I consider myself to be technologically savvy and play my part in 'pro-sumerism' in most walks of life yet the past couple of years I have struggled to keep up the with pace of mobile phone technology. For this reason I write this review from the perspective of many - sporting an 18 month old phone which I no longer interact with, drawn to the ideals of Apple merchandise and scared of making a commitment to a next generation of technology.
Having been an Orange customer since the days of Hutchinson Telecom I am rewarded for my loyalty with a very competitive package. This has been the case for many year but the major drawback with the Orange network is their distinct lack of hardware choice. The Apple IPhone has set a president for the touch phone revolution and it was inevitable that I would be looking for an IPhone alternative available on Orange.
The choices were limited and having sustained a poor Blackberry experience for 18 months I was keen to explore new avenues. Luckily the HTC Hero presented itself to me as a viable
option and despite having seen the television advertising campaign a couple of months prior and mocking it's cringe worthy 'Hero' branding I still took the plunge as it posed the most impressive package from the choices available to me.
Out of the box:
At this time I was still adamant that I wanted and IPhone and realised that the HTC Hero was easily fetching £300 on auction sites. I thought to myself "as soon as I take it out of the box I'll know whether to keep it or sell it for an IPhone". Indeed as I removed it from the box I immediately noticed how well built the phone is. It's of reassuring weight and the teflon finish of the Graphite model gives it a tactile feel which is suggestive of a quality product. I was surprised by how compact the unit is as pictures on line lead me to believe that it would be bulkier in the flesh. The 'chin' as it has been referred to is nowhere near as offensive as images suggested and if anything it aids to the handling of the phone. Yes, I've grown found of the protruding chin.
First Use:
Having avoided all previous 'IPhone alternatives' in the past I was placing quite a lot of pressure on the Hero to impress. Switching it on for the first time presented me with a screen displaying good resolution, vivid colour and an inviting home screen. Initial setup was painless and the typing tuition was helpful and informative. The option to synchronise your Gmail and Facebook account was very helpful to me and intuitive. My initial response to Android was very positive.
My first issue was encountered when I realised that I couldn't bluetooth transfer my contacts from my old phone. At first I thought it may be an issue with the phone but as it turns out the Hero has no bluetooth data transfer capability which in this day in age is ridiculous. I searched high and low for an easy way to import 500 phone contacts but alas no, it would have to be copied onto a sim one-by-one on my Blackberry before I could get them onto the Hero. Shame.
I had noticed a slight lag in the interface and although not a huge concern would only slow down further as the phone's limits are pushed. Luckily Orange had released the firmware update just in time for me to install and this appears to have cured any lag.
Advanced Use:
By now my initial fears of taking on a touch screen smart phone are well and truly quashed. The Hero is a welcoming device and feels responsive to use. It makes mid range devices like the Nokia 5800 feel positively 'clunky' and agricultural. The Hero's pinch and zoom function (a la IPhone) whilst browsing makes for a comfortable web experience. The ability to display Flash sites is a revelation and although not 100% interactive it's as good as it gets right now.
Android applications are plentiful and more often than not, free. Wildy usable apps, (Voice Search has yet to fail to impress) great games to keep you entertained and various Music apps which are amazing. I never thought owning a phone could be such a liberating experience!
After a few days of use I realised that the phone's signal would fluctuate, more noticeable when WiFI was enabled. I looked for a resolve on line but not much luck. Strangely I found it to be worse after 'heavy uasage' ie downloading and installing apps and discovered that rebooting the phone after a bought of downloading would keep the signal the steady. By sticking to this method I haven't encountered and further signal problems.
Battery life is not great but it seems par for the course and is dependent on how intensely you use it.
Conclusion:
I'm very glad I took the plunge on the HTC Hero and I no longer suffer from IPhone envy. Orange has announced that they will be releasing the IPhone 3Gs on the network by the end of the year and despite this revelation I am still very happy and content with my Android phone and the constant development of the Android Market will ensure longevity.
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Advantages: customizable UI, 5.0 megapixel camera and high resolution display. Disadvantages: It is mostly oriented to appearance rather than performance.
sime92 16.08.2009 ·
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Review of HTC Hero
Advantages: customizable UI, 5.0 megapixel camera and high resolution display. Disadvantages: It is mostly oriented to appearance rather than performance.
sime92 16.08.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of HTC Hero
Advantages: Nice design, has a QWERTY keyboard, easy to connect Disadvantages: Bad camera, you need a Google Mail account to use the phone (you can make one on it, however)
HabsAZillion 13.09.2009 ·
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