Mysterious HTC Hero revision pics surface, angled chin now M.I.A.
It's not unusual for HTC to repackage the same phone in dramatic ways for different carriers (see Sprint Touch Pro vs. Verizon's vs AT&T Fuze), but the Hero that 8080.net reportedly has is a pretty marked difference -- most notably a more conservative chin. Here's what we can glean from the admittedly bad machine translation: the outlet claims it's the Hero200 that the FCC just approved for CDMA bands, and while it certainly seems like a Hero variant one way or another, we have no proof that this is actually the same recently-approved version, nor have we seen what Sprint's Hero will actually look like. With all those caveats all the way, feel free to jump into the read link and enjoy a number of pictures up close and personal with the device.
[Via Cloned in China]
[Via Cloned in China]























That's hot, and I would absolutely buy that as a replacement for my Touch Diamond.
The chin is a non-starter. I'd love a non-chin version.
And I thought the first Hero was sexy...... then this almighty creation has been bestowed upon the world by the phone gods!!!
very good looking but the pre is also outstanding and sexy which should I get???????
@rinum
why do I picture chim-chim next to you while you're saying that hmmmm?
Smartphone is all about software, not shape, not chim, and not even color. Bottom line is it is still a WinMo
phone. WinMo is ancient as far as market is concerned.
um... this isn't a winMo phone. Its an android phone. Do a little bit of research buddy.
No chin? YES!!!!!!!!!!
Now add some Tegra, large screen, small size and a hot cake for holiday season is ready!
Tegra, larger display etc... you are describing the new WinMos if the new Zunes are anything to follow.
No chin, best looking HTC thus far.
"very good looking but the pre is also outstanding and sexy which should I get???????"
an iphone.
Wow this one looks great. The middle scroll thing looks like some of the blackberrys.
I think the trackball is the same size of the one of the myTocuh 3G (aka Magic). Actually, the redesign resembles the Magic a lot more than the Hero. Look at the button placement. The original Hero had them all line up at the top. http://htcsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=691&Itemid=1 could the gold trim indicate Sprint?
this is a phone i would buy
HTC.. you have just convinced me to buy your stocks - great companies like you deserve my investment.
great cases != great phones. The interior hardware still needs work imo
Sounds like you're an expert on the markets, man!
please be for verizon
It's CDMA, so it should be.
I miss the chin. I don't like my phones to be this rounded, I like angles. This just looks a little...generic.
I'll still buy it because I want an upgrade from my G1, but I wish it was the original design.
This is interesting, because I remember somebody mentioning that they had seen the Sprint Hero and that it was gold. What I really want to know though is if anything has changed under the hood, other than the cdma chipset.
Ahh, posted that before getting to the last page. Same specs it seems. I was hoping for a RAM upgrade.
The design actually reminds me a lot of the Vogue.
i guess im the only one who thinks this phone looks kindof gaudy?
i agree. at least the chin version (which i didn't have a problem with) had a sleek, more industrial-design look. This looks like something out of HTC's spectrum of cheap shit like the Touch Viva or the ancient HTC Kaiser.
Something about it looks cheap or tacky... might be the gold trim.
I really liked the original Hero... wish they bring that over to Canada!
Yeah, I agree. I hated the chin as much as everyone when the G1 came out. And when the HTC Hero was first leaked at the beginning of 09 I was as disappointed as everyone. But then when the Hero was officially announced it was really kool looking and the chin just...worked.
And now we have this thing. Nothing really unique about it. Looks kinda KIRF to me. I'd way prefer the original white HTC Hero with it's awesome teflon coating (even more so if it came with an Cortex A8 processor for some reason).
I actually prefer the original. This design is perhaps "safer", but what I liked most about the current Hero is that it stands out as a very different phone, which is exactly what it is. People will ask you what phone you have when they see the see the curious design, but I can't see them being as curious with this one.
Agreed, with that brushed chrome & gold trim combo you might expect to find this phone in New Jersey wearing a jogging suit and using phrases like “Bada Bing!” Still, a little change to the color scheme and you have me sold.
why the NJ hate? you do know that there arent only italian mafia bosses in New Jersey....
What if this phone isn't the Hero, and just another HTC phone running the Sense UI? You did mention that you have no idea if these images are actually linked or not.
Good point. However, given the hard keys that have been on every other android device, I think we are safe to say its Android in its purest.
@dajobo I could be wrong, but I believe he was saying why couldn't this just be another (unreleased) HTC phone. One we have not heard about before. Which is a valid point, if HTC had time to make this phone since its roadmap was leaked in January then why could this not be an entirety different phone?
I'm gonna go out and say that other then the word of someone who snapped this photo, we don't have any proof that this is the Hero. But as of today the HTC Desire was proved to be real in Verizon's computer. I think it is just as likely that this is the Desire (another CDMA HTC Android phone) that has yet to be seen.
http://phandroid.com/2009/09/01/htc-desire-ungimped-verizon-bound-android-phone/
Slap a real processor in there that isn't dog slow and I would buy that in a heartbeat!
I saw a video of the latest build of the the Hero's firmware... and they fixed the lag issue 100% (or at least from what I could see in the video).
Of course more processing power is always nice.
Like ipodrulz (funny name) says, it's the firmware's problem and it seems like they fixed it.
The problem isn't lag. The problem is the fact that it takes twice as long to render a web page as an iPhone or a Pre.
Looks more like a Magic revision than imo
NOPE. Not for verizon sorry. I bet Sprint Told them to get rid of the chin. It looks better than the original just because of the color scheme. That Orang trim kinda gives it away cuz of the Touch Pro 2's Orange
That was literally THE worst translation I've read anywhere about anything EVER! The phone looks good though. I honestly wouldn't be shocked if this turns out the be the version Sprint releases. It follows their philosophy of "screw what HTC did, we want it to look like this" pretty well.
Original only looks about 8x better.
Ooooh, nice!
Whats up with the search and back buttons? are they metal buttons or just touch sensitive humm
This looks like the Magic or mytouch 3g gay I'll stick with my pre
This is a hideous phone. Everything futuristic and gorgeous about the first Hero (namely the angular design) has been SLAIN. And gold trim? Really?
Agreed. Completely.
SLAIN!!! The other Hero (especially in that gorgeous white Teflon) was so futuristic, so utterly sexy. This looks like a cheap chinese knockoff phone. That metal click-pad looks like it's not even completely flush with the rest of the device, and that gold trim bs is exactly that NASTY BS! Please, please, please Sprint, give us that beautiful white Hero and not this T-mobile-Dash-circa-2006 device.
:(
I agree that the original Hero is quite beautiful & more futuristic looking, but this design probably passes the pocket test better.
In any case, HTC is definitely on a roll with Android. I didn't pay much attention to HTC, since they only produced WinMo devices before, but now, with Android, I can see they are quite an innovative & fast moving company.
Ghetto, ghetto, ghetto!!! Will Sprint include a gold tooth to match this phone? Heeeeyyyyyyy. I'll be ready for the Maury show!!
wow.. i'm a sprint dude and ive been patiently waiting for the hero since it first was rumored to be coming to sprint, but this phone is not cool lookin at all. i HOPE sprint comes out with the regular hero. if not.. idk, maybe i'll still get it if they get rid of the gold trim. if not.. i guess itll be the tour for me.
the pre is def a cool phone.. but .. kinda girly to me. am i the only one that thinks so?
its too sexy