HTC Hero hands-on: Flash, keyboard and ruminations (updated!)
By Thomas Ricker 
posted Jun 24th 2009 11:56AM
posted Jun 24th 2009 11:56AM
- The beveled edges along the back makes the handset sit comfortably in the hand, and while the teflon coat doesn't necessarily feel revolutionary, it's going to make a world of difference after a couple of months riding in our grubby pockets. It's certainly solid, but much more so than other "brick" phones.
- The Sense UI (or as HTC terms it, "user experience") riding a capacitive touchscreen offers a people-centric approach to managing your information that is absolutely dreamy at first blush -- though it shares a lot of TouchFLO heritage. In fact, HTC promises to have a very similar Sense-branded experience for Windows Mobile.
- The on-screen keyboard also seems quite useable with a nice simulated haptic forced-feedback bounce when you strike each key in either landscape or portrait mode (which can naturally be deactivated). HTC has built its own touch keyboard from the ground up, and in our brief couple of tests we'd say it's probably the best touchscreen typing experience we've ever felt. It never lags behind, and has great colorful visual cues for its auto-corrected words -- green means it's suggesting a correctly spelled word, red means we've gone off the beaten path, and the T9-style multiple suggestions are heavenly.
- This intuitive one-hander isn't shy with the specs either as we've already seen in the official press release. Our only concern is possible sluggishness from the Qualcomm processor that cause the graphic transitions to stutter a bit and results in screen rotations that feel dangerously uncomfortable.
- We were told that the device we saw was running pre-production firmware so there's still time to tweak -- though not much with a July European launch.
- The Hero is not a "Google Experience" device. As such, you won't find the Google logo anywhere (no big deal) but you also won't be downloading any firmware updates over the air -- sideloading only kids. Not a deal breaker but an annoying and seemingly arbitrary limitation nonetheless. There's still a small lack of clarity of how updates will work with HTC's "mods" living on top of basic Android -- even if they're able to port in new Android versions seamlessly, we imagine there will be some breakage.
- For a device without a physical keyboard, the Hero seems a little thick up against its HTC Magic, Nokia N97, and iPhone 3G counterparts, but not overly so.
- HTC has confirmed that whichever (unspecified) carrier gets the phone in the US will have a modified version, both in software (carrier-specific services) and in hardware chassis tweaks. Just don't take our teflon away, ok HTC?
- Battery is the same larger slab that's in the myTouch, and HTC also claims to have done some vague, unspecified things OS-side to improve battery life as well. "Heavy users will be able to get through a day."
- The camera is responsive and seems to do a fine job at autofocus, but wasn't astonishingly great at first glance.
- The phone will be available for free on T-Mobile UK -- if only we could be so subsidy lucky in the US.
Flash win
Flash fail
Keyboard rotation
Hardware hands-on, typing test
Flash fail
Keyboard rotation
Hardware hands-on, typing test
OMG! It SO DIDNT look that good in the other photos, looked way fatter!!
...that's what she said.
Is that a HTC Hero in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
did someone say htc hero pro with qwerty later on??
FPS looks like poop
@A1 Plumbing
Im loving the interface, but the fps really suffers from that crappy processor... Why does htc keep doing this to themselves? They seem to have really good software people, and even a great design team, but their hardware people are just slow to the punch.
@ MIA
I think you just described an (Upgraded) g1
I agree, but whyyyyyyyy must is have the "Jay Leno chin" as well? That seriously bummed me when seeing the phone.
NO HEADPHONE JACK, no dice.
HTC just never learns.
Hm, wait a minute: It does appear to have a headphone jack, but it's on an angle.
So either the plug goes in perpendicular to that angled surface (and sticks out awkwardly) or it won't go in all the way because the base of the plug will hit the sloped surface above the jack.
What's the story?
Jay Leno designed this funny-looking handset using his own facial image.
It would have been a game changer for me if it had a QWERTY.
booshit i ordered one off of integrontech.com
No loading apps over the air!? Just seems such a bizarre decision. Did you get any sense as to why that was the case? What difference does it make if it's 'Google experience' or not?
actually after watching the video, i can sort of understand the lack of access to the google market. my guess is they're going to keep this "hero build" proprietary, they've put a lot of work into it. i think when you subscribe to the "google experience" version of the OS they lock you down with some restrictions and also make you open source the work you do (think i read that somewhere...)
Yeah, I was really excited about the Hero until about 5 minutes ago when I read no OTA market access. Makes me too worry about the whole loss of "Googleyness". Someone needs to cover what else is lost with this.
