HTC Hero Review - Part 2

As promised, here is the second installment of HTC Hero Review. Will Antonio betray Esmeralda? Will Jose find out that Antonio is really his mother in disguise? Find out in HTC Hero Review - Part 2.

You, up front!
If you are coming from an iPhone background, the front of the Hero will seem to be festooned with a veritable plethora of buttons. Heck, even some Windows Mobile phones have less buttons. This is not really a bad thing, as the Hero actually has only what's required of it as per Google's Android guidelines. Right beneath the screen (on the metal band that surrounds it) there are four keys Call, Home, Menu and End. Beneath them, centered is a trackball to the right of which there is a rocker button that serves the Search/Back functions.

There are only 2 issues with the buttons on the Hero. The first isn't a problem for me since I'm left handed, but apparently the placement of the Search/Back rocker is not well suited for right-handed people as it requires triple jointed thumbs. The other issue is with the trackball itself. It's not always precise. It's almost like you have to press it half way for it to register some times. It's by no means a deal-breaker and it's easy to get used to, but if you have a light touch it does crop up from time to time (ie: when navigating the home-screens and switching directions).

The trackball does however act as notification LED and the cool factor of that mitigates a lot of things. I know you've all probably seen it in videos. Fact is, it's way cooler in person. The first time you're in a meeting/classroom/library with your phone on silent in front of you and the trackball begins to slowly pulsate to tell you you have a new SMS you'll think to yourself: Why yes! My phone IS awesome!

The screen, Boss! The screen!

I'm guessing we've danced around the subject long enough. Probably 90% of what makes or breaks the experience when using a touchscreen phone is, well, the touchscreen. You can all relax on that point as the Hero's is damn good. Not only does it display crisp images and have rich colors, but the touch part is precise and responsive.

Multitouch (in the supported applications) works very well, although it does feel somehow different from the iPhones. I can't tell if it's better or worse, it's just different. I can only advise you to go to the store and play with both to see how they compare. The problem with multitouch on the Hero isn't one with the Hero itself, but rather with the underlying 1.5 version of Android which, technically, has no multitouch capability. With any luck Hero users will soon be getting the 2.0 or 2.1 release of the firmware, as those versions have built-in support for all our greasy fingers, but as it stands, multitouch on the Hero just means you can pinch'an'zoom in the photo viewer and browser.

To be continued in part three (hopefully the last one) with benchmarks and a software overview.

HTC Hero Review

Also known as the T-Mobile G2 or the Droid Eris (more on the Eris later) on Verizon Wireless, the HTC Hero is HTC's flagship Android device. There are 3 main hardware SKUs:

The unlocked, standard HTC Hero also known as the GSM Hero.

The Sprint Hero, which is pretty much identical to the original Hero on the inside and out, except for doing away with the controversial chin.

The Verizon Wireless Hero. This is perhaps the worse version, since although it adds a proximity sensor it has the disadvantage of being on a CDMA network coupled with a slightly smaller battery.

All in all though, apart from button placement and case design, the three Heroes are pretty much identical. Since I've only had the opportunity to play with the European version, that's the one this review will be based on.

Part one: Form and Function

The first thing you notice about the Hero is the design. It's something quite special with straight lines keeping to 90, 45 and 15 degree angles that make it look like something you'd see in an 80's Sci-Fi movie. Although you may not agree, I think the design manages to be retro without once making you think it's old.

The 15 degree angle of the chin serves 3 roles. It brings the buttons towards your thumb, it angles the phone so that the mouthpiece is in a good position to catch your voice and last but not least it makes the device look like an badass Tricorder (and honestly, can you ask for more?).

Apart from having to chose between versions, you also get a choice in color with European Hero, as it is available in Black, Gray Steel, Brown and White. All models have a metal band around the screen, and the metal seems to reflect the color of the device (darker finish of the metal band of darker colors). The only thing I'm not crazy about is the black border around the screen. It's not noticeable when using the device, but it doesn't look all that awesome, especially in contrast with the finish of the white model, while the device is turned off.

Connector-wise there's great, good news and bad news. The great news is that you get a 3.5mm headphone jack. The good news is that while HTC use a proprietary connector it is downward compatible with any microUSB cable you might have laying around. The bad news is that while the Hero does offer a microSDCH port for with support for cards up to 16GB, that port isn't easily accessible (you have to remove the back cover to get to it). I know that on some phones you have to remove the battery to get to the memory card, but it would have been awesome to get hot swapping that much easier.

On the back of the device you get a F2.8, autofocus, 5MP camera and a loudspeaker and a "Teflon coating" that is supposed to make the device more dirt resistant.

The camera gets clear and vibrant shots as long as you have the right light and the time for the autofocus to do it's thing. On the other hand, you can also get blurry, out of focus, dark shots in anything more than a light shade. To be fair it's better than most phone cameras and at least it doesn't fall into the classic "set ISO to 2.000.000" mistake and manages to get some above average shots. I just wish that they'd have included a flash of some kind and more onscreen control options with the standard camera app since, as it stands, you basically just have "tap to focus", "zoom" and "take picture".

The loudspeaker on the other hand is, well, loud and pretty clear though I do get the feeling that the entire backplate starts to vibrate a little when the thing is at full volume.

One last thing about the exterior of the device worth mentioning is the amazing volume rocker. It just works. It's big enough that I can make use of it even through my coat and camera pouch at the same time, and yet it has never went off by accident. It's just one of those details that show lot of thought about usability has gone into the design process.

To be continued...

Stay tuned for the next installment, when we'll be wrapping up the hardware side of the review with a look at the the front of the device, build quality and some geeky figures about processing power, ram and storage options. We'll also be delving a little into the software of the beastie, both as regards Android in general and HTC's custom Sense UI.

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