HTC Hero review
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted July 23rd 2009 3:01PM
posted July 23rd 2009 3:01PM
Hardware
Industrial design
In terms of overall design and layout, the Hero is very much a product of evolution. Like its forebears the G1 (or Dream) and MyTouch (or Magic / Ion), the general stats like screen size, technology, and resolution, button placement, unit size and weight, and basic aesthetic are pure HTC. Like those previous devices, the Hero contains a smattering of hardware buttons on the base (or chin as some call it) of the phone, including a home, menu, back, send, end, and dedicated search key. The device also sports a trackball in this area, which shouldn't surprise any Android aficionados.
Where the Hero breaks from convention, however, is in the overall look and feel of the phone. If the Dream and Magic felt plasticky and cheap (they did), the Hero is quite the opposite -- it's like a solid brick in your hand. The casing is made of a soft-touch material (Teflon on the white version to prevent dirt), and the shape of the device takes a much more severe, almost rectangular slant. The buttons along the bottom are small, evenly spaced ovals (save for the search and back key -- we'll get to that), the earpiece is covered in a stylish mesh, and the volume rocker on the side is a smooth, single button. The screen also uses a new oleophobic treatment (similar to the iPhone 3GS), and thankfully HTC has added a 3.5mm headphone jack to the top of the phone.
Overall the appearance is sleek and modern -- it's like the Magic was beamed to the year 3000 for a redesign. Besides the chin (which some people will nitpick, though we don't mind), the Hero is a home run when it comes to looks, though it's not without issues. One of our main gripes with the phone is the layout of the hard buttons. The four across the top don't bother us much, but the placement of the "back" key is a huge pain. It basically forces your hand into a cramp-inviting position -- it's an unnatural move for a key you've got to use a lot. If you're left handed, it'll seem fine (great even), but as a righty, we found it inconvenient and uncomfortable. It's actually perplexing as to why the back button lives where it does on the Hero -- the Magic's placement is much more accessible and a lot more comfortable to use for righties or lefties.
Internals
The guts of the Hero should seem familiar to most gadget buffs -- they're essentially identical to HTC's Magic (at least the Rogers version). What does that mean for you, end user? It means you're stuck with the same Qualcomm 528MHz CPU, the same 288MB of RAM, and a paltry 512MB ROM. The onboard radios include WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and a quad-band HSPA cell chip. The model we tested is the European release of the phone, and as such is only able to access EDGE networks here in America. Luckily for us we don't leave the house much, so most of the time we were on WiFi. So just to be clear, beyond the new screen coating, industrial design, and improved camera, this phone is the HTC Magic inside.
Screen
The display on the Hero is gorgeous, no doubt. Using a similar smudge resistant material as the iPhone 3GS, it certainly seems to repel oil, though you'll still find yourself wiping it clean on a regular basis. The 3.2-inch, 480 x 320 capacitive touchscreen works well, but not notably better than its predecessors -- in terms of color and clarity, however, the Hero's LCD is on par with the competition. One nice added feature is a proper light sensor here, so automatic dimming works as it should, whereas neither the Dream nor the Magic can take advantage of the eye- and battery-saving functionality. There's nothing particularly special about this screen, however we noted a bit less blurring while scrolling through long pages or detailed images, a problem which we've been bothered by with the Hero's Android brothers. One problem that plagued the unit we were testing was screen freeze ups -- it just simply wouldn't accept any input. This seemed to happen mainly on the homescreen, which made us feel like it might be more of a software problem than a hardware issue (we'll get to that momentarily).
Camera
The Hero's 5 megapixel camera is pretty darn amazing, we must say. Coming off of most devices with their paltry 3-or-so megapixel entries, it's a real treat to have an onboard cam which can actually stand in for a proper shooter. While the image quality isn't up there with dedicated point-and-shoots, it's certainly leaps and bounds better than the nearest competitor, with near-macro focus length. We take a little bit of issue with HTC's UI design on the camera app -- using the sometimes-slippery trackball for both zooming and snapping shots seems kind of ill-advised to us, though we didn't have much trouble with it (a toggle to cancel zooming would be nice). As with most phone cameras, the colors weren't quite as vivid as we would have liked -- bright hues somehow came out murky with the Hero -- but we weren't expecting the world here. HTC seems to have tweaked shutter speeds and processing as well, as snapping photos was noticeably faster than on the earlier Android phones, though we still think the iPhone 3GS and Pre feel tighter (of course the Pre doesn't have to worry about that pesky focusing stuff).
