Sprint was the first carrier to join hands with Google Android and HTC Hero is a very good effort. A number of new features have been included in the mobile phone to make the android experience complete. The device is highly customized and HTC Sense makes it even easier to customize. The dimensions are 112 x 56.2 x 14.35mm and weight is 135g. It is not essentially a lightweight mobile phone, neverheless, it is portable, and it can be transported in your pockets. The Li-Ion 1350 mAh battery provides talk time of 420 minutes for WCDMA and 470 minutes for GSM and standby time of 750 hours for WCDMA and 440 hours for GSM.
HTC Hero has a distinctly different design from the rest of the crowd. Even though the chin style received some weird comments from users, the style definitely made Hero look different. The phone does not have a plastic feel and it has a brushed metal plate just below the front display to make the phone look sturdy and solid.
HTC Hero features a 3.2 "large capacitive touch screen with a resolution of 480 x 320. Even though it is no superior to other screens, there are an ambient light sensor close to the screen that lets you view Images in different light conditions. However, just like any other phones, HTC Hero also has a show to readable under bright sunlight. feature works only with a few applications.
At the back of HTC Hero is a 5MP camera without any flash. It takes decent quality pictures and you can add Geo Tags and Footprints more easily. A couple of options are available to use the camera in convenient settings. The video recording capabilities is also good and you can upload the video directly to YouTube. The built-in media player supports different file types and it is easy to organize and play your play list using touch screen interface. YouTube videos are played in the video player nicely; however, the player is not too good for other video formats.
The GPS available with HTC Hero performances very well and it tracks movements accurately. You can use Google Maps too to navigate to the place of your choice. The basic messaging features such as SMS, MMS and emails can be composed and sent to contacts easily. The web browser is sufficient for a midrange smart mobile phone, even though it has problems with flash support. Twitter and Facebook widgets let you network with your friends wherever you are.
HTC Hero features multi-touch features that let you use the touch screen without any hassle. Just pinch the screen to zoom in and out while viewing images and web pages. You do not need a stylus to operate the touch interface as it is capacitive and you have to use your finger to activate menus. Swipes are smoother and long press brings up application menus. Below the screen, there are a few interesting keys for those who do not always rely on touch interface. The HTC Hero has a full QWERTY keyboard and dialer keypad. The keys are all properly placed and with a few days of using the phone, you will get used to it.
The user interface is no more a simple android interface that you have seen in other mobile phones. The phone uses HTC sense will let you customize everything right from home screen panels. Twitter and Footprints apps allow Geo Tagging of photos and voice memos can be created. Scenes feature let you change the theme of your phone depending on what you are doing for the day.