HTC Hero Android phone announced
The HTC Hero has the signature HTC curve at the bottom.
(Credit: HTC)At a press event in London on Wednesday, HTC unveiled its latest Google Android device, the HTC Hero, featuring a new user interface called HTC Sense.
The HTC Hero will be available in Europe starting in July and in Asia later this summer, while a "distinct" North American version will ship later in 2009. However, pricing was not announced at this time.
Like the T-Mobile G1 and Google Ion/HTC Magic, the HTC Hero has the signature curve at the bottom, but it's a bit more svelte at 4.4 inches tall by 2.2 inches wide and 0.5 inch thick. In addition, it features a 3.2-inch HVGA touch screen with an antifingerprint screen coating.
However, the real beauty of the smartphone lies beneath the surface. The new Sense UI allows users to customize the device to their needs and give them more access to the information they want at a glance through widgets, customized profiles, and consolidated views of all communication with a contact, whether it be e-mail, text or multimedia message, Facebook status updates, or photos. In addition, HTC said that all of its future devices will use Sense UI.
Other highlights of the HTC Hero include GPS, a digital compass, gravity sensor, a 5-megapixel camera, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a microSD expansion slot. A dedicated search button on the phone provides a more contextual search, looking through not only your contact list and e-mail but also Twitter and other areas of the device.
Finally, similar to the Asia-specific HTC Magic, the Hero is not a "Google experience" phone, so HTC has been able to add Microsoft Exchange support to the handset, which will be huge for corporate customers.
CNET's David Carnoy was at HTC's New York event and got video of the HTC Hero in action, which you can check out to the above. CNET UK's Flora Graham was at the London press conference and posted a hands-on photo gallery with first impressions. For more information of the Hero's specs, check out HTC's Web site and let us know what you think of the device below.
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Bonnie Cha is a senior editor for CNET, covering smartphones and GPS. When she's not testing the latest gadgets, you can find her chasing after her crazy lab or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California. E-mail Bonnie.
cmf7 simply pointed out that the HTC Hero ought to threaten the iphone, (presumably) because it looks good, does all the essentials well, has a better camera, SD card slot, and is easy to customise. I think that's a fair point to make, but I'm not sure I agree with it, because outside the geek world, words like "Android" "Operating System" and "Open Source" tend to scare people away. Also, while it's probably better (or will get there with updates), it still isn't an iphone, and most people like to fit in.
So how about next time you find yourself reading a comment that mentions the i-word in comparison with whatever phone the discussion is about, take a deep breath, close your browser and go for a walk?
this phone looks nice but the only thing wrong is the name and the stupid chin
on the downside it takes a deeper space if you look it from a point of view of flat surfaces... it could get in the way sometimes
The pinching gestures don't seem to work as smoothly as they should and sometimes it seems touches aren't not registered properly. Hopefully something that can be fixed via software and something I hope HTC acknowledges. Hopefully it will come to AT&T or at least work with AT&T bands.
In fact, if you prefer, there's nothing stopping you from paying full price for an iphone/pre/hero, jailbreaking it (the iphone and pre already have been...I'm sure the hero will be before you can get your hands on one), and taking it to another company. Obviously you can't take a GSM phone on an EV-DO network, but that's no different than anywhere else.
hopefully at&t won't gobble it up like they do with most phones
I have a feeling it'll be for tmobile since that's the only major gsm network in the us besides att
-Mig
http://simplyblog.net
The phone/OS hasn't been out for a year and look where we are at already; almost every user/community request has been answered or is being worked on; either officially or by the community itself, the point is that it's a huge open source success.
happy to see a phone like the HTC Hero coming to the U.S. Market, already found forum for it at http://www.HTC-Hero.com let's get some discussions going guys.
CANT WAIT!
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by abcyesn
September 6, 2009 5:46 PM PDT
- Has anybody else read the reviews on the Hero? Granted, they called it the best android phone yet, but they also called it laggy, and it's multimedia capabilities aren't ranked so great either. It looks like i'll be waiting for some real world reviews by some of you early adopters..Share your views at http://www.HTC-Hero.com would love to heard what you think.
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