On the other hand, video recording on the Hero wasn't quite as awesome an experience as still photos were; the maximum resolution is a pathetic 352 x 288, and even at that resolution we experienced noticeable hiccups and stalls in our videos. We're not asking for much, but we'd at least like some smooth VGA here. If you plan on using this for any kind of decent video -- think again.
Speaker
We're big speakerphone users, so the external audio of a device is actually important to us (besides, how else can we entertain friends with the "Ras Trent" video while out and about?). The speaker on the Hero is definitely up to the task, producing loud and clear audio while on calls or listening to music. Of course, no one is really going to jam this way very much, but at the very least you can make our your tracks pretty clearly. For calls, the speaker and microphone seemed pretty outstanding to us (we were testing mostly with T-Mobile, mind you).
Battery life
We were impressed with the Hero's staying power, though we'll reserve our final judgments till we have a device running US 3G to look at. On EDGE / WiFi, we saw impressive, full day use with a single charge. Standby didn't seem to pull much power, though it was obvious that many of the widget updates were just waiting till we woke the phone up, which made for maddening floods of syncing and updating (a real drain on speed). Overall, the Hero beats the pants off of our G1, and gives the Magic a run for its money. Battery life was favorable in comparison with the iPhone 3GS, and obviously puts the Pre in a world of hurt.
Software
HTC's take on Android
As you should know, HTC has sunk a huge amount of time (and money, we assume) into giving Android a major makeover. If you're familiar with the company's work on Windows Mobile devices, then the look and feel of the new HTC-ified Google OS should make perfect sense to you. Sense is a good word, actually, since the company calls its new UI the "Sense Experience," which is really another way of distancing itself from TouchFLO iterations of the past (though there is clearly a lineage here).
Essentially, almost every aspect of Android has been reskinned and tweaked on the Hero. From the windowshade notification area to the dialer, HTC has left its mark across the device -- and it's a pretty handsome mark. The general design is much more on par with contemporaries such as the Pre, iPhone, and recent versions of the BlackBerry OS. You probably know what that means: lots of alpha layers, dark, shiny blacks and grays, and the occasional brightly colored highlight hue. It's all extremely slick -- if you didn't know Android well, you might assume it's a completely different OS... and maybe that's what HTC is hoping. We obviously like the reworked graphics, but it's annoying to see how the fresh paint job bogs the phone down in places. In particular, the calendar app which is fairly nimble on standard builds of Android seems sluggish here, and we noticed the same kind of jittery behavior in other apps which function just fine on our Dreams and Magics.
Two other changes of note are somewhat major in the Hero build of Android. Firstly, as has been widely reported, the phone can access Exchange accounts -- a feature not found on any Google-branded devices (though present in the Rogers variations of HTC's other phones). Secondly, the device has an underlying social networking tie-in (a la webOS) which can pull in Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr data in various spots on the phone, and also allows you to move media and messages between the services.
HTC refinements
What is notable is the fact that the underlying guts here are really no different from Android 1.5, save for some HTC-specific tweaks such as the company's onscreen keyboard (more on that in a moment), aforementioned dialer, and other nips and tucks, largely cosmetic. For instance, instead of providing a tab to pull up your applications, HTC provides a button reminiscent of the Pre's home icon (which incidentally does the same thing). Still, there are quite a few functionality tweaks onboard as well, including the addition of multitouch in the Hero's photo app and standard (but heavily skinned) Android browser. Sorry Google Maps fans -- no love on that front.
Google's touch keyboard has been completely dashed here in favor of HTC's iteration, and that's a good thing... to an extent. The keyboard is certainly usable -- even good sometimes -- but it's hardly a competitor to Apple's onscreen QWERTY, and not even in the same universe as a physical keyboard. We know a lot of readers have been on the edge of their seat about whether the Hero's lack of keys would be a detracting factor, and despite a tremendous attempt by HTC here, it certainly is (of course we feel similarly about the Magic). We found ourselves regularly frustrated by the speed of typing (which can sometimes hang painfully, a la iPhone OS 2.0), and some of the auto-correction, which is typically good, but can be maddening when incorrect. Keep in mind, we really, really wanted to like this keyboard, but the more time we spent with it, the more frustrated we became by it. Trying to tap out an address in Google Maps while walking somewhere, for instance, was a truly unpleasant experience.
