HTC has taken the covers off of its third smartphone based on Google’s Android OS. But does the firm’s latest phone sport sufficient features and a decent enough UI to shake the foundations at iPhone 3G S HQ?
HTC_Hero_02 HTC's Hero: an Android phone running HTC's own Sense UI
The first thing to mention about HTC’s new phone …
Going to need a high-res screen to compete I feel, and I hope it doesn't only come in white. The Magic looks like a mutated shiny iPod and I for one don't appreciate tacky white plastic.
"North American Hero rollout is planned for later this year"
Why? Why in the world it takes additional 6 months every single time? And I'm guessing it will be offered through t-mobile which has (in my opinion) terrible 3G data coverage.
All the best things about a HTC phone without the main negative, Windows CE (or whatever they are calling it this week). Plus a version of Android that doesn't look like Gnome's deformed offspring. Baring horrible reviews I think this will be the phone I swap my iPhone for at the end of the the year.
What a Sony P800-p910i could do, these so called Smartphones, haven't actually improved vastly over the years, have they?
It all seems to be centred around Facebook and fiddly apps which may while away a bit of time on the tube from home to work, but there's so much more to life than fiddling with an app or becoming fixated on facebook or what others are twittering on about.
But then, what hope is there if an ISP cannot cope with the amount of bandwidth it's customers are using for online gaming, or for just simply watching BBC iPlayer, then what chance is there or more importantly what costs are involved for Smartphone users who wish for the same?
The HTC Hero phone will be available in 7 different colour styles including black, white, yellow, pink, gold, red and turqouise, and will include the much anticipated custom HTC Android user interface 'Rosie'.
Why does HTC think mobile users are obsessed with the bloody weather!!! Even blended it into the home screen now - we Brits don't need it! -Permanently put the word SHITE up on it in a bold font and save on the data charges for continually updating and rotatting the weather icons from shite to mildly shite.
What good is openness if they don't open the developer's kit to more people??? Right now very few app vendors have WebOS development kits, and that's because of Palm's lack of sourcing them. Technically, the Pre could easily best the iPhone, AND be open source (and don't talk to ME about open source, I was one of the few to own a Motorola A780 Linux smartphone in the US - in 2003!). But the lack of 3d party apps is going to render it stillborne if Palm doesn't get their finger out...and Apple has a huge lead in apps. Palm doesn't even have an app store set up properly...
Personally, I see so many people with 2 phones I start wondering why dual SIM isn't a default on especially the more expensive phones. I'm talking about an option where adding a second SIM means both of them can pick up incoming calls and you can choose what gets used for data and outgoing (hopefully with default).
Travelling with 2 phones just to keep the costs down is a pain in the rear end..
I work on T-Mobile tech support and I cant wait to demo one of these. I'll be interested to see if HTC have listened to the multitude of complaints about the G1, like the horrendous batterylife, the fact that OS1.5 is noticeably slower than OS1, the fact that the battery gets very, VERY hot during charging and the ever missing 3.5mm headphone jack.
Be interested to see what that skin does to the functionality of the OS, or if they've enabled multi-touch on this one...
Apparently it's going to be an Orange exclusive in the UK - so that's T-Mobile with the G1, Vodafone with the G2 and Orange with the G3. I'm really looking forward to getting this - they've resolved all my issues with the previous versions by including a 5mp camera and, finally, a standard headphone socket - fantastic :)
Isn't the article about an HTC Android based device? Just thought I'd point out the fact that the only people mentioning iPhone are the usual astroturfers and commentards that always say it's shit. I know iPhone is mentioned in the article, but gents, seriously it's getting boring reading the same rhetoric in every smartphone topic. Please, change the record.
On topic, the new HTC looks a hell of a lot better than the G1, which frankly isn't too difficult. HTC need to employ some decent industrial designers though.
So the price for not having fingerprints on your screen is not covering the oleophobic surface with a screen protector and accepting that it'll get scratched.
Yeah, that makes sense. I think I'll stick to wiping the screen on my shirt when it get too smeared thanks.
This isn't a new addition to compete with the 3G-S, all Android phones so far have had one. If anything the 3G-S got a digital compass to compete with Android...
what the nay-sayers say ("nay," presumably), I'm chuffed that a potentially epically kick-arse smartphone is going to be available on a network other than Vodafone/O2/T-Mobile.
Thank you Orange for having a bit more of a gutsy attitude to new handsets!
Well I've had my HTC Magic for 6 weeks and love it. My previous was a Nokia N95 8Gb which, I did like but this is so much better. The android based phones are going to grow in popularity and functionality. This included a hardware based compass. I don't understand why these devices are continuosly compared with the iPhone!!
The Hero is another good step in the evolution of Android
Crap Name, OK Phone, but Teflon and that sodding chin?
#
Surely a Teflon (AKA Non-Stick) coating will mean the thing will be a complete bugger to keep hold of!
