HTC hero 'Android' vs iPhone 3G S

[Ronnoco]

I don't like the look of the Hero at all...If I didn't have an iPhone 3GS I would go for the Pre. I like the Pre design second to the iPhone and after reading the engadget review looks like the Hero is yet another underpowered Android phone...
I'm hopeful that the NEXT generation of phones that Android runs on will have plenty of power to run this cool OS full out...

 

[Compile 'em all]

Better looking than the pre!

What difference does that make?

It is STILL ugly.

 

[DaGreat01]

What difference does that make?

It is STILL ugly.

Hahaha none!

I was just stating that it looks better than the pre

 

[QCassidy352]

A flat slab is just about the worst ergonomic design for a phone. It doesn't fit the face naturally.

but insofar as the speaker doesn't have to be near your mouth to work properly, what's the difference?

 

[Small White Car]

A flat slab is just about the worst ergonomic design for a phone. It doesn't fit the face naturally. (Unless you're Spongebob, of course.)

The part of the Hero that touches your ear is just a flat slab too.

So ergonomically, the Hero and the iPhone are identical. The chin doesn't touch your face or you hand, so it has nothing to do with ergonomics.

 

[profets]

Ewe @ the chin of that phone, lol.

Hardware wise, A LOT of phones are better than the iPhone, but what they don't have is the X-Factor. The iPhones does just enough to outdo everyone.

whats this X-factor you talk about?

i love using my iPhone, but android has some strong features the iphone lacks.

-real multitasking
-great notification system
-push Gmail
-voip/sip phone integration
-customizable home screen with widgets.. this i would like as now i feel my iphone is just several screens with grids of icons..

 

[profets]

The part of the Hero that touches your ear is just a flat slab too.

So ergonomically, the Hero and the iPhone are identical. The chin doesn't touch your face or you hand, so it has nothing to do with ergonomics.

i think what he may have meant is when you are holding the phone in your hand. i read it somewhere and noticed it myself. but still looks like it'll be annoying to keep in a pocket or something

 

[inf]

Actually i really like to look of the Hero, and the chin doesn't matter to me at all.

The one thing that stops me bying this instead of the 3GS is the included memory. Only 512megs...that's ridicilous. And I read somewhere that you even can't install apps on a microSDHC card...what's up with that?

If there's going to be a navigation software with turn-by-turn instructions it will definetly not fit on the memory.

Samsung Galaxy would be a good choice with the 8gig space, but it won't be available until couple of months time, so I think I'll go with the 3GS

 

[jayenh]

but still looks like it'll be annoying to keep in a pocket or something

exactly. i keep my phone in my left front pocket, screen facing in. i don't want jabbing in the thigh every time someone bumps in to me in a crowded place like a bar or club.

i love the look of the OS, but i love the iphones design. the size and curved back make it comfortable to use whilst not being uncomfortable in the pocket. if it wasn't for the chin i'd give it more consideration. purely my opinion of course.

 

[yamaduc]

whats this X-factor you talk about?

i love using my iPhone, but android has some strong features the iphone lacks.

-real multitasking
-great notification system
-push Gmail
-voip/sip phone integration
-customizable home screen with widgets.. this i would like as now i feel my iphone is just several screens with grids of icons..

Just jailbreak your iPhone.

I had the 1st Gen iPhone and upgraded to the 3GS.

1st iPhone(3GS) I did the JB on, luv it.

 

[aprofetto]

Just jailbreak your iPhone.

I had the 1st Gen iPhone and upgraded to the 3GS.

1st iPhone(3GS) I did the JB on, luv it.

What would jailbreaking do besides allow you to change the layout of the icons and add wallpaper (with respect to what profets was suggesting)?

At the end of the day, multitasking is more than just being able to have more than one app running in the background. The ability to go from one app to the next in an easy motion and not closing one app to enter into the next. Thats what I picture when I think of multitasking.

This ties into the idea of a new UI. I don't want to hijack the thread at all, but I feel the iPhone needs a new UI, like profets said, its just a grid of icons. With over 50,000 apps in the app store, this grid of icons approach is a bit ridiculous.

Even the lock screen... would it be so hard to have some simple notifications there? Emails, texts, weather, etc?

And its pretty sad we have to jailbreak our iPhones just to get some of these features that most other phones already have.

 

[ChazUK]

I got my Hero today. I've popped a quick video on youtube comparing the UI and speed to my iPhone 3G.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CnJ1xp40CI

Here is the bootup times for my iPhone 3G and my Hero:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdHonTiUD_s

 

[ViViDboarder]

I was just looking at videos of the Hero yesterday! It looks really cool.

How does that feel in your pocket with that "chin"? Also, anyone know when it's coming to the US or if it would work with an AT&T sim?

 

[Padraig]

whats this X-factor you talk about?

i love using my iPhone, but android has some strong features the iphone lacks.

-real multitasking
-great notification system
-push Gmail
-voip/sip phone integration
-customizable home screen with widgets.. this i would like as now i feel my iphone is just several screens with grids of icons..