I need to see this thing in action next to an i7500 now plz.
it was mentioned below that the google market access might be wholly a carrier decision. so it's very likely that you won't have to worry about it "not having" it. i don't think they went sans Google experience to block the market but more to protect the work they did on the UI.
whatever carrier picks up the device (most definately T-mobile but not for 6 months cause they just released magic) they will have app market access put on there. i guarantee it
no its just engadged being stupid see 0:48 in the video (htc hero first look ) it says market
i was shoked too
Whoa now I'm not getting this. How am I supposed to sideload if the only way to get apps is through Android Market? So far I haven't seen any apps being downloadable to your computer.
So, this is an Android phone that can't access the Android Market! Come on, that's got to be the biggest deal breaker I can think of for an Android phone...
they updated the info in the article. we can all stop rage-shaking now hahaha
silly
its not apps. its updates on firmware.
This looks like a step backward from the HD, looks-wise - why put that silly little kick on the bottom?
it protects the trackball/screen when face down
the hero does seem to be more of a software update to the magic than hardware (other than the 3.5mm jack which is totally welcome)
"it protects the trackball/screen when face down"
Surely there is a better reason than this for the chin. Maybe they found in the r&d process that the curve improves voice reception or something.
Regardless, it still ruins the design for me.
still waiting for my sprint HTC TOUCH PRO2.
Do you not think it's good to keep your screen scratch-free and your scrollball lint-free?
It looks like a fat guy trying to do a sit up.
i would buy this just to see how far it would fly if you laid it flat and pounded the bottom with your fist...
I agree about the kick at the bottom, but the slick UI makes up for the kick at the bottom.
Go ask that question to your wall phone from '92. Maybe it has something to do with erganomics and trying to get the microphone closer to your mouth? Maybe? Just a guess seeing that a flat phone pushes the mic further away from your mouth picking up on more static and outside noise. Perhaps you should cup your hand around your ear..maybe you could hear me better then.
Yeah, I lay my phones face down all the time.....
Yeah the kick is lame. Only going to make your pocket bulge out. If it were to really improve the mic reception then they should have made it so the kick can flip from flat to slightly angled, then you have the choice.
I would guess, that the kick is there to help improve button/scrollball use. It raises the buttons/scrollball just enough for one hand use to be comfortable.
Big HTC fan, own a Touch pro...
but this is just plain ugly IMO. The new UI is neat but android is premature.
business users need the more robust winmo 6.5. This is the OS that needs a UI overhaul the most. Here is hoping that HTC focuses on improving winmo interface with tf3d or sense more in the future.
If the screen is glass, it's not going to scratch from being put down face-down.
The iPhone's entire face is flat, and after three years mine doesn't have a scratch on it.
I have to agree on the bottom awkward bend. Wish they just completely throw that out. Still waiting for something to replace my iphone but as far as application goes, nothing top Apple and the smooth interface. I want flash so bad on the iphone.
it looks smaller than I thought!
That's what she said!
Sorry, had to do it. It is a lot more sleek than I was expecting, but I still dislike the chin. Instead of protecting the screen while face down, why not just...not put the phone face down on the table?
@demo
you don't apologize for saying "thats what she said". it's obligatory internet etiquette. remember that.
(just some vital information for your everyday life :D)
u guys made my day well i guess im soo exitid by the phone than i can laugh 4 anything
but thanx
Sweeeeet. But i kinda hate the whole bent/banana shape stuff one phones
That's what she said!
I think it's obvious that the guys from The Astonishing Tribe have been on the design of the Sense UI, once again (as in with g1). It's sorta like a combo between their History lane UI vs. Juggle UI. Though i could be wrong.
Anyknow if it's the same guys doing the UI.?
I hope TAT was working on this.
Those guys deserve a higher profile.
Looks like a great interface... WAY better than the out of box Android experience.
Whoever designed it, props to them, because it's like HTC's Manila (best mobile phone GUI ever) on steroids. If this hits XDA, I'll certainly keep dual booting my phone between WM 6.5 and Android.
BTW, looks like the Sense UI is gonna be coming to Windows Mobile as well...
----
“We’ve been developing this for three years,” said John Wang, chief marketing officer of HTC, in a phone interview. “The point is to enrich the user experience, to make it personal, convenient and give users moments of delight.”
The company calls the new software HTC Sense, and it will be introduced in HTC’s entire portfolio of mobile phones starting with the HTC Hero. The company is the world’s largest maker of Microsoft Windows Mobile smartphones, and handsets running that software will also run HTC Sense in the future...
----
http://www.rgbfilter.com/?p=1255
Not bad. Is it free?
thats what she said
I like the look of this. Shame it doesn't come with WinMo 6.5 though.