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HTC Hero Mobile Phone
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.
Media
I’m still impressed with the superb sound quality that the Android music player is able to emanate. Even without EQ settings or other options alike, it delivers clear sound with all frequencies blending perfectly and a brilliant thump in the bass line. The player itself is simple with the option of creating playlists on the go. What I would have liked here is the ability to search or store according to folders. The lack of an FM radio is still a big problem for me as I’m sure it is for a lot of the Indian mobile community. It does come with a voice recorder that actually has pretty good range.
DivX and XviD support for video playback would have been ideal for this handset but alas and alack so far. So after you’ve downsized your videos to suit the mobile platform viz. MPEG4 and 3GP formats, videos don’t really look all that bad. They play without a hitch and you can also opt to change the resolution form widescreen (if the video is in that format) to fullscreen, cutting out the black bars and a little bit of the videos edges. That can’t be helped. Nevertheless, it’s a pleasant experience consider the size and resolution of the screen.
The gaming experience is still not even close to being anything as good as that on the iPhone. The ones designed for this platform, although entertaining, are still simplistic in creation and look or feel. HTC’s accelerometer controlled Teeter is preloaded the rest you can download from the Android Market (AM).
Connectivity
I can tell you that the HTC Hero is a very connectivity ready but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. Yes it is a 3G ready handset with HSDPA capabilities and thus easily supports basic EDGE and GPRS. Yes it has Wi-Fi as well and supports USB 2.0 for PC connectivity (have to Mount SD card to access) and Bluetooth 2.0. But here’s the glitch like the high and mighty iPhone HTC’s Android handset also offer limited Bluetooth capabilities. I was unable to send or receive any data to or from the handset via BT although I paired the handset with another quite easily. A2DP worked just fine with a stereo BT headset but I found the range4 to be a bit of an issue.
As usual it was externally easy setting up a Gmail as well as other POP3 and IMAP accounts. The handset is also set to handle Microsoft Exchange accounts if that’s what you use. A widget can be placed on one of the many desktops to give you on the fly updates of your accounts. The Browser is still the best part about the handset. It’s fast and navigation is simple. Its full web capabilities with flash support give mobile net surfing a great feel. For those not on a GPRS plan, I don’t know why you wouldn’t be if you can afford this phone, is a WAP Browser.
Seeing as the social networking buzz is not going to die out anytime in the near future, this Android handset comes plenty of skill to handle most of the popular sites. First up is the ever popular Facebook that has a widget all to itself, a sync option for your contacts that also stores their profile images. Twitter is next with another helpful widget called Peep for receiving and sending updates. You can set these various functions up with your accounts so transactions between the two will be seamless. Pictures can also be quickly uploaded to all of these networks with a click of a button. You can also upload images to a Picasa album or send them via Gmail.
Google has its own little arrangement of goodies from a Gtalk application that also syncs with your contacts. That’s all in addition to Gmail app as well as Google Maps which is certainly a few steps up from what the Magic had to offer. The Goggle Search Widget is ever present and as handy as magnifying glass in a room full of fine print contracts. A YouTube app is also on board. Footprints is a great Geotagging application that shows you the location on Google maps. The funniest thing is that although the camera supports Geotagging, I wasn’t able to simply click on a captured image and find the position on Google Maps unless I used the Footprints app. The images themselves are tagged with location data though. So yes, GPS is present and supported with A-GPS.
Misc. Features
When it comes to the simpler applications like a Calendar, Alarm, Notes, Stopwatch and such if you can’t find it on the handset already just get it from the AM, it’s all there. The Hero came preloaded with QuickOffice (read only) that reads .TXT and .XLS, files quite easily. PowerPoint files take quite awhile to open and .DOC files that had any images in them refused to read while normal word files were no problem. The PDF reader also took time opening files. Stock Market and Weather apps are also available.
Camera
The Hero’s 5 megapixel shooter was not very good. It’s slow and unsteady so almost all images I too seemed a bit shaky. Hey I’m no surgeon. The settings include White Balance, a timer, Effects and even ISO settings up to 800. It allows you to select an area of focus by touching the screen. But that didn’t make it any better or easily usable. Although the focus bars would turn green and lock, the image still turned out quite blurry.
The camera is not one of the bigger assets of the handset. Image reproduction is average at best. The images even in bright conditions appeared dull and when but clear enough if I managed to remain steady. But it could have been better. Macro shots are a problem irrespective as I could never get the camera to focus on the subject of choice.
Battery
Depending on how often or how much you like staying connected you can maximize your battery life. With quite a few of the Widgets and email being active together with a few calls and messages I squeezed a little over day and a half of usage out of it. You can switch off the internet and get quite a lot more. Talk time by itself averaged in at about 4 hours and a more which is not bad. So on the whole the Hero’s battery life is better than just average.
The Bottom Line
Here’s the problem, the HTC Hero is too expensive. With a price tag of Rs. 31, 990 and Rs. 34, 600 in Mumbai, the handset may have a lot to offer but the camera is not up to the mark and it still has a few bugs that need weeding out but only a few. I still think it’s a darn good handset and I had quite a lot of fun using it but with no memory card or other relevant peripherals included in the package it’s too steep. It begs serious consideration. Seriously!
