gdgt

I got the HTC Hero the day it was released on Sprint. I was switching from my iPhone 3G partly because of better prices (especially since I was able to get a Sprint sero account) and a better network, but also because Android looked like it was in a position to overcome Apple's mobile device.

My first impressions were very positive. It seemed to be able to do most if not all of what I was used to using my iPhone for. The longer I owned it, though, the more I realized there were a lot of issues hiding in the shadows.

First of all, at the time Hero was released on Sprint, it was already 2 Android versions behind. The phone shipped with Android 1.5, but Android 1.6 and 2.0 had already been released. About a month after the release, HTC and Sprint announced that Hero would be getting a software update, not to 2.0 but to the soon to be released 2.1. The excitement wore off, though, as the Android 2.1 release moved into the past and my phone still had 1.5 on it. The 2.1 update did not come until May 2010...shortly after Android 2.2 news came out and got everyone excited. So we finally got the update but were already tempted with what we're still not sure if we'll ever have.

About a week after the Hero was released, Sprint announced the Samsung Moment. It had a much faster processor, a physical keyboard, and would ship with Android 2.0. Already the Hero looked outdated.

The phone itself has it's problems too. Android 1.5 was sluggish, often to the point where I couldn't answer a call before it went to voicemail because the interface wasn't responsive. I'd often press the pick up button to no effect and press it again, only to find that I'd accidentally answered and then immediately ended the call because the interface wasn't updating. Android 2.1 is much faster, but there are still hiccups and delays occasionally.

The 5 megapixel camera was a huge selling point. At the time, it was one of the only phones with such a high res camera. It's extremely difficult, however, to take pictures that aren't blurry. And while many phones don't have a flash, the Hero seemed especially bad at taking dark pictures.

The battery life left a lot to be desired. It could last for almost 2 days on standby, but using any apps or making a few calls and sometimes it was hard to make it through the day. I also found that apps would sometimes get frozen or run in the background and drain the battery.

HTC Sense was a significant improvement over Android 1.5, adding a lot of new features and a smoother interface. Most of what HTC Sense added, though, was added natively in later Android versions, and now with Android 2.1 HTC Sense seems unnecessary, especially considering the months of waiting it took to update.

Overall, the Hero in isolation is a fairly good smartphone, but when you look at what else is available and what you can get on other phones, it's impossible not to feel like your phone is terribly obsolete. This is normal in the tech world, but not for a gadget that is barely half a year old. I wouldn't recommend getting the HTC Hero for anyone at this point. There are tons of more capable phones available now. Last fall, however, it was a viable option.