On the other hand, HTC has made marked improvements in the phone functionality on the Hero, making the dialer and contact management pages a joy to use. Getting to number quickly is a cinch since you're able to use the numeric keypad to call up both strings of numbers and names, and the company has forgone tabbed entries on contacts for a combined recent / missed page coupled with your contact list. HTC has also improved the music player here (a badly needed upgrade), though like so many other applications on the phone, it feels sluggish when compared to its rivals' experiences. We had the same feeling when using the browser -- another spot where the software falls victim to the phone's underpowered hardware -- the web experience on the Hero was typically slow and frustrating.
Overall, the changes the company has made with Android do make the OS feel more complete and modern, but it seems to be at the expense of performance. We could almost feel the 528MHz processor struggling to keep us as we paged through seven homescreens of widgets -- most accessing data in the background -- and when we took at a look at the task list, it was clear that most of our memory was being sucked up with scores of little processes. It seems like HTC has made a software suite for their next generation of phones, but tacked it onto its current one, and the combo is a bit messy at times. We won't knock them for aiming high, but we don't know how much we enjoy the lag and stutter of the current Hero build.
Widgets and new applications
HTC has loaded the phone with a slew of new applications and widgets -- and the company has made a lot of the right choices. We've also felt that one of the really untapped resources Android had was its widget implementation, so it's really nice to see that HTC has taken up the mantle here. Unfortunately, these aren't standard Android widgets, so as far as we know, you're only going to be seeing them on HTC phones.
Of course there are the standard clock and weather widgets (both beautiful, mind you), though the company has provided a number of other options that really do improve the day-to-day use of the phone. We're not going to run through every single one, but we do want to mention the notable additions.
To start with, HTC has gone to the trouble of creating it's own Twitter client, Peep. The application lives in two places on the phone; the first is a variable sized widget for your homescreen which allows basic functionality like reading recent tweets and updating your status. The second iteration is a full-on app which offers robust options along the lines of Tweetie for the iPhone. While the application is excellent at what it does, there is some disconnect between the widget and the program itself. Like other parts of the OS, Peep seems to be hampered by the slower CPU and limited RAM as well -- scrolling can sometimes be stuttery, and it often takes some doing to refresh its content.
Another notable widget / application combo is Footprints. The premise is simple: it allows you to quickly snap a photo and geotag your location, then gives you options for sorting the content as favorites, restaurants, shopping, etc. It's actually a pretty clever little idea, and for those who travel or are planning a trip, along with that 5 megapixel camera, it's a nice addition to the phone.
Interestingly, our favorite widgets are actually simple toggles -- switches which allow you to flip services like WiFi, mobile networks, Bluetooth, and Airplane Mode on and off without jumping into your settings screen. During testing, we found ourselves putting these small, icon-sized micro apps into heavy rotation. It's a thoughtful inclusion which shows HTC is actually paying attention to how users operate their phones.
Flash
So Flash is kind of a big deal on new smartphones. The iPhone doesn't have it, the Pre doesn't have it, BlackBerry devices don't have it... but the Hero does. Unfortunately, in our testing, we found the inclusion actually hurts operation of the phone more than it helps. When browsing to a site heavy on Flash (there are many), the browser loading times were abysmal. Furthermore, trying to view videos in-window produced choppy, nearly unwatchable results. You may have a better experience with lighter kinds of content, but in our opinion the main reason to introduce Flash into a mobile environment is to allow for broader media viewing options, and in the current state of this Flash player, you're not really going to get much mileage out of it.
Wrap-up
The Hero represents a valiant effort from HTC -- though unfortunately, the company appears to have bitten off more than its last-generation hardware can chew. If this build of Android were to be loaded atop the guts of a 3GS or Pre, the performance would likely be astounding, but fused with the two-year old architecture of previous devices, it's mostly disappointing. We're not saying this isn't the best build of Android on the market -- we think it is. What we are saying is that this build is a bit too much for a device like the Hero to handle, and that makes for an uneven, sometimes frustrating experience. Going into the review, we desperately wanted to love this phone, but given the combination of a few poor hardware choices and an OS which outclasses the device it runs on, we can only recommend that you enter at your own risk. HTC has an explosive entry in the smartphone category with what its done on the software side... now it just needs the hardware to match.
Nice picture with the out of focus surroundings and blurred phone background
Yeah. I thought the thing had a see-through screen. But that would have been TOO cool for 2009.
You know, I agree that the hardware isn't up to snuff for this robust software, BUT...
NOBODY IS REQUIRING YOU TO RUN 7 PAGES OF WIDGETS. It's nice to at least HAVE the option to do so, at the obvious sacrifice of battery life and speed/smootheness.
