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Meet the HTC Hero
- Thread starter Opus Angelorum
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Skittleguy
Ring a Bell for me
Wifi works for PVT-32A Magic (HTC branded) users. Bluetooth is something we're all working on.El Papa said:
Skittleguy
Ring a Bell for me
El Papa said:That's sweet, I should have clarified that I was referring to the G1 port by the same dudes. Wifi and BT weren't working (last I checked anyway).
Rosie seems to be running fast and smooth on your Magic, i haz jealousy.
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
dave is ok said:
http://www.secondapps.com/neogaf/
El Papa said:
Why did no one do this when the Magic launched. Bitches.
I'm in the UK and am a few months away from my contract renewal, but may leave early as I should be able to get cashback to cover the cost
I really like the look of the Hero but refuse to go to Orange. I'm less fussy about T-Mobile but would rather go to Vodafone, who only have the Magic. T-Mobile may end up being part of Vodafone soon so I'm not sure if (and what way) that will sway me. Network quality, particularly 3/3.5G is important to me - are there any sites out there where I can find out how the networks perform?
Apart from that, I'm thinking of going with Voda and getting the Magic if it can be flashed with the Hero ROM. I have a bunch of questions I'm going to ask here, sorry to be lazy but there appears to be plenty of knowledgeable people in this thread
How easy is flashing the ROM? How reversible is it? And how hard (easy?) is it to completely brick your phone doing it?
SenseUI won't be made available on the Voda UK Magic legitimately - correct?
Will Flash be available using the flashed ROM once it's finally released? Any word on if Flash will be available via legitimate means on older phones?
Also, to anyone already with a Magic - how bad is the camera really? I went from a Sony Ericsson W810i which really impressed in the camera and (camera) flash stakes, to a Nokia 6120c which sucks in both departments. Not been as big a loss as I'd thought though so I'm tempted to take a hit on the camera. My GF has an iPhone if that helps with your comparison of picture quality...
Only other downsides to the magic versus the hero are (let me know if I'm wrong on any of these...):
Hero is more resistant to smudges (and has teflon coated back)
Hero has 3.5mm jack
Hero comes in better range of colours
Hero has Sense UI and Flash (but may be available to Magic via ROM flashing).
Hero may be more expensive on UK tariffs... Should find out soon as it's due out next week AIUI.
Does either phone have exchange support?
Alternatively, will it be worth waiting for some other phone? The Galaxy or Ericsson's "Rachael"?
Sorry to dump all the questions here, but TIA for your replies
I really like the look of the Hero but refuse to go to Orange. I'm less fussy about T-Mobile but would rather go to Vodafone, who only have the Magic. T-Mobile may end up being part of Vodafone soon so I'm not sure if (and what way) that will sway me. Network quality, particularly 3/3.5G is important to me - are there any sites out there where I can find out how the networks perform?
Apart from that, I'm thinking of going with Voda and getting the Magic if it can be flashed with the Hero ROM. I have a bunch of questions I'm going to ask here, sorry to be lazy but there appears to be plenty of knowledgeable people in this thread
How easy is flashing the ROM? How reversible is it? And how hard (easy?) is it to completely brick your phone doing it?
SenseUI won't be made available on the Voda UK Magic legitimately - correct?
Will Flash be available using the flashed ROM once it's finally released? Any word on if Flash will be available via legitimate means on older phones?
Also, to anyone already with a Magic - how bad is the camera really? I went from a Sony Ericsson W810i which really impressed in the camera and (camera) flash stakes, to a Nokia 6120c which sucks in both departments. Not been as big a loss as I'd thought though so I'm tempted to take a hit on the camera. My GF has an iPhone if that helps with your comparison of picture quality...
Only other downsides to the magic versus the hero are (let me know if I'm wrong on any of these...):
Hero is more resistant to smudges (and has teflon coated back)
Hero has 3.5mm jack
Hero comes in better range of colours
Hero has Sense UI and Flash (but may be available to Magic via ROM flashing).
