HTC Hero (Week Two: Hardware)
Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 6:42AM 
It's coming up on the two week mark with my HTC Hero on Sprint and that means it's time for me to share what I think of the smartphone so far.
Hardware
The phone fits in the hand well and has a solid feel to it and it even handled a drop to the ground without skipping a beat. However there are a few draw backs here.
The first is the button layout at the bottom of the device. It's awkward for one handed operations. Oh, it can be done, it's just not very comfortable. If you're holding the device in your right hand then you have to move your thumb at a steep angle to get to the back button while if you're holding it in your left hand you have to do the same thing to get to the home button. Looking at the button layouts for the next generation of Android devices where all the buttons are lined up just beneath the screen seems to indicate that manufacturers recognize this and are moving to address this issue.
I still cannot figure out why a mechanical trackball is included on a touch screen device! After using a Blackberry I have NO love for these things at all. They are just one more thing to fail after use and collect dust, gunk, and who knows what else. The fact that the trackball does double duty in the camera application as the digital zoom control AND camera button to take a picture is a pain in the tail! All too often I'm trying to take a picture and zoom the image in. A dedicated camera button or even an onscreen button would be much preferred over the solution that HTC has built into the Hero.
Screen
The screen is covered by a piece of glass rather than the more traditional plastic, which more touch screen devices are moving towards and has the same sort of anti-oil covering that is found on the last generation of iPhone. it's also very reflective which makes seeing the display a bit of a pain when in a bright outside environment unless you boost the brightness to the max. The capacitive touch screen is responsive and accurate. Sadly there is no proximity sensor to detect when you are holding the phone to your ear which means that you have to be careful to not accidentally hang up during a call until the screen times out. It would be nice if there was at least an option to turn the screen off during a call.
One other thing about the screen that I do NOT like is the way dust has collected under the screen! Seriously?!? I've only had the device two weeks and I've already go enough dust collected under the screen to be a distraction! This is something I had read about in various online forums but I had also read that HTC addressed this issue and that the devices shipping now did not have this problem. It's something that is covered by both the warranty and by the Total Equipment Protection plan with Sprint so this means I have to take a trip to a Sprint service center to either get the screen cleaned or swap out for a replacement device. This is something that is just plain unacceptable!
Radios
The Hero is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to the radios on the device.
The device gets excellent EVDO reception, probably the best of any device I've used since switching to Sprint two years ago. This things gets, and holds, a signal in places that I was barely able to get one before on other devices. However it drops the ball with its WiFi and Bluetooth radios. The city of Raleigh operates a free WiFi network over its downtown areas and with other smartphones and my Macbook I could pick up an excellent signal in the parts of downtown that I pass through during the week. The Hero doesn't even get one bar of signal! Ditto on my home network. It'll pick up my wireless access point but gets "hinky" when I try to use the WiFi signal at home. I do not even bother to turn WiFi on anymore on the Hero. Thankfully Sprint has excellent 3G coverage in my area so it's not an issue for me, at least right now.
Connecting my Bluetooth headset to the Hero is often a trying chore that takes two or three manual attempts to get it to connect and then I have to deal with it randomly dropping out. I use the Bluetooth headset at home more than anywhere else as I can connect it to the phone and leave it on my desk and not have to carry the phone around the house while I'm on the phone. This is something I hope can be fixed later through a firmware update, perhaps when HTC and Sprint roll out the Android 2.1 update later this month.
Battery Life
If there is one place that the Hero fails it is with its poor battery life. This thing really has the most horrible battery life of any smartphone device I've used in the last two years. To give you an example, I'll unplug the phone from the charger when I leave for work in the mornings at it will be at 100% charge. Ten minutes later when I get to the bus stop it will have already dropped to 95% without me doing anything more than turning the display off and putting in my coat pocket. I think this may be a software bug though because I will sometimes put my headphone on and listen to music and the battery will show the same loss of charge in the same time frame. On one hand this is a bad and good thing. Good in that I know it's holding a charge but bad in that it means I cannot trust the built in charge indicator.
Through the day it will show the same drainage rate no matter what I do with the phone but to be on the safe side I have taken to turning the phone off when I get to work and put it in my locker. The fact that it boots the fastest of any smartphone I've used negates the downside of having to go through this battery saving measure daily. Again, this is something that should be fixed in a firmware update later on.
Conclusions
So far it's a mixed bag with me and the Hero. It is a good device that is an excellent showcase for the Android platform, it just has a few faults that any second generation device could be expected to have at this point in the development cycle of a relatively new platform. Some of the shortcomings can also be attributed to this being an "entry level" device to Android which was why I purchased it in the first place.
Later on I'll do an entry detailing my experiences with Android, and the HTC Sense overlay.
