HTC Hero Review

Arriving in July we follow up on our first look of the HTC Hero with a closer look at the device hailed as perhaps the nearest rival to Apple’s iPhone to date. Every once in a while, there come along devices in the mobile industry that really set the scene and become markers that will for ever be looked back upon as real innovation, and a market changing product. Thinking back, the Nokia 6310i springs to mind as a really iconic phone of its era, a real favourite of the business user with a cracking battery life. Then there’s Nokia 8110, better known as the banana phone, or the Motorola Star Tac, and the Motorola v. series, handsets that defined the market of their time.

It is becoming harder to find such innovation in the market these days; handsets are pretty much all equal. Some may have a nicer UI, some may have a higher quality camera, but there is little distinction, really. That may be about to change, however, as the newly announced HTC Hero (the T-G1 Touch for T-Mobile users) is set to buck the trend and offer a really innovative approach in the way we look at mobile communication.

It is all about keeping in touch, and in this Broadband generation that we live in, never has it been easier to stay close to those you love than it is now. There are so many ways to communicate, so many ways to show the world who you are, what makes you individual, and everyone has the opportunity to have their say. Mobile phone technology has done much to help speed along this communication revolution, and the HTC Hero packs everything it can into one neat package to help keep you in touch with the world.

The HTC Hero is the third device running on the Android operating system, yet for such a new entrant into the mobile market it is certainly causing a stir. From the very first, the G1 on T-Mobile, Android has shown itself to be a capable stable mobile platform, equipped to deliver to the end user an experience that can rival the very best available, whether that be the experienced S60 platform mainly seen on Nokia devices or the newer iPhone operating system.

The philosophy behind the Hero is to offer simplicity of use, and offers you complete control over how you customise the look of the phones interface. Called HTC Sense, the philosophy is that the Hero should be as individual as the person using the device, and this means whatever priority you place on your mobile communications, the Hero can be set up to your satisfaction with ease. There are 7 homescreen options, which can be flicked to and from with the simple swipe of a finger across the screen. You could, for example, have your Twitter feed running on one screen, Facebook on  another, email on yet another, then have the web browser open and ready for action, your contact list, gallery, and so on. The various permutations and options are virtually limitless, and shall be unique to you, as and how you choose it to be.

It is the user interface that makes this phone, the look, the feel, the layout, all shout out excellence. Colours and icons are bright and vibrant, and on the HVGA 320 x 480 display look stunning. The TFT screen supports multi touch input, which will be a real boon for gaming, and as well as using the on screen QWERTY keyboard there is also support for handwriting recognition.

However, underneath that slick UI, there is a real powerhouse of a device. HTC have pulled out the stops with the Hero, and unlike other much hyped touchscreen phones, the Hero really delivers. The screen has an accelerometer for auto rotate, and navigation around menus can be done via the trackball. Although most menu navigation will be done by touch, the trackball has its uses and really comes into its own when web browsing. Not all websites are optimised for touchscreen navigation and sometimes selecting a link from a list when the font is small can be a real pain. Using the trackball to navigate around a web page in such circumstances is a real bonus.

The HTC Hero has a 5.0 megapixel camera, with auto focus, although disappointingly there is no flash option. Video recording is enabled, but overall the camera doesn’t have a many other options, but will suffice as a ‘point ‘n’ shoot’ device. Internal memory on the handset is an impressive 512MB and the phone will support Micro SD cards up to 16GB in size.

A full media player is included, playing all the popular music formats, plus MPEG4 and WMV video clips. A nice touch sees the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack point, so you can listen in with your favourite headphones, and there is also support for Bluetooth 2.0, enabling wireless stereo connectivity.

The HTC Hero has a built in GPS receiver, with aGPS support, and as you would expect, Google Maps integrates really well on this device. In fact, Google is an important part of the Android experience, and you will need a Google account to be able to use the phone to its full capabilities, with Google Mail and Google calendar just another couple of applications available.

When it comes to data, the Hero does not disappoint, with full HSDPA and HSUPA support included, allowing network downloads at up to 7.2 Mbps. WiFi is included, so you can log in and browse at your local coffee bar or simply connect into your home network. All of this is ably supported with EDGE, HSCSD and GPRS included, making the HTC Hero a true internet device.

If we were to make a few criticisms, size would be one. The Hero is not light, at 135g, and is 112mm long, 14mm thick. Also, aesthetically the ‘chin’ of the phone looks pretty naff, to be honest. However, that shouldn’t detract from what is set to be a ground breaking phone. Overall, the HTC Hero really could become the phone that redefines the way we interact with each other and connect to the internet on the move.

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