If you were to treat it as an iPhone, and only run 1 app at a time, I'm sure you wouldn't have the same gripes.
I'll tell you one thing. If Apple doesn't include true background processes w/ 4.0, I'm definitely going with Android on HTC. And by next year, they'll have an even better UI in a much better-suited hardware set.
But again, as far as the Hero is concerned: If the phone gets sluggish, quit some apps, and pretend it's an iPhone.
@Crawdad
Exactly.
Furthermore, I haven't heard any other reviewer of this phone talk about lag or problems with Flash. And the comments I've heard about the onscreen keyboard have been totally positive aswell.
I agree. Other reviews have all been really positive about the keyboard, and people are saying that putting a faster SDHC card for the Android swap file sorts out the lag problems. i.e. It's IO issues with the apps than proc, such as the calendar in the example is loading new data each page swipe which is being queued up with the rest of the apps all doing the same thing.
I've been waiting around for months for a new phone, and think that I will go ahead with ordering this phone. Only real way to tell is to try it myself I think.
@ switchbitch
Read the Giz review. They also complain about the Hero not being fast enough.
Who is this OCD freak that keeps repositioning the phone? And he can't just open an app or two. Instead we see him switching between desktops and repositioning the phone relative to the camera. Try watching the video muted. It will make you nauseous.
Guys, it's the OS+skin+HTC additions that overpower this TWO YEAR OLD+ processor, not the widgets. If you think you're going to get 3GS/Pre speed with a TWO YEAR OLD+ processor, you have another thing coming!
SECOND
Why are you guys voting him down?
At least, he made me laugh
They're voting him down because it's obnoxious.
FAIL
Nice I was waiting for this
I just cant comprehend how anyone can think this one is in ANY way better looking than the Magic.
This one is just wrong in so many ways.
I still dont understand why they didnt make the changes to the Magic instead of making a brand new phone...and make it uglier in the process.
the problem with the magic is that the cover is just looking too cheap ... it reminds me to the very first nokia phones where you could change the covers, so by that you would expect from a high-end phone a better casing. The second thing is that the os doesn't look that nicely like the one used with Hero , so eventhough Hero ain't the best of best overall it is the best Android based phone so far .. until the next generation appears probably latest in october ...
@ 999 you work for aaxatech don't you? keep on spammin!
Sweet! Sense UI looks amazing.
I agree, this is a nice looking UI. Much better than Google-flavored Android.
"Going into the review, we desperately wanted to love this phone"
I'd love to have seen the reaction if Engadget had said this about an Apple device. The horde here would have been dragging out the torches and pitchforks in a hurry.
But no complaints here - as long as it doesn't involve any supposed Apple bias, right guys?
Despite the negative review, I think the fact that Android is starting to be implemented this well is awesome news. Honestly, I am floored to see the next-gen HTC device with this software on it. Hurry up HTC, I'm ready to throw my money your way.
@MONKEY
I'm in the same boat. I'm long overdue for a new phone and I desperately want an Android device, but I want something that won't lag behind a 3GS. Come on HTC!!
Sense UI: it's Vista for cell phones.
Looks fantastic, has great new features, just don't try it on old hardware.
@Quix
LOL. Can't agree with you anymore. I felt like this review simply way too harsh compared to their reviews to iphones...
not an attractive phone. i'll pass.
Very good review overall, just one place to pick holes... ;)
"While the image quality isn't up there with dedicated point-and-shoots, it's certainly leaps and bounds better than the nearest competitor, with near-macro focus length."
Errm... Nokia N97? Samsung i8910 HD? Judging by your test photos, both of these modern touchscreen smartphones take BETTER photos - not just within "leaps and bounds" of the Hero.
Dont blame Josh, poor fellow cannot think beyond the iPhone.
Thanks, Aaron - that's exactly what I was going to say. If the Hero is "leaps and bounds better" than the iPhone and the Palm, then the N97, which has 'just' a 5mp camera like the Hero, but with dual LED flash, certainly is leaps and bounds better than the Hero. Just check out these examples of pictures taken with the N97:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedromateus/3695859054/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tnkgrl/3642475735/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenitaly/3668371055/
The other hole I would pick is the part about the keyboard. He had a line that read: "...and not even in the same universe as a physical keyboard." Of course it's not as great as a physical keyboard. Not even the great iPhone keyboard is as great as a physical keyboard.
Wouldn't it be awesome if we could have sense-ui on the n97 instead of symbian - fantastic hardware with fantastic software and interface.
