Overview: The most ambitious Android phone
from HTC sports unique aesthetics, a 5 megapixel camera, and a multi-touch
interface. So what’s wrong with it?
The Rundown: The HTC Hero really wants to
be your saviour from iPhone clones and, if you’re not a fan, the iPhone. So let’s
give it the benefit of the doubt and start off with the pros. The Hero
immediately strikes you as a new breed of cell phone. Gone are the tired tropes
of symmetrical blocks and nondescript shapes. You can tell the Hero just from
its silhouette. Its slim, rectangular form juts out at the end, presenting you
with the trackball and a back/search rocker button. The result is a distinct
look that is ergonomically pleasing. The crisp 480×320 screen is multi-touch
capable and such double digit functionality is well implemented, providing
fluent pinch zooming from photo-viewing to web-browsing. It supports a slew of media files, both audio and video, and with a 3.5mm jack you can pop in your favourite headphones (unlike some other brands). And then there’s the
camera.
And we’re into the cons. You’d think with
the potency of a 5 megapixel camera HTC would have integrated it better. For
instance, taking photos with the camera held sideways and having to push down
the trackball is just awkward. Add to that the significant time between
depressing the button and the photo actually taking, no flash and the rather
mediocre picture quality and you have one underperforming 5 megapixel camera.
As for the user interface, it’s sleek, clean, and
surprisingly robust. A real testament to what HTC has been able to accomplish
with Android. However, behind the sleek exterior is an underpowered interior
and with a paltry 288MB of RAM backing up the 588MHz processor, resulting in one sluggish interface. At times the delays in response time are several seconds,
a problem compounded by the number of widgets you have running.
The Bottom Line: The HTC Hero is sleek,
intuitive, and unique but it just doesn’t have the horsepower to excel paste
the others in its class.
Specs:
Processor: Qualcomm®
MSM7200A™, 528 MHz
Operating System: Android™
Memory: ROM:
512 MB
RAM: 288 MB
Dimensions: (LxWxT) 112 x 56.2 x 14.35 mm ( 4.41 x 2.21 x 0.57 inches)
Weight: 135
grams ( 4.76 ounces) with battery
Display: 3.2-inch
TFT-LCD touch-sensitive screen with 320×480 HVGA resolution
Network HSPA/WCDMA:
900/2100 MHz
Up to 2 Mbps up-link and 7.2 Mbps down-link
speeds
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz
(Band frequency and data speed are operator
dependent.)
Device Control: Trackball with Enter button
GPS: Internal
GPS antenna
Connectivity: Bluetooth® 2.0 with Enhanced Data Rate and A2DP for wireless
stereo headsets
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (11-pin mini-USB 2.0 and audio
jack in one)
3.5 mm audio jack
Camera: 5.0
megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio supported formats: MP3, AAC(AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB,
WAV, MIDI and Windows Media® Audio 9
Video supported formats: MPEG-4, H.263, H.264 and Windows
Media® Video 9
Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion
battery
Capacity: 1350 mAh
Talk time:
Up to 420 minutes for WCDMA
Up to 470 minutes for GSM
Standby time:
Up to 750 hours for WCDMA
Up to 440 hours for GSM
(The above are subject to network and phone
usage.)
Expansion Slot microSD™ memory card (SD 2.0 compatible)
AC Adapter: Voltage
range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A
Special Features:
G-sensor
Digital Compass