Reader Comments (11)
wholesale wedding dresses
<p>
wedding dress wholesale </p>
<p>
cheap wedding dresses</p>
<p>
wholesale wedding dresses </p>
<p>
A-line wedding dresses</p>
<p>
ball gown wedding dresses</p>
<p>
mermaid wedding dresses</p>
<p>
sheath wedding dresses</p>
<p>
sleeveless wedding dresses</p>
<p>
short sleeves wedding dresses</p>
<p>
plus size wedding dresses</p>
<p>
informal wedding dresses</p>
<p>
formal wedding dresses</p>
</p>
There are two different types ofwholesale bridesmaid Dress you can buy, they are called the Bridesmaid Dresses and
Bridesmaid Dress
. Each corset has positives and negatives for women. If you are a women with a different sizes on the Cheap Bridesmaid Dress than the bottom a two piece Long Bridesmaid Dresses will satisfy your needs. If you do opt for a two piece Short Bridesmaid Dresses, you should consider buying different <a
I got bridal gowns an engagement
cocktail dresses ring for Christmas. My boyfriend and I had been dating discount cocktail dress for almost a year and both felt the inexpensive cocktail dresses time was right to join our bridal gown lives together in holy
matrimony. htmlThe wholesale bridal gowns month of January was spent planning wholesale bridal gowns our perfect Alabama June wedding. wedding gown My mother, two sisters and I went to Huntsville, Informal Bridal Gowns the closestFormal Bridal Gowns town with a 2010 Cocktail DressesPlus Size Cocktail Dresses gown that would play the
Inexpensive Cocktail DressesSexy Cocktail Dresses
just being Modest Bridal Gowns together and sharing silly jokes, but the day soon turned serious by afternoon: still no sign of the dress of my dreams. Both sisters Simple Bridal Gowns were ready to give up and try another day in another town, but I coerced them Modest Bridal Gowns into one more boutique.I had a good Simple Bridal Gowns feeling as we entered the quaint little shop filled with the scent of fresh flowers. The elderly clerk showed us several Simple Bridal Gowns beautiful gowns in my size and price range, but none were right. As I opened the door to leave, the desperate shop Simple Bridal Gowns owner announced she had one more dress in the back that was expensive and not even my size, but perhaps I might want to look Simple Bridal Gowns at it anyway. When she brought it out, I squealed in delight.
UGG boots are one of the most sexy UGG boots. Behind this UGGS boots,there are some basketwork which advance the UGG BOOTS brightness. Removable and replaceable comfort system insole is made of sheepskin, latex and foam for comfort with a Mylar sockliner for warmth.Everywhere you go now you find that the UGG Boots Sale have become the latest fashion trend.Many humans buy UGG Coupons day in and day out.Vibram Five Fingers
One Sunday womens timberland boots morning, I was told that someone was waiting for me in timberland 6 boots office. The young person who answered the rectory timberland boots door said that it was "the woman who said she left all the notes." When I saw her mens timberland boots I was shocked, since I immediately recognized her from church but had no timberland boots outlet idea that it was she who wrote the notes.
<p>If I speak in the Cheap authentic NFL Jerseys tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all Official NFL Jerseys knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my USa Jerseys Shop body to the flames,but have not love, I gain nothing.Love is patient, NFL Jerseys love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it NHL Jerseys keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always MLB Jerseys hopes, always perseveres.Love never NHL Hockey Jerseys fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in MLB Baseball Jerseys part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappea. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a NBa Basketball Jerseys man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.and now these three remain: faith, hope and NFL Football Jerseys love. But the greatest of these is love.</p> HYD
Sizing Information ugg classic boots for the UGG Classic Cardy These boots are known to run about one size mbt schuhe large - they are also only available in full sizes.
<font color=#999999>Tory Burch shoes</font> are full of cute elements. <font color=#999999>Tory Burch</font> products are popular among trendy ladies world around.<font color=#999999>Tory Burch flats</font> are hot on sale online.Free shipping.Cheap <font color=#999999>Tory Burch outlet</font> for sale.
Shop cheap <font color=#999999>ski jackets</font> and <font color=#999999>columbia jackets</font> online. Sporty and casual <font color=#999999>ski jacket</font> and <font color=#999999>columbia jacket</font> are your best choice. Welcome to buy <font color=#999999>columbia sportswear</font> to enjoy high discount and free shipping.
Tomorrow Mens Abercrombie Short is september Mens Abercrombie Sweaters 1st , I should Mens Abercrombie Outerwears go to school Mens Abercrombie Hoodies for my Mens Abercrombie Polos study. so Men Abercrombie Henleys Crews the new Womens Abercrombie Classic Shirts term is Womens Abercrombie Jean coming. in Womens Abercrombie Tanks the last Womens Abercrombie Tees term , i made little effort on my study ,so my grades are not very good . during the holiday , i thought over it . in the end i made up my mind. in the new term , i will Womens Abercrombie Short try my best to get a high mark. the following is my plan. every morning i Womens Abercrombie Sweaters will read Womens Abercrombie Outwears aloud english at least 30 minutes ,and try to recite a 100- word paragraph. then i will work hard in class. try to be active to answer as many questions as i can . then after class in my spare time , i will Womens Abercrombie Hoodies read more books about different topics to enlarge my outlook.then i hope i get a very good mark to let my parents be proud of me . and if i fail because of my lack effort, it's my fault.i should be ashamed of myself. i do believe there is a will ,there is a way. so i 'm sure ,i can do everything if i Womens Abercrombie Polo try hard enough.
ganjames