Android deal that they can now pick up the HTC Hero on TELUS at the low low price of $29.99 on a three-year contract. That’s down from $49.99, where the older but still kicking handset was hovering after [...]
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