HTC Hero

I have this as a backup phone. There are other phones which are faster, better looking and more advanced sure but felt I had to write a review after accidentally dropping this more times than I've had hot dinners and finding it working perfectly after each time!

If you are a clumsy buffoon like me then this is ideal!

The camera is pretty awful though!

I have this as a backup phone. There are other phones which are faster, better looking and more advanced sure but felt I had to write a review after accidentally dropping this more times than I've had hot dinners and finding it working perfectly after each time!

If you are a clumsy buffoon like me then this is ideal!

The camera is pretty awful though!

A good phone if you want to avoid the iphone route. Well made and works well as a phone - something smartphone manufacturers often forget. It takes a long time to figure out how to work it - or maybe im just thick?? And a lot of phone calls to Orange and HTC themselves, to answer all the questions Orange couldnt answer. Big problems porting numbers in from another phone - theres no feature to translate all numbers from sim to phone or vice versa, in the end needed to download an app to do it. The 'manual' was a thin leaflet and next to useless- leaving you pretty much on your own to suss it out. Once all settled though, a good phone of its type. Plenty of apps though not as many as iphone. Battery life pretty poor but does actually improve if used properly and not overcharged.

Google contact backup is brilliant - the phone constantly backs up all your contacts automatically to any gmail address - lose your phone and dont lose your life!

Recommended.

I love this phone. With the upgrade the Andriod 2.1 it's even better. Im hoping HTC will also upgrade the fireware to 2.2.

This phone is very stylish and has an amazing array of applications; the large screen makes using the phone incredibly easy to operate which overall gives this phone an 7.5/10 for me. However their are some issues....

Closing Apps - there is no way to simply exit an application after you have finished using it e.g. using Messages, Music and the Internet - all of these apps will remain open draining battery and slowing down the phone - the only way to close these apps is with a 3rd party 'task killer' - a simple option on the menu 'exit' or 'close' would make this phone so much better.

Volume Controls - the buttons to turn the volume up and down are too easy to push - I have often found myself turning the ring tone volume up without knowing it while expecting my phone to still be on vibrate (if you use vibrate mode at work then this is not the phone for you)

The htc Hero, although not the newest phone on the block, is still a great smartphone, and helped by the fact many mobile phone companies, have rolled out there andriod 2.1 upgrade it still has plenty of life left in it.

Pros

Good screen quality

Sense ui works well

Built well [as are all htc phones]

Looks very business like

Running android gives you more freedom and options compared to apples iphone range.

Cons

Not the latest tech [for that see the

HTC Desire]

Orange and 3 network users still waiting for the android upgrade.

Overall this was the 2nd best phone last year when it was first out, only slightly shaded by the iphone 3gs. But it still has a good bit of life left in it yet. For the best phone out there, in my view its the HTC Desire, it beats the iphone 4, which suffers from being very restricted by apple.

Best phone I have owned ... I am tempted by the newer models but this phone is outstanding and the Google Android operationg system is a real winner. You can also get this phone unlocked without being threatened with the phone self destructing ! I am waiting for the android 2.1 update which is currently being released and promises even more goodies

Very pleased with the phone. Very easy to use and personalise. The multi screen homepage is a plus and the range of apps are great. The only downside is the amount of iphone apps being advertised in the UK that are not available on the htc...I still feel it needs to take off a bit more. The facebook app isn't great either however overall I wouldn't trade the phone for any other! I thoroughly reccommend it and have done to my friends and family ( who are equally pleased.)

I've owned an HTC Hero since august. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HTC are a highly reliable brand with a great reputation, not least with Google who have paired up with them for the Nexus and seem to be involved with Google's rival to the iPad. They are not as big as Sony etc. I have owned a Sony in the past and wouldn't touch them again with a bargepole.

The phone does so many things I wouldn't know where to start. Check out the tech reviews for that.

It has been entirely reliable, feels comfortable to hold. The lag that some people talk about is a lag of less than 1 second, so not exactly life changing. However, the Hero can run multiple apps at the same time. From what I gather the iPhone can't. The iPhone is a big slippery, expensive gadget used by so many children. (I'm a teacher, I see them everywhere.) For me, it's nice to have a real quality item which doesn't look like a clone of everyone else's phone.

This may suprise some I have the htc hero by Tmobile and I thnk it is rubbish. Why my previous phone mda3 windows as a functional every day use, calander, phone book etc far better & simpler. HTC screen info just far to small, stylus needed to select or scrol, hitting the wrong item a regular occurance. Screen some times very slow to respond to touch or strokes. Contacts way too much distracting info that if you don't use it you can't remove. There is too many negative things to mention if your thinking of changing from windows don't. "+" screen looks very nice and I think now after 5mths I can slightly text faster on a single text only. Internet access is disappointing very slow.