General: Hero

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      CommentAuthorLolly
    • CommentTimeNov 24th 2009
     

    My mobile contract came up for renewal so I finally took the plunge and ordered the HTC Hero. It should arrive tomorrow.

    I had a good play with it in the shop and it's really quite pleasant to use. HTC have made Android very pretty so it's not as "babyish" as the default, and it's not unacceptably laggy or slow either.

    I hope I get on well with it. Has anyone else got one, or another Android phone?

    I am also looking forward to the Android 2.0 update becoming available as it promises to make it faster and bring some new features (especially turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps, so I can ditch the SatNav!).

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      CommentAuthorHuddy
    • CommentTimeNov 25th 2009 edited
     

    Sounds like a good choice, although from what I read the memory size and camera are disappointing.

    I'm starting to regret going for the N97...Nokia have really lost their way...ah well!

    Symbian seems to be dying a slow death...I wonder which Operating System will be best when my current contract ends in early 2011! It'll be interesting to see what Google end up with.

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      CommentAuthorLolly
    • CommentTimeNov 29th 2009 edited
     

    Well, I've been using it for a few days, and my general opinion is good. It's taking me a while to get used to the interface, but I can get around it fairly quickly now.

    A few thoughts:

    • You can't use the phone one-handed, or at least not easily
    • Memory size doesn't seem to be a problem and I have lots of handy apps now - the 2GB microSD card helps
    • It will be great when Android 2.0 is ported to the phone and we get turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps, but given how much GPS drains the battery already, having the screen always on for this could be bad without a car charger
    • Google maps sent me into a ford today which was signposted "Not suitable for motor vehicles". Oops. I turned around and found another route.
    • It's very fast and responsive, on a par with my Palm Centro with ye olde Palm OS.
    • Phone signal is very good, even in poor signal areas (like where I live) and it hangs on to signal very well where many phones give up and drop the call. I even get HSDPA internet at home, and I've never got that before, even with a mobile broadband dongle and antenna!
    • Not used the camera yet. I shouldn't imagine it will see much use.
    • I like how it is clever and looked up my Google contacts and Facebook contacts and phone book and linked it all together so all of my contacts have a Facebook profile picture, email details from Google and phone numbers.
    • Not convinced by the onscreen keyboard but the prediction is good and my accuracy is increasing. It'll grow on me :roll:
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      CommentAuthorSpode
    • CommentTimeDec 2nd 2009
     

    I'm really not enjoying my N97 - been meaning to sell it for ages. And the Hero was top of my list - but I must admit, I'm still not a big fan of the on screen keyboards!

    Karl just bought the Hero and it does seem quite nice :)

    • CommentAuthorSirkent
    • CommentTimeDec 9th 2009
     

    Yeah, I've been enjoying my Hero quite a bit. The on-screen keyboard can be a bit fuzzy at times, especially since I added a screen protector. The phone also occasionally slows down a bit, but overall it's excellent.

    The battery also lasts a lot longer than I expected - about 3 days with normal usage. I had the chance to also use the phone for several hours straight playing games and listening to music on a long journey and it lasted the length of the 4 hour trip with half the battery to spare!

    The camera is pretty dark, especially since the phone has no flash. But I didn't expect the camera to be any good, so I'm not fussed.

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      CommentAuthorLolly
    • CommentTimeDec 10th 2009
     

    I charged my phone last night and today had 3G internet and GPS on all day and it lasted until 5pm before telling me that the battery is low and it needs plugging in. On average with a bit of internet every day I normally last 2 days.

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      CommentAuthorKrazyIvan
    • CommentTimeJan 5th 2010 edited
     

    My Samsung Instinct M800 runs for about a day while using data intensive apps. I think that is why they included the extra battery and external USB/mains charger. Unfortunately for my cousin, he got the third version of the instinct and it is still just as battery hungry but they don't include the extra battery and charger anymore. :(

    My contract wont come due for another year and a half but I definitely will be moving the android route.

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Copyright Andrew Miller (Spode), 2008