Sprint Htc Hero

[Mufaddal 678]

A MINI REVIEW FOR HTC HERO

OK fellows i got my hero few days back , decided to write a small review for people who want to know a bit about this handset

1) Built

the built quality of this handset is amazing

its light weight , as compared to touch pro , touchpro 2 and palm pre

its solid candybar form factor and matt finish on back cover give it a solid grip

no creaks or squeaks

the trackball is slightly raised but nonetheless is bigger in size and very comfortable to use

the 4 keys ( menu. back. home .search ) are flushed with surface , though tactile enough but still i have my concerns over long term use

There is an ambient light sensor and an led indicator for notifications

2) Screen

the screen is gorgeous 3.2 inch 320x480 resolution

its sharp and looks awesome

its capacitance which means using it is much easier and smooth as compared to ur windows devices which needed stylus every now and then

3) ANDROID

This phone runs android 1.5 cupcake , but soon in few days eclair is gonna be out

there are 7 homecsreens loaded with beautiful widgets

all goodies of android is there

full google services ( gmail, gtalk,google voice )

One plus point in sprint hero is that there is support for yahoo mail ( free ) on non sprint networks which wasnt there on other handsets

4) Battery

the phone comes with 1500mah battery

even with heavy usage ( data on ) shud go for 1.5/2 days

and without data will last for 2 3 days

overall a satisfied battery life

5) Performance

performance wise hero is fast

its faster than gsm version of hero

call quality is good

Also the irritating area notifications occur less frequently than in other phones

no network issues

6) Data connectivity

there is a full 1x capability of hero on reliance

u get push gmail ,gtalk

there is wifi on board

though i have always seen that wifi sensitivity of android devices is less

7) Multimedia & Camera

htc hero comes with 3.5mm adapter

which means u can plug in ur favourite headsets

the audio quality is good enough

CAMERA IS 5MP

lol , did we think we wud be using 5mp device on reliance ....hell ya

the camera lacks flash , so that means night time its a no no

but overall the camera clearity is good in day light or in proeprly lit places

pretty satisfactory pics in daytime

8) GPS

it comes with agps support , quick satellite locks in 1-5 mins

u have got google maps to use with it

if u need offline navigation u can use the s/ws NDRIVE &SYGIC which i have posted on this forum

9) Hacks

since its android so its open to lot of hacks

u can install lot of cracked apps

watch for my new posts in next few days i will be posting lot of cracked apps

also u can load custom roms without any hassles

ON A NOTE I WOULD LIKE TO WRITE ABOUT THE ONSCREEN KEYBAORD FOR TYPING

since its complete touch device yping would be an issue

but not in hero

u have smooth typing experince on hero

u can use the keyboard in both protrait and landscape mode

SOME COMPARISON SHOTS WITH OTHER PHONES

[Mufaddal 678]

stay tuned for cracked apps and tweaks

[dkaile 1,051]

[Mufaddal 678]

will test its 5mp camera and post some sample pics taken from it

[Mufaddal 678]

OFFLINE NAVIGATION FOR HTC HERO

for those of u who dont wish to use google maps due to data ussage

use navigation s/ws

SYGIC

NDRIVE

BOTH POSTED HERE

http://www.rimweb.in/forums/topic/22039-offline-navigation-softwares-for-android/

remember to use the app i posted

dont download or update ndrive from market

[Mufaddal 678]

TEETEHRING FOR NON ROOT USERS

for people who are on stock sprint roms and who havent loaded custom roms or dont have root

1) install htc sync

2) connect ur hero and make sure all drivers are properly installed

3)Turn on MNS or Mobile Network Sharing

4)install and use pdanet 1.16

( password of archive 4android)

pdanet.rar

[sumatrix 1]

but the camera quality of htc hero is comparatively poorer when compared to the camera of other phones having a 5mp cam.there is too much edge straightness and the color sharpness is a bit low in some cases and a bit high in some cases. correct me if am wrong

Edited January 1, 2010 by sumatrix

[Greatest 55]

:thumb: :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

[lijodavis 1]

thanks for the review.i already ordered hero and waiting for it to arrive.You said it supports push mail.I am on NJ249 plan,will it be costly if i put on push mail with this plan?Is there any addon pack for more data usage?If i use hero for browsing and all net related uses,which plan is best?Can i receive calls when i browse the net?

Also tell me how to copy palm treo755p address book to hero?

Please clarify.

Edited January 1, 2010 by lijodavis

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

if u dont want ush mail u can disbale data sync and can sync manually

also at rworld plans problem is of NUC charges

still we all still r confused i suggest u to use data on hero with caution

if u leave data on all day , u would use anywhere between 2-20mb depending on how much u chat and surf

on 1x u cant use data and voice simulatanously

but when data is on and u get call , call gets priority

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

u rock dude !!! :thumb:

[Sadikk 301]

Good one.. Thanks for the reviews Mufi .. +1...

