HTC Hero Review

HTC Hero has been at the center of attraction for many of us. It boasts a much hyped HTC-fied Google Android OS which they the call the ‘HTC Sense’ with impressive specs such as 5MP Camera, accelerometer sensor and digital compass and above all flash support in its browser which even the iPhone 3GS or Palm Pre doesn’t have. After so much rumors and leaks we were very much eager to get hands on the device to find out if the device was worth the hype or not. So, without further ado let us get into the review and find out the answer.

Design

On the outside the device clearly bears the HTC Blood in its vein. Overall the look-n-feel is sleek and modern measuring in at 112mm x 56.2mm x 14.35mm and weighing only 135g the same as the iPhone 3GS. The build quality feels solid from within while the outside casing feels soft in hand with the kind of materials used to make it. The hardware buttons are placed at the bottom including a home button, menu, back, send, end, and a dedicated search key. There is also a trackball which will please any Android lover. The buttons are nice and oval. They are spaced well enough to be used comfortably by even the fat fingered ones. There is a single volume rocker on the side which feels smooth. The 3.5 mm jack at the top is a standard one and you can connect your favorite pair of headphones to listen to music.

Display

The device has a nice 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen display with 480 X 320 pixel resolution – the same as iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre. The images look nice, sharp and clear with rich and vibrant colors on the screen and we have nothing to complain about the display. There is also a light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the screen automatically with the outside light intensity. The touchscreen was also responsive as it should be for a device like this. The screen is coated with some an olephobic coating which is the same as the iPhone 3GS.

Interface

The system uses an HTC-fied version of Google Android OS and almost every skin on the device is tweaked to give you the ‘Sense Experience’. While we like the Sense UI with its noteworthy paint jobs, the reworked graphics takes toll on the device’s operation speeds making it more sluggish than it should be.

Camera

The system comes with an amazing 5MP camera that produces nice print quality pictures which means you can forget your old point-and-shoot camera occasionally and still you don’t have to repent for that. We were impressed with the speed at which the camera took the photos and became ready for the next shot but the camera app UI failed to impress. The use of slippery trackball for zooming and snapping shots was not a good idea and the video quality was also disappointing. Not only the camera shoots at a very low 352 X 288 resolution but the video quality even at that low resolution showed traits of jitteriness and very much noticeable hiccups. We were also disappointed with the lack of any flash light.

Internet Browser

Here is a big news for those who heavily surf the net using the mobile phone. HTC Hero does have the Flash support in its browser which even the iPhone 3GS or the Palm Pre doesn’t have. There is also a bad news at the same time. The support of Flash content actually harms the browsing experience. The loading times for the heavily Flash embedded sites are way much more and the contents are also not rendered quite well. Don’t every try to open a site which has in-window video because that will be the day you’ll start hating your favorite HTC Hero. But however, hats off to HTC for giving us at least the option for broader media viewing options.

Processor and Memory

The system uses a 528 MHz Qualcomm MSM 7210A CPU with 288MB RAM and a 512MB ROM. It also has a micro SD Card slot that supports SD cards upto 8GB capacity and a 2GB card is included so that you don’t have to rush to the stores immediately to get a memory card.

Connectivity

The system is capable of quad band GSM service ensuring that it can be used throughout the world. There is also dual band HSPA/CDMA connectivity for smooth internet capabilities. It also supports a wad of other connectivity options like 802.11 b/g WiFi, GPS and Stereo Bluetooth.

Battery

The system comes with standard 1350 mAh Lithium battery which was able to run the system for the whole day with more than five hours of continuous use with camera, music and checking other functionalities. It also seemed to suck minimal battery juice while it was in standby mode. We expect the system to run for two days with normal to heavy usage.

Pros

• Good Connectivity Options


• Nice 5 MP camera


• Responsive 3.2 inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen


• Trackball navigation


• Standard 3.5mm Headphone jack

Cons

• Video quality is disappointing


• No camera flash


• Flash video playback is unwatchable


• No DivX and Xvid support right of the box

Conclusion

To conclude in a single sentence I would say that this is the best Android phone ever made and would come as the closest competitor to the iPhone 3GS. Yes, sometimes it feels a little sluggish and operations aren’t as intuitive as the iPhone but the phone surely has enough guts to get a place in your pocket.