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This is HTC’s second Android powered handset to be launched in the country and in quite a short span. In fact they managed to launch two Android handsets before any of their competitors which, in my opinion, is a big deal. The initial model the HTC Magic that was launched exclusively with Airtel was, in my opinion, a disappointment to say the least and more so considering it was officially my first experience with the OS. The Hero has also been launched with Airtel but it’s also available in an Open GSM model for use with any and all other operators. Here’s how it fared. Form Factor There’s nothing to dislike about the handset’s design. I particularly like the finish of the handset with its slight rubbery surface that makes it easy to grip. The chin portion tends to give you a sense of closeness to the microphone; like you’ll never have to raise your voice. Trackball navigation is not new but it does beat the nav-pad option. The keys are well placed and easy to use when necessary. The volume keys are almost invisible as they blend perfectly with the rear portion of the handset. The display size and resolution hasn’t been upped from the Magic’s. It’s still a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with a 320 x 480 pixel resolution and support for 65K colors. Not that it needed to be changed, but it’s been said that it does one good to do so.  A proprietary styled mini USB port is located at the bottom. It’s also compatible with standard mini USB cables though. A 3.5mm handsfree is located on the top. The saddest part is, unlike some handsets if you’re using your own set of earphones and not the bundled handsfree, you’ll have to unplug them to take a call as the mic doesn’t seem to work with 3rd party headphones. The hot-swap slot for the microSD card is located under the rear panel.  The chin is in as far as I’m concerned. The Hero is a comfortable handset to use and with standard connectivity options like the handsfree and USB ports I have to say – It’s all good! Features and Performance Interface The Sense UI is a simplistically designed interface. Essentially it’s a total of six desktop pages with widgets that can be assigned to each page i.e. one widget per page. Widgets can also be downloaded from the Android Market. This time the app is available with the handset so you’re free to browse the variety of add-on’s that are easily available for download. This is the only handset with the multiple desktop option that I like, and more precisely because of the full page widgets which are very, very well designed and easy to use. The HTC QWERTY keypad is easy to use in landscape mode but I’d recommend the normal phone keypad in portrait. QWERTY is a little cramped in this case.  While the UI does seem relatively smooth it is also a little bit sluggish in certain instances. When it comes to opening the album folders to view images or videos it tends to take a few seconds. I also noticed the transition from portrait to landscape is also a bit slow and not very seamless. Perhaps the 528 MHz processor is just a little bit underpowered than what one would need. Other than that slight speed issue it was a pleasure using this particular Android UI.  |
REVIEWS / SMARTPHONES / HTC INDIA PVT. LTD.
HTC Hero Mobile Phone
30 Sep, 2009, 12:54 pm IST | by
Shayne Rana
| 
Smartphones
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