^^ I must say, those N97 pics are astounding. Incredible quality out of a phone
N86 dances circles around HTC Hero.
That phone has an incredible camera. Those pictures looked amazing. I'm just not crazy about the way Symbian looks, or that heavy price tag. It looks like you certainly get your money's worth for some things, though.
weird. I've searched for other reviews of the Hero, and some didn't mention any lag at all.
this reviewer for instance (4th hit on google) also mentioned that his device ran without lag pretty much the whole time:
http://www.slashgear.com/htc-hero-review-2149880/
Or check out these I8910 HD pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9105185@N06/3762033378/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9105185@N06/3762032530/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/flavianom/3741571515/
I'll go with the I8910 HD.
Hey Josh you guys should as this reveiw to the top of the home page with the Pre and 3GS. This is probaly the best Android phone so far and not that I would ever part with my beloved iPhone, you should add it just to be fair.
Before you fools go and BAWWWW about the chin realize this: The chin is for a reason. Take a HTC phone with a chin and put it down on the table. You will see that the chin protects both the screen and the touchball from ever touching the surface. This is a design feature. Add to the fact that mouthpiece is closer to your mouth.
"Add to the fact that mouthpiece is closer to your mouth."
do you think that makes any difference at all?
and it doesn't really have much of a "mouthpiece"... is the mic the little hole in the bottom of the phone? the distance is negligible.
Who puts their phone face down anyway? You're wrong
The mic may not be any closer to your mouth, but its aimed better. Those little mics need to be aimed just right to work their best.
Interesting..while i may never put my phone face down i WILL drop it and it seems that chin will protect it from getting scratched that way.
"Who puts their phone face down anyway? You're wrong"
I do, every single night when i plug my G1 into its charger on my bedside tables and I don't want its charging LED to light up my room. Every night I'm glad the G1 has its chin.
It also prevents the trackball from being pressed in and waking the phone, another bonus.
Apparently you are wrong.
McPOW @ Jul 23rd 2009 4:03PM
"I do, every single night when i plug my G1 into its charger on my bedside tables and I don't want its charging LED to light up my room. Every night I'm glad the G1 has its chin. "
..so instead of designing a phone with a 'chin'; they could have just let out the flashing LED light..
Android fans are just making stuff up about the lip.
Most people don't put phones face down on a table. Do you want to flip the phone for each call or message you get?
I don't know where the external speaker is on the G1 or the Hero, but on a few phones I've owned it's on the rear of the phone, so on those devices I put the phone face down while on speakerphone or if I'm listening to a podcast over the external speaker or something.
@ oghowie
"Most people don't put phones face down on a table."
I think your post should read "Most people, who's phones do not have a chin feature don't put phones face down on a table."
I put my phone face down quite often. For some reason I feel it won't slide if it is inadvertently knocked.
How about just not putting the phone face down in the first place???
Thank you Engadget.
So, my wait for a phone upgrade has been extended further, may be SonyEricsson X3 Rachael will do it for me.
I wish I could install this Android build on the Samsung Omnia i8910, the best hardware meets matching software. Have to add, S60 SUCKS.
What sucks about s60, please tell me? My N97 works great, I'm confused why it never gets a mention when compared to other phones
It works. Bad thing is that S60 touch sacrifices a bit because it tries to maintain compatibility to older version of S60. Also, the focus and activate style navigation is powerful but not that user friendly and sometimes users might not know when to tap once or twice.
Good thing is that all this is going to change. Symbian is very capable OS and it is getting new UI - Qt based Direct UI. Nokia is working hard currently with that and had been working for some time now. It will cause complete code break to existing applications, though. If have looked at Symbian developer documentation about Direct UI it is said to be beautiful, easy to use and fully touch optimized (actually it will not work in non-touch phones). Also, HW graphics acceleration is basically a must for good performance.
Things will change radically in near future for Symbian. It's going to be really interesting.
ill admit my n97 ui is not as visual stunning as my iphone was. but in my daily use i couldnt be happier with the switch. multitasking again is a great feeling.
and also im excited bout the new symbian. though saddened my old apps will have to be reworked. it was a nice that picodrive for 3rd edition worked perfectly for 5th edition.
I kind of agree with the review and it echos the sentiments of a lot of people - awesome UI and features let down a bit by underpowered hardware.
I can't help but feel this is a tester for the market for Sense UI and that we will soon see models - towards Q4 2009 - which will have the hardware to match. After that I think Apple are going to have to think very seriously what they do with iPhone v4 and v5.