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.
Since the Hero has almost nothing on the iPhone except the 5 MP camera, and falls flat due to performance issues, I'm not sure why you think Apple should be concerned.
That said, I'm sure Apple are hardly sitting on their haunches waiting for the rest of the pack to catch up.
I don't usually pay attention to you for the same reason I don't pay attention to my neighbour's West Highland Terrier - it too yaps a lot without making any sense - but I'll reply this time:
The big problem the iPhone's competitors have had is that, frankly, the iPhone's UI is better. That's no longer the case and it's just a matter of time before HTC release this OS on a platform that can power it and - knowing HTC's production rate - that's going to be in month's not years.
So, yes, Apple should be worried and since they're a good deal smarter than you I suspect they're considering their next release seriously.
You can now return to your usual pointless yipping.
Outdated and late to the game features, and features that have yet to even see the light of day (tethering, MMS, file management system, lack of Adobe flash, lack of led flash, no OLED screen, measley 320x480 resolution, no physical keyboard, limited email attachment methods, NO MULTI-TASKING etc etc...)
It is the iPhone that still has a LONNNNNNNG way to go when it comes to catching up.
Hmm, the Hero (the article we happen to be commenting on): Adobe Flash runs like crap. No LED flash. No OLED screen. Crap video recording. No physical keyboard. But hey, HTC IS NOW GIVING YOU A HEADPHONE JACK! WHOA!!!
Too bad your platform of choice (Windows Mobile) has all the "features" you're professing yet craptastic execution. And the marketplace knows it. The WinMo team are busily at work in Redmond as we speak, trying to ape the iPhone OS in every way possible.
@ Mark Anderson: wow, I'm truly honored that you would respond to my comment. Allow me to kiss your ring. Yap!
And there's nothing I see in this review that seems to give the Hero interface any edge over the iPhone whatsoever, even if it *did* have the processing power to make it work correctly.
iPhone killer: NEXT! "Just a matter of time," right Mark? Speaking of sitting on laurels and not innovating, it must suck for you to watch Nokia slowly slipping into the abyss...
I'd like to point out something that is always missed when a comparison is made with the iPhone. The consumer cost of the iPhone is almost twice as much as these phones.
I don't like comparisons like that.. If we all had to pay twice the cost for any phone compared to another, chances are it would be better simply because it would have more expensive high-end components. The fact that reviewers can compare so closely is very impressive even if it does or doesn't quite hit the mark.
Also the TouchFLO on the HTC WinMo after quite some time to mature is very slick on these devices even with a lot of apps running in the background swallowing up the processing power on the exact same proc (for example see Tecknoreview on youtube). Not to forget that WinMo is notorious for scooping proc time as it is.
I actually think that the processor isn't as much of the issue here as indicated. 528MHz isn't actually peanuts. The last thing I'd call HTC is stupid and they have a wealth of experience to know and trust that that this processor will give better battery life and should do the job. I think the the problem is the infancy of the software. I'm a developer and fully appreciate that the optimisation, especially of software this size takes time. I'm hoping that HTC will produce a series of updates to their new software baby that will address a lot of this singled out concern. Unfortunately what my gut is telling me is that they will do so, but distribute with new devices instead which is what they have done with TouchFLO.
FYI FOR ALL - which I'd like to see more confirmations of: Another review saying the same thing had comments from actual Hero users who said that a lot of the sluggish behaviour was gone when they didn't use the Class 4 MicroSD card and used Class 6 instead, which indicates a problem with the IO as Android uses the mem card for its swap file. That means its not the processing time when all these apps are running concurrently afterall. Food for thought..
It is NOT the hardware, it's the lack of optimization of the software and the possiblr lack of any hardware graphics acceleration drivers. The iPhone 3G uses a 412Mhz ARM11 with a PowerVR MBX lite. This qualcomm hardware is easily superior. The G1 never had graphics drivers, I assume this is the case with this phone.
I'm sure it has the graphics drivers else it wouldn't be anywhere near as smooth as it is. But like you I think this is just an immaturity of software, possibly including the GFX drivers as well. If it is, it should make a massive difference, but only time will tell..
I would bet anything you haven't used a modern WinMo phone. Certainly nothing with WM 6.5 and/or TF3D 2 on it.
The aforementioned combination on higher end WinMo phones (launched within the last half year or so) put to shame anything Apple has, both in terms of features, and "execution".
@Adam Actually there's more to it than the MHz number, and it is IT as much of a problem as stated in the review. The CPU doesn't do this phone justice in 2009, end of story. Read this whole page: http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3595&p=4
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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.
Since the Hero has almost nothing on the iPhone except the 5 MP camera, and falls flat due to performance issues, I'm not sure why you think Apple should be concerned.
That said, I'm sure Apple are hardly sitting on their haunches waiting for the rest of the pack to catch up.
