HTC Hero
Available Colours
3 DirectWe loved exploring the HTC Hero’s backplate and curves as they are simply delightful. We haven’t been taken by a handset’s design for some time now, which was refreshing for us.
also known as: HTC G2 Touch, HTC Hero Android
Best Value for Money Plan
| Price Plan | Internet Talker 900 | 91.7% |
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| Texts/Minutes | 900 mins/texts | |
| 3 to 3 Mins | 5000 minutes | |
| Handset Cost | FREE | |
| Monthly Cost | £23 | |
| Contract | 24 months |
The One Plan
Currently, Three's most extension price plan. The only One you are likely to need, this '3' price plan gives you 2,000 (yes 2,000!) anytime, any network minutes, 5,000 Texts, 1GB internet usage and 5,000 minutes of calls to other 3 mobiles each month.
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Internet Talker Plans
A price plan which gives you flexibility, Internet Talker plans don't tie you to a set number of texts and set number of minutes each month. As with Three's previous With Mix & Match plans, you receive a monthly allowance, which you are free to use for texts, minutes or any combination of the two. This is ideal if you find your minutes and text usage fluctuates month by month causing you to exceed either your monthly text or minutes allowance.
But Wait! There's more. Internet Talker also gives you 500MB Internet usage and 5,000 Three-to-Three minutes each month.
Internet Texter Plans
Just like with Internet Talker Plans, Internet Texter Plans give you 500MB internet (1GB with the iPhone) usage and 5,000 minutes to other 3 mobiles each month, however you also receive 5,000 Texts plus an allowance of anytime, any network minutes.
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Internet Texter 500 |
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Internet Texter 300 |
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Internet Texter 900 |
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Internet Texter 900 |
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Our HTC Hero Review
Design
When we first met the HTC Hero, we felt we’re on a Star Trek mission. The HTC Hero’s design is futuristic and simple. In our opinion, the matte surface and metal trim are the culprits for such a cool, sleek look and feel. We loved exploring the HTC Hero’s backplate and curves as they are simply delightful. We haven’t been taken by a handset’s design for some time now, which was refreshing for us. The Teflon case ensures maximum fingerprint prevention which is great for the HTC Hero’s general look. The HTC Hero is available from Three in a very cool looking grey finish.
Screen
The HTC Hero’s 3.2-inch touchscreen offers awesome colour saturation and brightness. We loved browsing through our photos as the images have high pixel density. The LCD touchscreen is capacitive with great, quick feedback upon the slightest touch. One of the best features of the touchscreen is its fingerprint-free surface which you won’t have to clean it up every day from accumulated fingerprints, dirt, and smudges.
User Interface
The HTC Hero’s user interface is its main attraction. Given that we are huge fans of the Android platform, we naturally fell in love with HTC Hero’s user interface. While the predecessor Android-run handsets were excellent in terms of performance, the HTC Hero puts on a real show. It is the first Android handset to support Adobe Flash and offer smooth multi-touch functionality.
In our opinion, what makes the HTC Hero a real winner in the user interface department is its seven widgetized home screens. They offer the user accessibility, flexibility, and interactivity. Whether it’s the Twitter widget with the live tweets feed or the email widget that lets you browse your inbox directly from the home screen, the HTC Hero ensures that the user is well taken care of. The home screens are fully customizable and configurable for certain days of the week; you can simply choose not to see your Twitter widget on a Monday to avoid the temptation of not finishing off work!
Keypad
The HTC Hero provides an on-screen QWERTY keyboard. The on-screen keys are sufficiently spaced out for better accuracy. Add to that, the predictive text mode makes texting a quick task. The function buttons on the lower panel offer great feedback.
Camera and Multimedia
Knowing that the Android platform has a natural advantage in the multimedia department, we were eager to try out the camera, music player and video player.
Starting with the 5 megapixel camera, we were able to shoot impressive quality shots in direct sunlight. On the downside, the camera didn’t perform as impressively in poor lit areas. The image quality is high and rich with colour.
Music playback is one of HTC Hero’s strengths. The audio quality is warm and lucid and the 3.5mm headphone jack means you can use any standard headphones. We loved playing different music genres as each genre had a different edge to it. Video playback is just as good, we didn’t experience any lag or crashes.