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.
Media
I’m still impressed with the superb sound quality that the Android music player is able to emanate. Even without EQ settings or other options alike, it delivers clear sound with all frequencies blending perfectly and a brilliant thump in the bass line. The player itself is simple with the option of creating playlists on the go. What I would have liked here is the ability to search or store according to folders. The lack of an FM radio is still a big problem for me as I’m sure it is for a lot of the Indian mobile community. It does come with a voice recorder that actually has pretty good range.
DivX and XviD support for video playback would have been ideal for this handset but alas and alack so far. So after you’ve downsized your videos to suit the mobile platform viz. MPEG4 and 3GP formats, videos don’t really look all that bad. They play without a hitch and you can also opt to change the resolution form widescreen (if the video is in that format) to fullscreen, cutting out the black bars and a little bit of the videos edges. That can’t be helped. Nevertheless, it’s a pleasant experience consider the size and resolution of the screen.
The gaming experience is still not even close to being anything as good as that on the iPhone. The ones designed for this platform, although entertaining, are still simplistic in creation and look or feel. HTC’s accelerometer controlled Teeter is preloaded the rest you can download from the Android Market (AM).
Connectivity
I can tell you that the HTC Hero is a very connectivity ready but that wouldn’t be the whole truth. Yes it is a 3G ready handset with HSDPA capabilities and thus easily supports basic EDGE and GPRS. Yes it has Wi-Fi as well and supports USB 2.0 for PC connectivity (have to Mount SD card to access) and Bluetooth 2.0. But here’s the glitch like the high and mighty iPhone HTC’s Android handset also offer limited Bluetooth capabilities. I was unable to send or receive any data to or from the handset via BT although I paired the handset with another quite easily. A2DP worked just fine with a stereo BT headset but I found the range4 to be a bit of an issue.
As usual it was externally easy setting up a Gmail as well as other POP3 and IMAP accounts. The handset is also set to handle Microsoft Exchange accounts if that’s what you use. A widget can be placed on one of the many desktops to give you on the fly updates of your accounts. The Browser is still the best part about the handset. It’s fast and navigation is simple. Its full web capabilities with flash support give mobile net surfing a great feel. For those not on a GPRS plan, I don’t know why you wouldn’t be if you can afford this phone, is a WAP Browser.
Seeing as the social networking buzz is not going to die out anytime in the near future, this Android handset comes plenty of skill to handle most of the popular sites. First up is the ever popular Facebook that has a widget all to itself, a sync option for your contacts that also stores their profile images. Twitter is next with another helpful widget called Peep for receiving and sending updates. You can set these various functions up with your accounts so transactions between the two will be seamless. Pictures can also be quickly uploaded to all of these networks with a click of a button. You can also upload images to a Picasa album or send them via Gmail.
Google has its own little arrangement of goodies from a Gtalk application that also syncs with your contacts. That’s all in addition to Gmail app as well as Google Maps which is certainly a few steps up from what the Magic had to offer. The Goggle Search Widget is ever present and as handy as magnifying glass in a room full of fine print contracts. A YouTube app is also on board. Footprints is a great Geotagging application that shows you the location on Google maps. The funniest thing is that although the camera supports Geotagging, I wasn’t able to simply click on a captured image and find the position on Google Maps unless I used the Footprints app. The images themselves are tagged with location data though. So yes, GPS is present and supported with A-GPS.
Misc. Features
When it comes to the simpler applications like a Calendar, Alarm, Notes, Stopwatch and such if you can’t find it on the handset already just get it from the AM, it’s all there. The Hero came preloaded with QuickOffice (read only) that reads .TXT and .XLS, files quite easily. PowerPoint files take quite awhile to open and .DOC files that had any images in them refused to read while normal word files were no problem. The PDF reader also took time opening files. Stock Market and Weather apps are also available.
Camera
The Hero’s 5 megapixel shooter was not very good. It’s slow and unsteady so almost all images I too seemed a bit shaky. Hey I’m no surgeon. The settings include White Balance, a timer, Effects and even ISO settings up to 800. It allows you to select an area of focus by touching the screen. But that didn’t make it any better or easily usable. Although the focus bars would turn green and lock, the image still turned out quite blurry.
The camera is not one of the bigger assets of the handset. Image reproduction is average at best. The images even in bright conditions appeared dull and when but clear enough if I managed to remain steady. But it could have been better. Macro shots are a problem irrespective as I could never get the camera to focus on the subject of choice.
Battery
Depending on how often or how much you like staying connected you can maximize your battery life. With quite a few of the Widgets and email being active together with a few calls and messages I squeezed a little over day and a half of usage out of it. You can switch off the internet and get quite a lot more. Talk time by itself averaged in at about 4 hours and a more which is not bad. So on the whole the Hero’s battery life is better than just average.
The Bottom Line
Here’s the problem, the HTC Hero is too expensive. With a price tag of Rs. 31, 990 and Rs. 34, 600 in Mumbai, the handset may have a lot to offer but the camera is not up to the mark and it still has a few bugs that need weeding out but only a few. I still think it’s a darn good handset and I had quite a lot of fun using it but with no memory card or other relevant peripherals included in the package it’s too steep. It begs serious consideration. Seriously!