A poor man's iPhone at the end of the day...

[FrankTheTank]

I must have had my Hero for a couple of weeks now. On the whole it's valiantly fought above its weight but as someone else said almost everything it does it doesn't quite get right - I'm pained to say.

Only this evening I was with some mates watching a top gear episode. On it there was a decibel meter on an iPhone. Rather smugly I said I can download one for free - I'll show you. My mate didn't stop taking the piss when it said that the room was 100 decibels. Tried to calibrate it but kept spurting out ridiculous readings.

Later on, on hearing a tune as my ring tune my mate asked me to send him it over Bluetooth - no problem I thought. Even my old 4yr old Sony can do that....Oh....Bugger...

Perhaps in about 2 years time Android will have moved on from the stone age...

 

[lekky]

Most of my friends have iPhones, and i know for a fact that i have at least 10 times as much fun with my hero than they do with their iPhone.

I'm not really sure how to comment on your post other than that, it seems that the Hero probably is too much of a device for you? The iPhone is simpler to use, as a side effect isn't as powerful, different people have differnet requirements though.

Regarding stone age, iPhone is in the stone age compared to the Hero.

 

[FrankTheTank]

What on Earth do you get up to with your Hero?! Ooh matron.

I'm yet to be persuaded it does anything better - real life test that is - real life application, we're not comparing geek specs.

 

[chris4chelsea]

i have owned an iphone, n97, ericsson, and now the HERO. i feel that HERO is so far the best overall phone. for me iphone is a toy for the kindergarten kids, n97 is for stone age ppl and android is just abt rite for now. dont know abt the future, coz nokia is bring out their n900 with new OS but i doubt they can do a good job (perhaps after 30 updates/patches for 1 OS)...

mate if u want something very simple, Hero/android is not for u...

 

[FrankTheTank]

You still haven't given a real life example.

I'm not after simplicity. I can root as well as the next man! I'm after quality.

 

[chris4chelsea]

can any other phone sync calendar and address book 24/7 with just a 3G/WiFi connection without using a stupidly heavy app like itunes...

hero can multi task and run app in background vs iphone (i wouldnt comment on WinMo coz thats out of the league hope their v7 can at least close the gap)

smaller and lighter than phones like iphone, n97, Aino, Satio. Size is great... however this's down to personal taste really.

at the end, i think hero shld deserve a faster cpu tho

 

[Elpelco]

I must have had my Hero for a couple of weeks now. On the whole it's valiantly fought above its weight but as someone else said almost everything it does it doesn't quite get right - I'm pained to say.

Only this evening I was with some mates watching a top gear episode. On it there was a decibel meter on an iPhone. Rather smugly I said I can download one for free - I'll show you. My mate didn't stop taking the piss when it said that the room was 100 decibels. Tried to calibrate it but kept spurting out ridiculous readings.

Later on, on hearing a tune as my ring tune my mate asked me to send him it over Bluetooth - no problem I thought. Even my old 4yr old Sony can do that....Oh....Bugger...

Perhaps in about 2 years time Android will have moved on from the stone age...

Yes, because of course, ALL the apps in the Apple app store all work perfectly.
And OF COURSE the iphone had bluetooth, copy, paste, an app store, and all its current bells and whistles when it came out.

And of course Apple isn't absurdly restrictive regarding the apps it allows in the app store.

Why, the iphone is completely open source!

AND it can multi task!

WHAT was I thinking when I got my Hero?!

 

[Quazar]

Theres a blutooth app on the market, and theres also going to be an update with it in already soon.

The iPhone is behind the times in many aspects, such as multitasking (can it even be called a smartphone without being able to multitask?!). Also the iPhone doesn't come close to the level of customisability of the HTC Hero. The HTC Hero also has a better camera with more features, non propreitary cables, expandable memory and a removable battery.

So I wouldn't call it a "poor mans iPhone"

 

[spenspuma]

iPhone fanboy

 

[Ludo]

The iPhone is technically perfectly able to multitask, it's just **** Apple policy to not allow it.

But having used both (I even offered an iPhone to my gf), I can tell you that I enjoy my Hero much much more.

 

[trick202]

I don't think he's a fanboy, he's just frustrated - as am I (a little).

The iPhone syncs with mobileme very well indeed, and as far as multitasking goes, I'm not sure it's the dealbreaker we (android users) like to think it is.

The Hero needs an update - and quickly. The fact that it CAN do a raft of tasks does mean that it does them willingly or effectively.

I'm not an iPhone fanboy - but I have a respect for a very capable device. The Hero is a brilliant device - much more compact than the iphone, great specs etc - but it needs to actually PERFORM better.

I have had both iPhone3g and now have the Hero.