[Mufaddal 678]

camear quality is good in proper lit conditions , in daylight

nighttime its useless as it doesnt have flash

the latest update 1.56 brings lot of improvements to camera

if u compare it with smartphones it has good quality of 5mp camera

there is too much edge straightness and the color sharpness is a bit low in some cases and a bit high in some cases

u wouldnt be able to make that out on phone screen

[sumatrix 1]

well u wudn be watchin the pics on the mobile screen for eternity.

we wudn be able to say that the camera quality is good for smartphone if we c the pics taken from a samsung omnia pro 7610 and omnia 1

Edited January 1, 2010 by sumatrix

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

i dont care abt omnia ( which i never liked in first place ) or omnia pro

i have used several phones both with 5mp and 8mp

overall i find 5mp of hero to do job well

a camera in phone is for point and shoot not for professional photography , so one shud never even expect highly detailed pics

its a subjective view

now we can discuss other things besides camera

[Greatest 55]

I would like to know a few things,

a ) Does that area notification pops up regularly?? i mean, this issue has never been there in my BB, and it was an irritant in my mogul and nokia 6275 earlier. It would just beep and the lights would come on all the time (lights in one of my classic phones)

b ) What does the trackball do?? I mean, if we need to 'use' and icon, we can just move our finger there and click on the screen. Also, is this 'trackball' like the one found in BB's??

c ) Can the ROM be upgraded on this phone once eclair is out?

d ) Does the screen tilt automatically when we change the phine from portrait to landscape and vice versa?? if yes, is it possible in all applications, like photos, videos, internet, sms, etc??

e ) How does the offline GPS work?? does it take information from the signal towers?? Its difficult to digest this...

[scorpionking.9000 6]

Great Job Muffaddal...im just waiting for my phone to come and just cant wait anymore to get my hands on it..

u have done a superb job by providing the detailed review of this phone..cheers to HERO..

[Mufaddal 678]

a ) Does that area notification pops up regularly?? i mean, this issue has never been there in my BB, and it was an irritant in my mogul and nokia 6275 earlier. It would just beep and the lights would come on all the time (lights in one of my classic phones)

i have clearly mentioned in my review that area notifiications occur very less frequently as compared to other phones

at most it would give u small box on screen telling u area name , but it happens less frequently

b ) What does the trackball do?? I mean, if we need to 'use' and icon, we can just move our finger there and click on the screen. Also, is this 'trackball' like the one found in BB's??

it does wat other trackball does

it a good addition to phone besides been touchscreen as at times its easy to use trackball to scroll up and down and move keft to righ while typing something

c ) Can the ROM be upgraded on this phone once eclair

is out?

yes

d ) Does the screen tilt automatically when we change the phine from portrait to landscape and vice versa?? if yes, is it possible in all applications, like photos, videos, internet, sms, etc??

yes

e ) How does the offline GPS work?? does it take information from the signal towers?? Its difficult to digest this...

dude when i say offline gps means u use navigation s/ws which use preloaded maps and the gps on the device

google maps take info from signal towers to give u ur approx position and gps to give u accurate position

even if ur data is off still it can determine position of towers

but if u use google maps u have to use data to load maps

[Mufaddal 678]

few more things

1) the phone uses acclerometer

so when u get a call u can simply flip over and phones goes to silent mode

2) the default IM application wont work with yahoo or hotmail over reliance 1x data

it will only work over wifi

this is cause it is meant to work either with wifi or with sprint pcs

so if u want to use yahoo messenger using reliance data then use free apps like EBUDDY OR MEEBO IM from market

[underearth 0]

hey have you tried this phone on tata or mts.. with data??

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

it is fully compatible with tata /mts wth tata zone

[phonegeek 588]

Does new Reliance Mobile Plans works flawlessly?

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

be careful of the new plans

they are bloody expensive

yesterday i used rworld for full day just to see how much would i be charged

suscribed to day pass plan which gives 25mb free data for 10rs valid for 24HRS

my total usage was 6mb ( note on android u will be using minimum 4 5 mb in a day )

which included

1) sending receiving 7 mails , push mail was on for 12hrs

2) gtalk on for 5 6 hrs

3) browsing for 3mins

4) downloaded 3 apps from market

5) 2mins of google maps

6) weather widget updated 4times

was charged 25rs in just 12hrs of use after which i decided to switch off data on my hero and went back to GSM

so bottomline is HEAVY USERS BE VERY CAREFUL

IF UR DATA USAGE IS 2 /3 MB IN A DAY USE IT

My data usage is 15-20mb in a day so for me its a no no

[Maulik.Parekh 34]

Hi if your daily use is 15-20mb & u get 25mb of free data then why were u charged Rs25.

I want to get reliance data plans for e-mails but i am confused with the schemes & charges !!!

[Mufaddal 678]

^^^

to correct u i was charged 25rs for using just 6mb of data

this is all coz of stupid NUC charges of 5p/10kb

also i feel that if u are out or rworld u wont get any free mbs

Edited January 3, 2010 by mufaddal_km