android dome

At last the phone we've been waiting for has finally arrived. The HTC Hero (advertised as the HTC Hero Graphite by Orange and G2 Touch by T-Mobile) has emerged blinking into the light, complete with the new Sense UI, to unleash a smackdown on the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre. Android upgraded, this is the most powerful Google OS phone yet.

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 overall look of the device is a bit Marmite-esque. The jutting lip and functional appearance certainly won't see it winning any style awards, but at the same time it's well laid out and fits comfortably in the hand, with the extra coating on the back making it harder for it to slip to the ground. The seven buttons on the lip (including trackball) are swiftly becoming recognisable as the 'Android' set, thanks to HTC dominating the OS early on. The power key is again on the Terminate button, which also serves as a sleep button.

A noteworthy addition: HTC has finally listened to our gripes and shameless begging for a 3.5-mm headphone jack. At last, I can use my better-quality Skullcandy to enjoy my music. Sound quality was great through my headphones, but a bit tinny through the external speakers. The music player supports album art, lets you build playlists, and uses touch controls.

The 5-megapixel camera is definitely a step up from the myTouch's 3-megapixel shooter. Pictures had rich color quality and no graininess. While some reviewers reported the European version's camera had shutter lag, I didn't have any problem with the Sprint version. Video quality was on a par with the iPhone 3GS. And as with the iPhone 3GS, you can upload captured videos directly to YouTube.

However, given how minimalist the contents of the HTC Magic were we can only assume that the same is true for the HTC Hero. There's a USB cable, a connector to turn this into a plug, a UK adaptor, the phone itself and some headphones with music controls/hands free kit. Not the biggest booty in the box, but nice and functional (and fairly well aping what you can find in an iPhone kit too). The headphones aren't of the best quality, as they're not even in the ear buds, but they do control the music well with the forward and back buttons halfway along, and are a good length. Read more


Spec:
GENERAL
2G Network : GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
3G Network : HSDPA 900 / 2100
Announced : 2009, June
Status : Available. Released 2009, July

SIZE
Dimensions : 112 x 56.2 x 14.4 mm
Weight : 135 g

DISPLAY
Type : TFT capacitive touchscreen, 65K colors
Size : 320 x 480 pixels, 3.2 inches
- Sense UI
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Trackball

SOUND
Alert types : Vibration, MP3, WAV ringtones
Speakerphone : Yes
- 3.5 mm audio jack

MEMORY
Phonebook : Practically unlimited entries and fields, Photocall
Call records : Practically unlimited
Internal : 288 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM
Card slot : microSD, buy memory

DATA
GPRS : Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps
EDGE : Class 10, 236.8 kbps
3G : HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2.0 Mbps
WLAN : Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth : Yes v2.0 with A2DP
Infrared port : No
USB : Yes, miniUSB v2.0

CAMERA
Primary : 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus
Features : Geo-tagging, touch focus (via software update)
Video : Yes, CIF@15fps
Secondary : No

FEATURES
OS : Android OS, v1.5 (Cupcake)
CPU : Qualcomm MSM 7200A 528 MHz processor
Messaging : SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
Browser : HTML
Radio : No
Games : Yes
Colors : Brown, White (teflon coating), Graphite, Black, Pink
GPS : Yes, with A-GPS support
Java : Via third party application
- Digital compass
- Dedicated search key
- Scenes quick profile switcher
- Google Search, Maps, Gmail,
YouTube, Calendar, Google Talk integration
- MP3/AAC+/WAV/WMA9 player
- MP4/H.263/H.264/WMV9 player
- Organizer
- Voice memo

BATTERY
Standard battery, Li-Ion 1350 mAh
Stand-by : Up to 440 h (2G) / Up to 750 h (3G)
Talk time : Up to 8 h (2G) / Up to 7 h (3G)

MISC
SAR US : 1.21 W/kg (head) 1.51 W/kg (body)