Hero may be more expensive on UK tariffs... Should find out soon as it's due out next week AIUI.
Does either phone have exchange support?
Alternatively, will it be worth waiting for some other phone? The Galaxy or Ericsson's "Rachael"?
Sorry to dump all the questions here, but TIA for your replies
ThatObviousUser
ὠαἴÏÏιÏÏÎ¿Ï Ïαá¿Ï εἶ
SFA_AOK said:I'm in the UK and am a few months away from my contract renewal, but may leave early as I should be able to get cashback to cover the cost
I'm not from the UK, nor do I actually have an Android phone (editor's note: :lol), but I'll do my best to answer your questions.
SFA_AOK said:
Not from the UK, so I don't know. You can ask existing UK Magic and Dream owners for anecdotal evidence, though.
SFA_AOK said:
It should be an easy process, but it could be drawn out. If you want to go back to the stock ROM, I'm sure that's available, though I think your phone would be rooted forever (not really a bad thing, either.)
SFA_AOK said:
As I understand it, you can brick your phone by turning it off during the flashing process, or something like that. I do believe a factory reset would still save you at this point, though.
SFA_AOK said:
Yes.
SFA_AOK said:
Flash is already apart of the leaked Hero ROMs floating around the net.
SFA_AOK said:
Google themselves Flash was a "nightmare" to get onto Android last May, but I think eventually that is will definitely become apart of the official Google ROM at some point, most likely by the end of this year.
SFA_AOK said:
Yes.
Hero has 3.5mm jack
SFA_AOK said:
Maybe. Right now it's only being shown in White and Dark Grey, but a leaked video had it in an assortment. We probably won't know until the carriers unveil it themselves.
SFA_AOK said:
Yes and yes.
SFA_AOK said:
Don't know.
SFA_AOK said:
HTC Hero has Exchange support, as does every version of the Magic to-date besides the one Vodafone has. However there may be an Android Market app for that™.
SFA_AOK said:
Waiting for the Rachael may be a fruitless endeavor as Ericsson's phones are notorious for being delayed or postponed.
We don't know when the Galaxy is launching in the UK (do we?) but unless you really need internal storage and a headphone jack, I wouldn't wait.
SFA_AOK said:Sorry to dump all the questions here, but TIA for your replies
No problem.
really nice review
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJN8cXyyEQM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iicXw5MoQfM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoNwr6pAciM
man I wish this phone had a flash and more internal storage. That's really the biggest things I can fault it with. Of course all of the current android phones have the sluggish qualcomm processor but yeah... I'm pretty much 99% sold on it, and am jealous of those that are buying it outright and getting them shipped as we speak, but I can't justify purchasing one outright. Hopefully they'll be in AU soon, latest rumblings are late august/september...
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJN8cXyyEQM
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iicXw5MoQfM
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoNwr6pAciM
man I wish this phone had a flash and more internal storage. That's really the biggest things I can fault it with. Of course all of the current android phones have the sluggish qualcomm processor but yeah... I'm pretty much 99% sold on it, and am jealous of those that are buying it outright and getting them shipped as we speak, but I can't justify purchasing one outright. Hopefully they'll be in AU soon, latest rumblings are late august/september...
Level 8 Boss
Member
I'm coming up for my contract renewal on T-mobile in the U.K. I would love to get an iphone but can't afford it. So it's basically doesn't give me a lot of options. Either try and get the Hero on T-mobile, or go to Vodafone and get either the Jet (not a smart phone) or a N97.
What is a guy to do. Awesome hardware (N97) or Awesome software and apps (Hero)
What is a guy to do. Awesome hardware (N97) or Awesome software and apps (Hero)
Well, I got myself a HTC Hero (sprint) through work and I love it. I have some issues with it though that maybe somebody can answer for me.
Why is it that, for a OS that should be SO open, why can't I make SMS or "notification" ringtones? Also, why are you unable to copy and paste under the file explorer? I have a app that says it will let me do so, but alas it doesn't.