Strongest feature for me is that it's free from a ridiculous app. approval process.

I do like the look of the phone, but the reviews do concern me; although, some say that swapping to a class 6 card gets rid of the sluggishness.

 

[FearNo1]

The hero does look nice. Why does europe seem to get htc phones before US? The US is just getting the g2 in august. Isn't the hero, g3?

 

[sinsin07]

Hmmm, I find it dubious that HTC makes a phone called "Hero"

 

[powerdt]

so how much do yo pay for Hero? I actually like it.

 

[Eallan]

Androids unobtrusive notifications are about enough reason for me to switch.

I'm so sick of giant popups taking up the whole screen in the middle of doing something.

Not to mention the latest over the GV Mobile situation.

Give me a 3g GSM pre for AT&T and i'll bite.

 

[zigmondski]

I've heard mixed reviews about this phone. I really like the idea of Android but if I was going to make the switch I'd wait a while to see how the platform pans out.

As for the design, how can anyone say that the appearance surpasses the iPhone?! It's not even flat ffs. How annoying is that going to be in the pocket? Is it really necessary for every Android phone to have a chin? Like it's some sort of unique selling point. Come on.

At least they got it right with the 3.5mm jack though. Two phones too late, but never mind.

I know what it's like to get bored of an OS. I was a Symbian man for years and just had to get away from it. But ditching your 3GS for this? I don't think so. At least give it some proper thought and read a good selection of reviews.

 

[R1PPER]

I think that amount of lag would kill me. Looks good though. Iphone obviously will always win because it integrates with apple and itunes ect.

 

[aprofetto]

Iphone obviously will always win because it integrates with apple and itunes ect.

Thats a pretty bold statement. And to be honest, I don't see why that will make the iPhone always win?

 

[profets]

Just jailbreak your iPhone.

I had the 1st Gen iPhone and upgraded to the 3GS.

1st iPhone(3GS) I did the JB on, luv it.

i've used my 3G jailbroken almost always. nice that it opens up a bit, but still not even close to those things i mentioned. even if backgrounder were to work without the OS still shutting down apps, its not even close to multitasking

 

[profets]

I think that amount of lag would kill me. Looks good though. Iphone obviously will always win because it integrates with apple and itunes ect.

haha, you're kidding right?

half the time my iPhone feels sluggish or lags and i cant even multitask!!

 

[podsonic]

I've had a chance to play with one of these Hero beasties - it is a superb device, I didn't notice any lag but the device was almost brand new with no additional apps installed etc. also I only had 10 minutes or so, so maybe I didn't delve deep enough - still not entirely sure about the chin.

 

[mcmonkiez]

Android powered HTC Hero vs the iPhone 3GS

I've had a chance to play with one of these Hero beasties - it is a superb device, I didn't notice any lag but the device was almost brand new with no additional apps installed etc. also I only had 10 minutes or so, so maybe I didn't delve deep enough - still not entirely sure about the chin.

HTC has been an early adopter of the google backed Android Mobile Platform. While the initial Android devices were Google branded and had little competition for the iPhone 3G, the latest HTC Android that is customized with its Sense UI is something that gives the iPhone and the Palm Pre a run for its money.

Let me begin straight with the verdict on this one – HTC Hero comes very close to beat the Apple iPhone 3GS, to an extent it does excel in some parts, but the Android platform and the Hero hardware just fall short of being a clear winner in this case. Now whether its the Android OS that lacks something or the hardware has less horse power is your call, but the overall experience with the iPhone is still somewhat better than the HTC Hero. Having said that, the Hero is certainly a lovely device and the looks are stunning! Going forward the Hero convinces me that the next HTC running Android 2.0 might well be an iPhone Killer for sure…


HERO is powered with Android V1.5 (Cupcake), which brings in a lot of things including an onscreen keyboard. The iPhone QWERTY is great and the HTC Hero though very good, is not really a great in that department.

The uniqueness in the HTC Hero comes from the Sense UI which is pretty well structured to go against the iPhone multitouch interface. The iPhone 3.0 OS coupled with all the App store goodies is still heavy for Android to match upto. However HTC has managed to get the most out of Android Cupcake. The HERO integrates Facebook, Twitter and Flickr streams already (though the official Facebook app isn’t out yet). The inbuilt browser in HTC Hero supports Adobe Flash and thats something the wonderful Mobile Safari still cant do. Though we have heard about slow and slugging performance of websurfing on the HTC due to flash, it still looks good.

HTC hero packs in a better loudspeaker and impressive battery life. It also matches up to the iPhone with a teflon quote to the white version and a similar oil resistant oleophobic coating to the LCD. AGPS, Digital Compass, Accelerometer etc its all there! With a better GPU the iPhone 3GS certainly delivers better gaming experience (the App Store is a big advantage).

HTC Hero packs in a 5MP camera which produces stunning results. But both these phones fail to accommodate a flash light. The usual iPhone drawbacks like bluetooth file transfer, non usability of disk space via USB mass storage, memory card slot and non-removable battery gives the HTC Hero some edge.