Connectivity and Battery Life
The HTC Hero sports good connectivity features including: Wi-Fi, 3G HSDPA, USB, and Bluetooth.
We found the browser to be excellent in terms of loading web pages or switching between windows. The 'pinch' feature is great for quickly zooming in and out of web pages. Another superb feature is the Google Maps application, although it is a little disappointing to see that the multi-touch integration does not yet extend to Google Maps.
In the battery life department, the HTC Hero is an improvement from its predecessors. We didn’t need to recharge the handset during our work day – even with heavy testing and wi-fi surfing.
What We Liked
We liked the HTC Hero’s widget-based home screen, multi-touch touchscreen, great design, and excellent user interface.
What We Disliked
Very little really, although the lack of multi-touch integration in Google Maps in is about all we could really fault.
Our Final Verdict
The HTC Hero is a excellent phone; you get your money’s worth in terms of performance, features, and durability. We fell head over heels for its user interface and clean design. We recommend this handset to anyone looking for a great iPhone alternative as it offers the same features and performance levels.
Compare Handsets
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| HTC Hero | |||
General | |||
| Form Factor | Candybar | ||
| Dimensions | 112 x 56.2 x 14.3 (mm) | ||
| Talk Time | 420 mins | ||
| Standby Time | 440 hours | ||
| Weight | 135 g | ||
| Quad Band | Yes | ||
| Accelerometer | Yes | ||
Photo and Video | |||
| Integrated Camera | Yes | ||
| Camera | 5.00 megapixels | ||
| Video Player | Yes | ||
Phone | |||
| Vibrating Alert | Yes | ||
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes | ||
| Internal Memory | 512MB | ||
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 8GB) | ||
Screen | |||
| Colour Screen | Yes | ||
| Touch Screen | Yes | ||
| Screen Resolution | 320x480 HVGA | ||
| Screen Colour Depth | 64k colours | ||
Connectivity | |||
| 3G | Yes | ||
| EDGE | Yes | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | ||
| Yes | |||
| GPRS | Yes | ||
| HSDPA | Yes | ||
| Web Browser | Yes | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | ||
| GPS | Yes | ||
Music and Radio | |||
| MP3 Player | Yes | ||
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes | ||
Additional Content | |||
| Downloadable Content | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Games | Yes | ||
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes | ||
HTC Hero Full Specification
General
| Form Factor | Candybar |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 112 x 56.2 x 14.3 (mm) |
| Talk Time | 420 mins |
| Standby Time | 440 hours |
| Weight | 135 g |
| Quad Band | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes |
Photo and Video
| Integrated Camera | Yes |
|---|---|
| Camera | 5.00 megapixels |
| Video Player | Yes |
Phone
| Vibrating Alert | Yes |
|---|---|
| Polyphonic Ringtones | Yes |
| Internal Memory | 512MB |
| Memory Card Type | MicroSD (max 8GB) |
Screen
| Colour Screen | Yes |
|---|---|
| Touch Screen | Yes |
| Screen Resolution | 320x480 HVGA |
| Screen Colour Depth | 64k colours |
Connectivity
| 3G | Yes |
|---|---|
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| EDGE | Yes |
| Yes | |
| GPRS | Yes |
| HSDPA | Yes |
| Web Browser | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| GPS | Yes |
Music and Radio
| MP3 Player | Yes |
|---|---|
| MP3 Ringtones | Yes |
Additional Content
| Downloadable Content | Yes |
|---|---|
| Downloadable Games | Yes |
| Downloadable Ringtones | Yes |
User Comments
JakeAm submitted on 6 December 2009Finally! A capacitive screen. It seemed like the iPhone was dominating the capacitive market. I got sick and tired from those resistive screens where your index goes sore from clicking. Kudos to HTC.
Larry123 submitted on 2 December 2009I was always wondering if Iphone would ever get a tough competition and it's clear now. It has a flexible user interface and my search for the perfect mobile ends here for now. Great performance, great design.
FionaQ submitted on 28 November 2009I was happy to hear it has a Gmail app. Great phone with great design. I was so happy the phone contacts are in sync with Google Contacts. Bought it on a whim, but extremely pleased with the outcome.
Please note all submissions are subject to manual review prior to appearing on this website.
Images of the HTC Hero