Why is it that, for a OS that should be SO open, why can't I make SMS or "notification" ringtones? Also, why are you unable to copy and paste under the file explorer? I have a app that says it will let me do so, but alas it doesn't.
Make a folder on the root of your SD card called 'audio', then 'ringtones' inside that. Put your ringtones in. You phone should pick them up. You can also create 'notifications' and 'alarms' folders.
There's a program on Android Market that lets you tack snippets of songs and such on your phone and turn them into ringtones, I believe it's called Ringdroid. It's free.
There's a program on Android Market that lets you tack snippets of songs and such on your phone and turn them into ringtones, I believe it's called Ringdroid. It's free.
Have had my hero for a few days now and I love it The sense UI is awesome and I love the widget thing for live updates without having to launch full programs. There's some really great apps in the marketplace already. Can't wait for this platform to become more robust, android is where it's at
The sense UI is awesome and I love the widget thing for live updates without having to launch full programs. There's some really great apps in the marketplace already. Can't wait for this platform to become more robust, android is where it's atThunder Monkey
Banned
Tell that to the electric cord holding my pants up!Evander said:
I just got mine yesterday. It's pretty f'in sweet!
I was kind of worried about switching to Sprint because of what I heard about the customer service, but thus far they've been great. I was having an issue receiving picture messages so I called customer service. I got through to a technician right away and he solved the problem quickly.
I was kind of worried about switching to Sprint because of what I heard about the customer service, but thus far they've been great. I was having an issue receiving picture messages so I called customer service. I got through to a technician right away and he solved the problem quickly.
SFA_AOK said:
1. Only the white one has teflon coating
2. Yes it does
3. White/Black/Pink
4. Sense UI is incredible and makes Android loads better. Flash support is okay, not perfect, but better than nothing.
5. I'm not from the UK but I got it from handtec.co.uk. It was decently priced IMHO.
INCREDIBLY EASY. There is a custom boot loader which you install onto it. Then all you have to do is hold home and power to start the phone in this special boot section. From there you can perform a 'nandroid' backup which keeps a copy of the state of the phone as it currently is to revert to later. You can obviously also install newer/older roms from zip file, the whole process takes 2-3 minutes and you don't even need a wire or anything.
At one point I was having trouble with a newer ROM i had installed (it wasn't letting SMS's in) and I restored a previous backup, while pissed drunk at 4am in the morning. It's that easy. Bricking it basically involves removing the battery while this is happening because AFAIK the power button is disabled during updates.
The thing which makes the Hero worthwhile is the latest ROM though. I installed the modaco custom rom and radio from hero.modaco.com and it's running perfect and nice and smooth.
SSGMUN10000
Connoisseur Of Tedium
Been using the Sprint Hero for the past week now and have to say its the most fun I have had with a phone in along time. It may surpass the Nokia n95 as best phone ever...for me at least. I was a big Nokia phone user till this baby came along. Customizing the 7 window home screen has been addicting along with the free apps available for android. Its not without its flaws though...battery issues and a little laggy.
SSGMUN10000
Connoisseur Of Tedium
The previous phone I was using had a 2.4" screen. The Hero has a 3.2" so it was a big difference to me. How much bigger do you want it?
jonnybryce
Member
I came from the iPhone and thought Id wait for a screen bigger than iPhone's but I ended up getting the Hero and absolutely love it. It's not an issue at all for me and I thought it would be atleast annoying or bothersome. But no, just pure awesome.
jonnybryce
Member
When you take the battery cover off is that little sticker on the bottom left corner red and white? Just wondering, thought maybe its suppossed to be green and some steam tripped a water sensor or something.
Thanks.
Thanks.
blitz64
Member
Just bought a HTC Eris online. It is suppose to be very similar to Hero and there's no Eris thread.
I haven't received it yet but the 2 things I worry most from reading about the Eris is battery life and slow cpu. I tested the unit out at the store and it seems ok. not as fast as droid but i guess it is tolerable. Eris doesn't seem as fast as an iphone or ipod touch when browsing.