 

[ticho]

I'm not after simplicity. I can root as well as the next man! I'm after quality.

Translation: I can follow howtos blindly as well as a next trained monkey.

Performing steps someone else has prepared for you doesn't take any skill, save perhaps for reading and comprehension skill. Just sayin'.

 

[vido.ardes]

Here we go again.... yet another iPhoen vs Hero thread. Are we not done with these yet?

I will be keeping an eye on this thread and if it turns into a bitching contest like the last one did, I will close it so keep it clean

I just have one thing to say on the matter. When the iPhone came out, it didn't have copy & paste. It didn't have full bluetooth functionality. It didn't have MMS. The camera could only take stills (no video) at 1.3mp. The app store was practically empty.

It was basically an iPod that could make / recive phonecalls and send / reccive text messages. That was it. It owes it's popularity to the iPod, and didn't earn it on it's own. If Apple had never made the iPod, and came out with the original iPhone, they would have been laughed off the stage.

Android is still a fledgling platform, and for a device as impressive as the Hero to appear on it at such an early stage is no mean feat. I like the iPhone, but it's not a smartphone and never will be one, and I get the impression people are buying a Hero and hoping it will be something it isn't.

The Android platform has such potential to become something so great, and I think comparing it to a platform that a) is much more established than it and b) was so featurless in it's early days is completly pointless and irrelevant.

The title of the thread annoys me. This is not a poor man's iPhone. If anything, the iPhone is a rich man's dumbphone. The Hero is a good phone, and if you were trying to use it for what it is, not trying to turn it into an iPhone, then you would see despite it's problems it is a good phone. I'm not trying to say it's perfect, not in anyway, but the iPhone isn't either.

Ok mayby I had more than one thing to say...

 

[malbon]

What is it with you and not letting people have their say ?

Can you only say positive things about the Hero on the forum otherwise the thread gets locked?

These are real peoples reviews of the device. I'm with the OP and many other on here that the phone falls short in many areas. We're not dissing it completely neither are any of us iPhone fan boys.

It's just our opinions. Are we allowed one ?

Here we go again.... yet another iPhoen vs Hero thread. Are we not done with these yet?

 

[malbon]

On the plus side though, I like the flexibility of the screens and the widgets. If it could just do things slicker and quicker then I'd have NO complaints whatsoever

 

[vido.ardes]

What is it with you and not letting people have their say ?

Can you only say positive things about the Hero on the forum otherwise the thread gets locked?

These are real peoples reviews of the device. I'm with the OP and many other on here that the phone falls short in many areas. We're not dissing it completely neither are any of us iPhone fan boys.

It's just our opinions. Are we allowed one ?

What is it with you and trying to start and argument?

The last thread I locked wasn't an iPhone vs. Hero thread, it was users throwing insults at each other, which is where this thread was headed.

There are many, many threads already in the forum about each indivduals problems with the device. That is what this forum is for. You have a problem, open a thread discuss it with the other users and try and find a solution. That isn't what these "vs" threads are about.

"We're not dissing it completely" - Then why is the thread called poor mans iPhone?
"phone falls short in many areas" - Why do you fail to accept the places where the iPhone falls short?

Every piece of technology has it's flaws. The Hero has it's fair share. The iPhone is not the ultimate phone, and everyone knows the differances between it and the Hero. That's why I am sick of these threads. It's not about discussing problems and trying to fix them, it's about moaning and making pointless comparissions that have already been made a thousand times over

If you have problems with the Hero, fine, I have problems with it, everyone does. But I still think it's the best phone for me, which is why I bought it. If you don't, why did you buy it?

 

[malbon]

This is what discussions are about.

With the OP, the answers back to him are;

1. Decibel meter ? Big sh1ts ! Who cares? There are many better apps on android for Hero and vice versa on iPhone

2. Bluetooth - This is on its way for the Hero in Android 2.0

See, discussion (not argument) started and we've answered his questions.

Stop being so protective. We're really not trying to give it a bashing. Just trying to find workarounds and solutions. If the OP starts off with a gripe then its up to the forum users to either a) agree with him or b) find him a solution

b) I've found quite a few solutions this way, but the fact of the matter is - if the phone isnt doing what I want it to straight off then its going to appear like a gripe.

No arguments, just want to see free flowing discussion without getting moderated every 2 secs

 

[agent-5]

Why start another Generic Random Device vs. Jesus Phone thread? We have all got views and opinions, just keep the useless ones to yourself.

I drive an 08 plate Lexus, I don't sign up to BMW, Fiat, Citroen and Renault forums and post Lexi vs 'other car here' threads because it's pointless. I'm not going to discuss why I personally think Android is better than Apple (despite the fact it is ) as I have better things to do with my time.