Looks like a decent phone, but "Hero" is a really, really crap name and what's with the insistence on the chin? Maybe they should have called it the Jay Leno
Having tried the magic, I just couldn't get used to the keypad and lack of T9. It was hard to type on and a bit unresponsive. Will be good to see how this one copes. As you can get the Magic on Vodafone for £30pcm online, is a £40 tariff a bit too much?
Register
Hero: HTC names third Android smartphone
HTC has taken the covers off of its third smartphone based on Google’s Android OS. But does the firm’s latest phone sport sufficient features and a decent enough UI to shake the foundations at iPhone 3G S HQ? HTC_Hero_02 HTC's Hero: an Android phone running HTC's own Sense UI The first thing to mention about HTC’s new phone …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 15:45 GMT
Martin Lyne
Put a flash and nice optics in #
Hero + Title = purchase.
The wait continues.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 15:45 GMT
Bunglebear
320x480? #
Going to need a high-res screen to compete I feel, and I hope it doesn't only come in white. The Magic looks like a mutated shiny iPod and I for one don't appreciate tacky white plastic.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:30 GMT
Jimbo 7
hmmm #
"North American Hero rollout is planned for later this year"
Why? Why in the world it takes additional 6 months every single time? And I'm guessing it will be offered through t-mobile which has (in my opinion) terrible 3G data coverage.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Lutin
@BungleBear #
@BungleBear
The middle picture in the article isn't a white handset.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Leigh Smith
Impressive #
All the best things about a HTC phone without the main negative, Windows CE (or whatever they are calling it this week). Plus a version of Android that doesn't look like Gnome's deformed offspring. Baring horrible reviews I think this will be the phone I swap my iPhone for at the end of the the year.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Tom 106
Considering #
What a Sony P800-p910i could do, these so called Smartphones, haven't actually improved vastly over the years, have they?
It all seems to be centred around Facebook and fiddly apps which may while away a bit of time on the tube from home to work, but there's so much more to life than fiddling with an app or becoming fixated on facebook or what others are twittering on about.
But then, what hope is there if an ISP cannot cope with the amount of bandwidth it's customers are using for online gaming, or for just simply watching BBC iPlayer, then what chance is there or more importantly what costs are involved for Smartphone users who wish for the same?
Gripe over.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
nick 30
@Bunglebear #
The HTC Hero phone will be available in 7 different colour styles including black, white, yellow, pink, gold, red and turqouise, and will include the much anticipated custom HTC Android user interface 'Rosie'.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Michael
headphone jack? #
Does it come with a standard headphone jack or is it still the same old convert kit as the magic?
I think I'll hang on and get the samsung galaxy if they release in the UK some time soon.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Ebeneezer Wanktrollop
Frickin weather? #
Why does HTC think mobile users are obsessed with the bloody weather!!! Even blended it into the home screen now - we Brits don't need it! -Permanently put the word SHITE up on it in a bold font and save on the data charges for continually updating and rotatting the weather icons from shite to mildly shite.
Bah!
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:37 GMT
Jack Harrer
Getting crowded #
The market is getting a little crowded nowadays. Which is brilliant.
Interesting part: the biggest WinMo phone maker has announced more Android phones that WinMo. Looks like Google pays more nowadays than MS ;)
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:45 GMT
Tom 64
Tempting... #
... very tempting.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 17:45 GMT
Robert Hill
SO like an iPhone... #
except for the total lack of 3d party apps in any appreciable quantity. Oh, wait then...
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 18:05 GMT
Jimbo 7
to Robert Hill #
"SO like an iPhone... "
repeat after me This is not like an IPhone locked OS with nazi style censorship
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Robert Hill
@Jimbo 7 #
What good is openness if they don't open the developer's kit to more people??? Right now very few app vendors have WebOS development kits, and that's because of Palm's lack of sourcing them. Technically, the Pre could easily best the iPhone, AND be open source (and don't talk to ME about open source, I was one of the few to own a Motorola A780 Linux smartphone in the US - in 2003!). But the lack of 3d party apps is going to render it stillborne if Palm doesn't get their finger out...and Apple has a huge lead in apps. Palm doesn't even have an app store set up properly...
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Stephen Harris 1
compass #
I thought the G1 came with a compass, long before the iPhone did. Isn't it Apple playing catchup, here?
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Anonymous Coward
What is it with white? #
who buys white? Ewww.
Dark Green, Burgundy, Black more than enough colour for anyone with taste.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Fred Flintstone
Dual SIM? #
Personally, I see so many people with 2 phones I start wondering why dual SIM isn't a default on especially the more expensive phones. I'm talking about an option where adding a second SIM means both of them can pick up incoming calls and you can choose what gets used for data and outgoing (hopefully with default).
Travelling with 2 phones just to keep the costs down is a pain in the rear end..
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Cilonen
Full specs #
http://www.htc.com/www/product/hero/specification.html
3.5mm audio jack is standard!
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 21:52 GMT
Jerome 0
Curvy? #
"Hero also has a 15° curve running through its body"
It does? From the pictures, it looks like it's just bent over at the end.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 23:19 GMT
Michael Downie
interesting #
I work on T-Mobile tech support and I cant wait to demo one of these. I'll be interested to see if HTC have listened to the multitude of complaints about the G1, like the horrendous batterylife, the fact that OS1.5 is noticeably slower than OS1, the fact that the battery gets very, VERY hot during charging and the ever missing 3.5mm headphone jack.
