Semi-official no longer, Sprint has now officially announced the
HTC Hero for its network. Here's the skinny: it's coming October 11th and will be $179.99 after assorted rebates. Also noteworthy? It's the
chinless model we just spied just days ago, but otherwise it looks like the same internals, Exchange Active Sync, and Sense UI we've
been toying with for months now, plus
Sprint TV. Pre-registration (note: not pre-order) is now available for those eager to already claim stake. We can't help but notice there's no mention of exclusivity here, but regardless, well played, Sprint, between this and the
Pre, you're amassing quite a nice collection, there.
Update: We spoke to Sprint, and the Hero is in fact an exclusive for the company.
Read - Press release
Read - Hero pre-registration
posted September 3rd 2009 9:39AM
If this comes to AT&T, I'm in for one.
Sprint should have just stuck with the Magic moniker, there's nothing Heroic about that design at all
Clearly, parent post is an iphone fanboy.
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/09/09/03/0258243/iPhone-Straining-ATampT-Network
and
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/07/05/128213
AT&T stinks. Sprint and Verizon rock your socks. Simple facts. Now that you are informed of the truth, go sulk and come up with a snappy reply for me.
Well, I don't have, nor have I ever had, an iPhone, so that pretty much negates your entire post...
Why the hell WOULDN'T you want to use AT&T? It's the easiest network to finagle to your best interests. GSM means you have the widest range of phones to work with; it also means you can pop your SIM card out and throw it into just about any other GSM device. AT&T's rollover minutes basically ensure you'll never go over your minutes. Up until about a year ago, AT&T had the best phones BY FAR (this has since been remedied to an extent by other carriers). Oh, and even in their stores, if you go to a Verizon store you'll be waiting 20-30 minutes to talk to someone. When I go into an AT&T store, I'm talking to someone within minutes.
Verizon might have a slightly better network in some areas, but as long as AT&T works well in your area (which it will for about 95% of Verizon's area of coverage), then you'd be stupid to go with anyone else. That is, unless you prefer an ugly red interface and tying yourself for an entire contract to one phone.
Jon you just got owned by hexydes!!! be careful who you choose to heckle.
Truth is Verizon gimps software, Sprint gimps hardware, between the 2 of them they must think leaving the original industrial design/ software is too "cutting edge' for us dumb Americans. Low rank me all you want!
and at$t gimps their network. so what is your point, you doofus? and how does sprint gimp hardware? it's more like verizon gimp hardware. get your facts straight. originator=imitator.
@hexydes
Att does NOT cover 95% of the area of Verizon or Sprint. Sprint's 3G network is 3 times the size of Att not to mention all the speed tests:
http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/08/21/carrier-wars-t-mobile-results-wrap-up/
http://gizmodo.com/5111989/the-definitive-coast+to+coast-3g-data-test
Oh and the fact that Sprint is far cheaper- there is ZERO reason to go Att unless you need an iPhone or for some reason want to pay huge roaming fees over seas (vs. just using a world phone or disposable with a pay as you go SIM).
@originator
how does sprint gimp hardware again? the pre has the fastest processor this side of the pond (along with the 3gs, true), the htc devices have come over exactly as is and they are mandating that all feature phones (including the new instinct, which is not a smartphone) have wifi. vzw may rob phones of memory and processing power, but sprint has never done anything of the sort.
at&t gimps their network, but i also have a $10 mobile data card.
How does hexydes gets called a iphone fanboy just for saying he wants the phone on AT&T?
I am pretty much anti-Apple, but I also want the phone on AT&T.
As for why I am on AT&T? I have a cheap plan from a while back and also I need GSM phones which I can easily switch the SIM card when I go aboard and AT&T pretty much guarantees this is the case, while for Sprint/ Verizon you need to have a world phone to do so.
@cocoviper
He never said the 3g coverage is necessarily better than Sprint/Verizon, he just said general phone coverage is pretty similar and that it works well for most people, which is probably true.
@jake
If the calling area is about the same but Att's data network still sucks (from both 3G coverage and general throughput) and I have to pay more to use Att's network- again why should I want the Hero to be on Att vs. Sprint?
This actually may not be too far from the truth. I wrote an email today to HTC voicing my distaste for the chinless wonder and in the response they stated that:
"There may be other US based carriers that will carry the Hero in the future, and those carriers may decide to keep the original overseas design, but there are no official announcements as to other carriers picking up the Hero at this time." So it may not be just an exclusive Sprint phone. However, if like me, you aren't happy with the redesign, please email sprint and sign this petition http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/htchero
hexydes @
I hear you. You know how I know Sprint sucks? I went to Yosemite park and I got plenty cell signal with my
AT&T phone. My buddy with Sprint got out of service. That's when I know Sprint sucks! :)
Why the hell WOULDN'T you want to use AT&T? It's the easiest network to finagle to your best interests
OK please tell us what you can finagle out of ATT in your best interests as you state? My sister has ATT and though she gets raped on charges and poor service including very bitchy customer service,she has stayed with them because she had other friends she can do mobile to mobie with...Her plan is $59.99 plus another $20 for unlimited text of yes for nights and weekends starting at 9pm not 7pm like Sprint.Oh btw this is for stupid cheap flip phone but it is in red and she likes that fact. LOL YES she is stupid for paying that much for no smartphone and no other service ike umm internet or anything else oh btw until recently she was getting 450 minutes for her $75.99 plus tax foe the crappy little flip phone...PLEASE expain what you can finagle out of ATT as she has tried to get them to let her change because EVERYONE else offers better deals.She is stuck until her 2 years runs out....OH btw she has had this phone since March and she compained out problems with it and was told well talk to the manufacturer for the 1 year warranty.The manufacturer says the phone is over 1 year old...meaning the ATT kiosk in the mall sold her a returned phone as NEW and didnt even let her know about the $50 rebate(but of course it woudn't be valid as it turns out the phone had originally been activated for over a years time) Yeah ATT seems great for finagling it to work good for you i see. Hopefully i can convince her that with Sprint now offering mobile to mobile to ALL CELL phones on ALL NETWORKS with the $69.99 everything plan she can not ony pay less a month but have more service and an actual NEW PHONE.....HOPEFULLY as she fights over being sold a used phone from their ATT Represenative she can get out of her contract and to a better Company in Sprint.