Hopefully you all are enjoying your Heroes.
I haven't received it yet but the 2 things I worry most from reading about the Eris is battery life and slow cpu. I tested the unit out at the store and it seems ok. not as fast as droid but i guess it is tolerable. Eris doesn't seem as fast as an iphone or ipod touch when browsing.
Hopefully you all are enjoying your Heroes.
jonnybryce
Member
The Hero battery life is pretty good imo. It'll last me all day and then some, and that's with heavy texting, some browsing and light calls. I keep GPS off unless I'm using it though, same for wifi. Since Sense is so awesome, it has built in widget switches which makes this a very simple thing to do.
As for speed, there are some instances where you'll see it take a pause for a second (mostly if you've enabled animated transitions...not that they seem to slow down the phone, but that's where any slowdown is most noticeable) but it doesn't feel slow or unacceptable at all. I'm pleased, the vast majority of the time my experience is very fluid and smoothe, and I have my 7 screens loaded with widgets and picture frames. It's a real non-issue imo.
So yeah. The Hero is an awesome phone and Sense is my favorite UI I've ever used. I highly recommend it in any of its forms.
As for speed, there are some instances where you'll see it take a pause for a second (mostly if you've enabled animated transitions...not that they seem to slow down the phone, but that's where any slowdown is most noticeable) but it doesn't feel slow or unacceptable at all. I'm pleased, the vast majority of the time my experience is very fluid and smoothe, and I have my 7 screens loaded with widgets and picture frames. It's a real non-issue imo.
So yeah. The Hero is an awesome phone and Sense is my favorite UI I've ever used. I highly recommend it in any of its forms.
Sprint has a firmware update available for the Hero. Go and get it. Some people are reporting SMS problem fixed among other things. I'm updating now.
http://phandroid.com/2009/11/20/a-faster-hero-with-new-update/
PEACE.
EDIT: CONFIRMED, this fixes the SMS issue on my phone. Uptime is no longer 100% (sent and received text and did a before/after test). I never used a 3rd party SMS app, so it means I can probably go a full day on a charge with this phone now. I just wish Sprint had sent me a text on Wednesday, when they released this. What's the point of them knowing the phone I use if they don't tell me it's updated?
EDIT2: It's snappier at the home screen. Very responsive. I'm in love with this phone all over again.
http://phandroid.com/2009/11/20/a-faster-hero-with-new-update/
PEACE.
EDIT: CONFIRMED, this fixes the SMS issue on my phone. Uptime is no longer 100% (sent and received text and did a before/after test). I never used a 3rd party SMS app, so it means I can probably go a full day on a charge with this phone now. I just wish Sprint had sent me a text on Wednesday, when they released this. What's the point of them knowing the phone I use if they don't tell me it's updated?
EDIT2: It's snappier at the home screen. Very responsive. I'm in love with this phone all over again.
GhostRidah
Member
I finally get a android phone tomorrow (Hero) the waiting is unbearable, especially if you know or used my current phone a sanyo s1 which is like 5 years old :lol
GhostRidah
Member
ok so I had my phone for a couple of days now, I love it. One noob question though, how do I add custom walls from my comp and what size do I need them to be?
GhostRidah said:
There's an app for that
Look up "wallpaper set and save" in the market. Should do the trick.
http://g1wallz.com/help/ And take a look here.
GhostRidah
Member
thanks very much!
Hey guys,
I am considering buying an invisibleSHIELD from Zagg http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/htc-hero-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php
I am concerned by the warning though.
I have a brown HTC hero, is my model a painted one?
I am considering buying an invisibleSHIELD from Zagg http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/htc-hero-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php
I am concerned by the warning though.
I have a brown HTC hero, is my model a painted one?
Just did a search and this seems to be the only thread I've seen on the HTC Hero.
I'm eligible for an upgrade on my Sprint phone and was thinking of going from my 8330 Curve to the HTC Hero. The CNet reviews only had it at like 3.5 stars and I wasn't sure if I wanted to upgrade to a phone which wasn't getting stellar reviews. The reviews in this thread are solid so far, but does anyone else have this thru Sprint and can they comment on it? (i.e. lagginess, app support, etc.)