Be interested to see what that skin does to the functionality of the OS, or if they've enabled multi-touch on this one...
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 23:19 GMT
Anonymous Bastard
Re: Curvy? #
@Jerome 0
"Hero also has a 15° curve running through its body"
That's a curve running from the left side through to the right.
Posted Wednesday 24th June 2009 23:19 GMT
Anonymous Coward
Carrier #
Apparently it's going to be an Orange exclusive in the UK - so that's T-Mobile with the G1, Vodafone with the G2 and Orange with the G3. I'm really looking forward to getting this - they've resolved all my issues with the previous versions by including a 5mp camera and, finally, a standard headphone socket - fantastic :)
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 00:31 GMT
Mark 65
@Curvy #
<quote>
"Hero also has a 15° curve running through its body"
It does? From the pictures, it looks like it's just bent over at the end.
</quote>
No no no dear lad, bent over at the end is what happens to you when you sign up for an iPhone.
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 00:31 GMT
Anonymous Coward
I could have sworn... #
Isn't the article about an HTC Android based device? Just thought I'd point out the fact that the only people mentioning iPhone are the usual astroturfers and commentards that always say it's shit. I know iPhone is mentioned in the article, but gents, seriously it's getting boring reading the same rhetoric in every smartphone topic. Please, change the record.
On topic, the new HTC looks a hell of a lot better than the G1, which frankly isn't too difficult. HTC need to employ some decent industrial designers though.
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 10:29 GMT
joe K 1
15 degree what ? #
What the hell is a 15 degree curve?
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 10:29 GMT
TeeCee
Oleophobic screens. #
So the price for not having fingerprints on your screen is not covering the oleophobic surface with a screen protector and accepting that it'll get scratched.
Yeah, that makes sense. I think I'll stick to wiping the screen on my shirt when it get too smeared thanks.
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 10:29 GMT
Anonymous Coward
@Carrier (Pete 58) #
G1 = T-Mobile, G2 = Vodafone, G3 = Orange ...
... so when the G4 comes out does that mean it'll be on Three? (Following the obvious trend)
(Discounted O2 because I thought they were an Apple orchard these days).
Bob
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 10:31 GMT
Richard Sloan
Compass #
This isn't a new addition to compete with the 3G-S, all Android phones so far have had one. If anything the 3G-S got a digital compass to compete with Android...
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 10:31 GMT
lucky13
@Simon Banyard #
Agree, would like to hear more thoughts and comments on the HTC Hero not the other handsets.
I'd have to say though, the looks alone wouldn't put me off. I'm more concerned about the functionality.
I'm not upto date with the Android OS and it's ability to handle additional apps. How are they distributed and installed? are they any good?
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 13:50 GMT
HFoster
I don't care... #
what the nay-sayers say ("nay," presumably), I'm chuffed that a potentially epically kick-arse smartphone is going to be available on a network other than Vodafone/O2/T-Mobile.
Thank you Orange for having a bit more of a gutsy attitude to new handsets!
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 13:50 GMT
Lutin
@joe K 1: what the hell is a 15 degree curve? #
@joe K 1:
It's where the tangent at the end of the curve is at 15 degrees to the tangent at the start of the curve.
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 13:50 GMT
Roy Cunningham
Pure Hero Magic #
Well I've had my HTC Magic for 6 weeks and love it. My previous was a Nokia N95 8Gb which, I did like but this is so much better. The android based phones are going to grow in popularity and functionality. This included a hardware based compass. I don't understand why these devices are continuosly compared with the iPhone!!
The Hero is another good step in the evolution of Android
Posted Thursday 25th June 2009 15:18 GMT
Phil Arundell
Crap Name, OK Phone, but Teflon and that sodding chin? #
Surely a Teflon (AKA Non-Stick) coating will mean the thing will be a complete bugger to keep hold of!
Looks like a decent phone, but "Hero" is a really, really crap name and what's with the insistence on the chin? Maybe they should have called it the Jay Leno
Posted Friday 26th June 2009 09:15 GMT
eek the geek
RE: SO like an iPhone... #
"except for the total lack of 3d party apps in any appreciable quantity"
I can't help but notice the word 'quantity'. Don't you mean 'quality'? No? Thought so...
Posted Tuesday 30th June 2009 20:52 GMT
Mike 47
Better keypad? #
Having tried the magic, I just couldn't get used to the keypad and lack of T9. It was hard to type on and a bit unresponsive. Will be good to see how this one copes. As you can get the Magic on Vodafone for £30pcm online, is a £40 tariff a bit too much?
Posted Friday 3rd July 2009 11:27 GMT
neekoid
Digital Compass #
Surely.... Apple added the compass to compete with HTC? It was in the G1.... which was out a long time before the 3gS.
Neither of which were the first phones with compasses.
The Nokia 5140 had one AAAAAAAGES ago.
This topic is closed for new posts.