Quix,
I don't usually pay attention to you for the same reason I don't pay attention to my neighbour's West Highland Terrier - it too yaps a lot without making any sense - but I'll reply this time:
The big problem the iPhone's competitors have had is that, frankly, the iPhone's UI is better. That's no longer the case and it's just a matter of time before HTC release this OS on a platform that can power it and - knowing HTC's production rate - that's going to be in month's not years.
So, yes, Apple should be worried and since they're a good deal smarter than you I suspect they're considering their next release seriously.
You can now return to your usual pointless yipping.
Catch up to what?
Outdated and late to the game features, and features that have yet to even see the light of day (tethering, MMS, file management system, lack of Adobe flash, lack of led flash, no OLED screen, measley 320x480 resolution, no physical keyboard, limited email attachment methods, NO MULTI-TASKING etc etc...)
It is the iPhone that still has a LONNNNNNNG way to go when it comes to catching up.
WindowsFTW @ Jul 23rd 2009 3:54PM
Turns out there's a huge difference in what 14-year-old geeks want, and what people actually buying those phones really want and need.
@ WindowsFTW:
Hmm, the Hero (the article we happen to be commenting on): Adobe Flash runs like crap. No LED flash. No OLED screen. Crap video recording. No physical keyboard. But hey, HTC IS NOW GIVING YOU A HEADPHONE JACK! WHOA!!!
Too bad your platform of choice (Windows Mobile) has all the "features" you're professing yet craptastic execution. And the marketplace knows it. The WinMo team are busily at work in Redmond as we speak, trying to ape the iPhone OS in every way possible.
@ Mark Anderson: wow, I'm truly honored that you would respond to my comment. Allow me to kiss your ring. Yap!
And there's nothing I see in this review that seems to give the Hero interface any edge over the iPhone whatsoever, even if it *did* have the processing power to make it work correctly.
iPhone killer: NEXT! "Just a matter of time," right Mark? Speaking of sitting on laurels and not innovating, it must suck for you to watch Nokia slowly slipping into the abyss...
This review is almost the opposite of the N97's.
Hero: Amazing software, underpowered hardware.
N97: Amazing hardware, not-so-great software.
I'd like to point out something that is always missed when a comparison is made with the iPhone. The consumer cost of the iPhone is almost twice as much as these phones.
I don't like comparisons like that.. If we all had to pay twice the cost for any phone compared to another, chances are it would be better simply because it would have more expensive high-end components. The fact that reviewers can compare so closely is very impressive even if it does or doesn't quite hit the mark.
Also the TouchFLO on the HTC WinMo after quite some time to mature is very slick on these devices even with a lot of apps running in the background swallowing up the processing power on the exact same proc (for example see Tecknoreview on youtube). Not to forget that WinMo is notorious for scooping proc time as it is.
I actually think that the processor isn't as much of the issue here as indicated. 528MHz isn't actually peanuts. The last thing I'd call HTC is stupid and they have a wealth of experience to know and trust that that this processor will give better battery life and should do the job. I think the the problem is the infancy of the software. I'm a developer and fully appreciate that the optimisation, especially of software this size takes time. I'm hoping that HTC will produce a series of updates to their new software baby that will address a lot of this singled out concern. Unfortunately what my gut is telling me is that they will do so, but distribute with new devices instead which is what they have done with TouchFLO.
FYI FOR ALL - which I'd like to see more confirmations of: Another review saying the same thing had comments from actual Hero users who said that a lot of the sluggish behaviour was gone when they didn't use the Class 4 MicroSD card and used Class 6 instead, which indicates a problem with the IO as Android uses the mem card for its swap file. That means its not the processing time when all these apps are running concurrently afterall. Food for thought..
It is NOT the hardware, it's the lack of optimization of the software and the possiblr lack of any hardware graphics acceleration drivers. The iPhone 3G uses a 412Mhz ARM11 with a PowerVR MBX lite. This qualcomm hardware is easily superior. The G1 never had graphics drivers, I assume this is the case with this phone.
I'm sure it has the graphics drivers else it wouldn't be anywhere near as smooth as it is. But like you I think this is just an immaturity of software, possibly including the GFX drivers as well. If it is, it should make a massive difference, but only time will tell..
Quix,
I would bet anything you haven't used a modern WinMo phone. Certainly nothing with WM 6.5 and/or TF3D 2 on it.
The aforementioned combination on higher end WinMo phones (launched within the last half year or so) put to shame anything Apple has, both in terms of features, and "execution".
@Adam
Actually there's more to it than the MHz number, and it is IT as much of a problem as stated in the review. The CPU doesn't do this phone justice in 2009, end of story.
Read this whole page: http://www.anandtech.com/gadgets/showdoc.aspx?i=3595&p=4