Also, I really like to load my phone up with MP3s and a great thing for BlackBerry is that it's all done thru a Blackberry Sync program that pulls my playlists from iTunes to my phone. Is there anything like that available with the HTC Hero? Thanks for any advice you can offer. (I read about the headphone jack being standard on the Hero and that should be sweet!)
I'm eligible for an upgrade on my Sprint phone and was thinking of going from my 8330 Curve to the HTC Hero. The CNet reviews only had it at like 3.5 stars and I wasn't sure if I wanted to upgrade to a phone which wasn't getting stellar reviews. The reviews in this thread are solid so far, but does anyone else have this thru Sprint and can they comment on it? (i.e. lagginess, app support, etc.)
Also, I really like to load my phone up with MP3s and a great thing for BlackBerry is that it's all done thru a Blackberry Sync program that pulls my playlists from iTunes to my phone. Is there anything like that available with the HTC Hero? Thanks for any advice you can offer. (I read about the headphone jack being standard on the Hero and that should be sweet!)
Vyse The Legend
Member
whytemyke said:
At this point, wait for the HTC Hero 2 (Legend). It has already passed through the FCC, and it's apparently releasing in March/April.
Does anyone know how to stop the Wifi from turning itself off after a few minutes of inactivity?
I've got the MLB At Bat app and put a radio stream on and leave the phone while I listen to a game, after a while the Wifi goes off and it switches to the mobile web, I've tried turning mobile web off but then the Wifi still turns off after a while and I lose the stream.
I've got the MLB At Bat app and put a radio stream on and leave the phone while I listen to a game, after a while the Wifi goes off and it switches to the mobile web, I've tried turning mobile web off but then the Wifi still turns off after a while and I lose the stream.
lionelhutz
Member
Anyone know when 2.1 is dropping?
lionelhutz
Member
Pimpwerx said:
I'm not. I've read mixed reviews on the 2.1 releases that are out there as far as some features not being available.
lionelhutz
Member
killakiz said:
It lagged a lot until I turned off the feedback. It still lags a bit from time to time, but it's a lot better without feedback. I've heard 2.1 is supposed to fix a lot of lag issues. Hopefully this is included.
Manmademan
Member
lionelhutz said:
this. turning on the haptic helps a shitload. although its worth noting if you have a lot of other stuff running in the background, this will slow the keyboard down. (i.e. using the keyboard and google listen at the same time will slow it.)
Xenon
Member
I can pick a couple of these up from radioshaq for 49.99 each. I wanted to give one to my wife. I just want a phone to do some light web once in a while.
For basic web and things like facebook is this phone outdated already?
How easy it to use for someone who is not technical at all?
Thanks
For basic web and things like facebook is this phone outdated already?
How easy it to use for someone who is not technical at all?
Thanks
jonnybryce
Member
Xenon said:
This phone is great for browsing, you'll be pleased. It's pretty simple and basic to use and figure out as well. I'd go for it. It can't run the best 3D android games, but web browsing, no problem.
Xenon
Member
release 2.1 for the Hero has been leaked. More info here
http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-21-software-leaked
http://www.androidcentral.com/sprint-htc-hero-android-21-software-leaked
Moundir&Tony>you
Member
Hmm , so if I update to the official 2.1 , I'll say buh-bye to custom ROMs ?
Subliminal
Member
Its actually ridiculous how shafted I feel by HTC, Bought the Phone in October when it was 'hands down' the best android phone. Now its terrible in comparison to everything else AND they've been promising 2.1 since before christmas!
jonnybryce
Member
Subliminal said:
:lol
The update situation definitely sucks, hopefully it wont be this bad ever again. As far as "now it's terrible in comparison"...:lol Cellphone tech, evolves fast, I'm surprised that Verizon is still launching new Droid commercials when they now have the 1ghz beast that is the Incredible.
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