One question I would like to ask is why do you think the HTC Hero and Android devices are for 'poor people'? Ever thought that the iPhone is a stupidly overpriced piece of junk compared to what it is and does? I suppose if Steve Jobs took a crap in an off white plastic case and called it iShit you'd buy that too?

I await your constructive criticism for my rather poetic post.

 

[MartinS]

I think a lot of the Hero's issues (and there are some) come down to the processor. Put a Snapdragon in the Hero and your looking at the best phone on the market.

Other things are teething problems as many have said, Android, Marketplace, Sense UI etc etc are all in their infancy and can only get better with each update.

I had an iPhone 3g before the Hero and I enjoyed it, but I just wanted something different, less boring, more customisable, more fun to use as a phone. In the Hero I have that. I'll admit the iPhone was quicker (yes I know, multi-tasking), better to text on, great for music etc etc - but I really just wanted a phone with some nifty features and apps.

If I had to place a bet, I would bet that either HTC or Motorola bring out an Android device in 2010 which will be undisputedly the best smartphone on the market - that's how much I think Android will change things.

 

[agent-5]

Two words people: Custom ROMs

 

[trick202]

@Vido.Ardes: I think you're abusing your new-found moderator privileges a little. A discussion is a discussion - it's what these forums are about. It's not balanced to close threads that go against the grain - we are all entitled to our point of view.

As a matter of fact, it's the OP that's being lightly abused here. Phrases like: "it seems that the Hero probably is too much of a device for you?" and "Translation: I can follow howtos blindly as well as a next trained monkey."

It's OK to want the Hero to be better. In fact, I think the general consensus is that we'd all like it to be as good as it CAN be.
Most devices out there are compared to the iPhone. It's considered the Gold standard by many measures. Wanting to take best practice from other devices and apply it to the Hero (or other Android device) is a great idea.

And one last thing: saying the iPhone came out without c&p at launch is desperate at best. We (android) should be starting from where the market is NOW, not when the iPhone was launched.

Just my opinions...........feel free to flame if you need to - I am here for the discussion.

 

[vido.ardes]

Malbon, look at posts 7, 9 and 18 and tell me this thread isn't degenerating into insulting each other

If it could be disscussed in a civilised manor I wouldn't mind, but it never does, no matter what is being compared to the iPhone. Look at the Hero vs Droid threads and see if anything like this happens. It never does.

You take personal offence to my comments because you seem to prefer the iPhone. I have no problem with people wanting an iPhone because what they need to do on a phone, the iPhone does better. Great, competition is a good thing.

And I like the way you assume that my original comment was only directed to people who are on the side of the iPhone being better...

@Vido.Ardes: I think you're abusing your new-found moderator privileges a little. A discussion is a discussion - it's what these forums are about. It's not balanced to close threads that go against the grain - we are all entitled to our point of view.

Again I didn't close a disscussion about iPhone vs. Hero, I closed a insult match between users. And again, for the record, I never said that it was the iPhone supporters that cause the trouble. I just said the degenerate into insults, which by the way you have exampled perfectly for me.

The fact that it is the Hero fans insulting the OP is reason enough to close the thread, because it's not about the phones, it's about "my phones better, nerr nerr nerr".

 

[MartinS]

I think many people who have bought the Hero (myself included) have bought it to get away from the "iSheep" and you're right, they desperately want it to be better because of this.

At the end of the day, a phone is personal choice. If you want slick games and a good music player interface then by an iPhone (or Sony for music). If these are not the priority and keeping in touch with people in various different ways is then the Hero is a great option.

The other factor is that the whole world has had iPhone rammed down their throats for the last 2 years. Stuff, T3, Gadget Show etc etc all in the Apple love camp. That is until now, it would have been easy to give the 3GS all of these phone of the year and gadget of the year accolades wouldn't it? Instead there is at least a train of thought that the iPhone is being caught up - and this is being made possible by Android and HTC at the moment.

 

[trick202]

Why start another Generic Random Device vs. Jesus Phone thread? We have all got views and opinions, just keep the useless ones to yourself.

I drive an 08 plate Lexus, I don't sign up to BMW, Fiat, Citroen and Renault forums and post Lexi vs 'other car here' threads because it's pointless. I'm not going to discuss why I personally think Android is better than Apple (despite the fact it is ) as I have better things to do with my time.
.

The OP has a Hero. He is on an Android forum.

If you are 100% happy with your Lexus, then that's great. However, if you liked a feature on another car, and thought you could improve your Lexus by adopting it - would you expect to get a load of greif over it?

Stop being a child. If you can't post without including silly little banners - then just stroll on past the thread. It's easy.

 

[malbon]

I DONT PREFER THE IPHONE !! (Where is the emoticon of me bashing my head against the wall?)