I actually NOOOOO'd really dramatically when I saw this. I like the chin. Maybe I'll just get an iphone.
Could someone explain the following bit about data roaming?
...The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 271 million people...
Is Sprint's roaming contract inclusive of Verizon coverage areas as well?
It depends on what region you are, but yes for the most part. There's no 3G roaming onto the VZW network though.
Yes. Data roaming (1x only) is free on the Verizon network. Calls on the Verizon network are also free but use your anytime minutes regardless of time or day.
I don't think roaming on nights and weekends counts against your anytime minutes....
I roam on Verizon/Altell all the time with my Pre, and I get blazing fast 3G EVDO.
sprint and vzw have never had evdo roaming agreements, though they do have 1x. alltel and sprint were evdo partners, but in the areas vzw took over that is no longer true. for comparison, vzws broadband network included 280m people. as one who carries phones from both carriers in a major metro evdo rev a area, i can attest that the bgr speed test was very legit and my sprint phones are much faster then their vzw counterparts
FIRST!!
First chinless android?
Crap!! You all bit me to it! Anyways. I'm gong to miss the chin. I might wait for another 'Droid device. I guess the European version proved to be "too liberal" for the conservative taste of the US market. Shame.
FAIL!!
+1 since I believe in giving the impaired a chance to shine.
YES!! WinMo, it was nice knowing you, but I'm kicking you to the curb!
If this comes to ATT or another really good Android comes to ATT I might be saying the same thing.
I really want to see the ATT's version of TouchPro2 compared to whatever good Android device they might get.
I'm kind of disappointed that it isn't the original hardware design. That looked so much more class in my opinion, chin and all. I have a feeling this is going to look cheap just like the HTC Magic does in person. I bought a palm pre a week after launch because it was just about the best phone I could find on the choice of carriers. T Mobile has horrid service in my area and 0 3G coverage so an android device was out of the question.
I seriously think I will be selling my pre and purchasing a Hero, even if it is at full price. That is how much I believe in android lol.
The HTC Magic looks absolutely beautiful in person, probably the most attractive phone ever made.
I still think the chin would get annoying more than anything.
I agree about the aesthetics. The unlocked Hero looks awesome, like it's from the year 3000. This thing looks like a KIRF version of the Magic; I wouldn't be surprised to see an "nTC" logo on something that looks like this.
I totally agree. The chin did it for me. This looks like crap
I loved the angles of the original hero. Nothing about this phone reminds me of the look of the hero. If HTC was worried about the chin, why could they just knock the chin of the first hero, and keep the edges? ANd what happened to the teflon coating and all that jazz?
While I preferred the original Hero look, thought it was really edgey looking, I can see why they are going with this model. Seems much more "business professional" than the original Hero. Too bad thye didn't brand this something else and also get the original Hero. I think that would be a big hit with the tween market.
"The unlocked Hero looks awesome, like it's from the year 3000."
The year 3000? It looked like a desk calculator from the year 1982.
Don't you know sprint must make every phone look worse, no matter how bad it looked originally?
And they probably round phones off even more because they are all sensitive males.
I'm glad they got rid of the chin. It means that they could put in a rocker-plate and rearrange the button configuration, which seems to make a lot more sense than it did on the chinned model. They sacrificed a cool, cutting-edge chin look for a better interaction design. I can't wait to see someone review them side-by-side and talk about how it is easier and faster to navigate the Sprint model.
Key thing to note in Sprint's press release is that they don't mention that the Hero is exclusive to them. If I recall correctly Sprint made a big deal about the Palm Pre being exclusive to Sprint. Hopefully the GSM Hero is on it's way too especially since the FCC already approved it.
why is that "key?" they can't afford to pay a premium to make everyphone exclusive. they've got a flagship premium phone now. nobody serious expects them to pay for exclusivity for a platform thats damn near open source and already released on another carrier.
The screen is a lil' over the top.
What are you talking about?
There can never be too much screen.
Sprint is coming back.
Holy crap, this looks a hundred times better than the original overly-angular version.
No it doesn't.
I prefer my Hero with the chin, looks a load better than this, looks like the magic. F for design, D for effort
No, no it doesn't.
Sorry, no it doesn't. The battleship gray smartphone era ended circa 2007. This makes possibly the most capable smartphone (on the most affordable network) look like the HTC Mogul.
No, but it looks a hundred times better than the gold trimmed version. Seriously good looking phone. I think I'm set on my Christmas present this year.
ahhh man.. i was hoping for model with chin, now this makes me not wanna buy it