My switch from Moment to Hero

[aclark414]

After using the Moment for 28 days, I decided to exchange it for the HTC Hero.

Generally, I could give or take the Moment. It is my first experience with Android, and though I quickly fell in love with the OS, I don't have anything else to compare it to (Android-based). The keyboard is ok. The camera is not quite comparable to the camera on my BB Tour. The call quality is excellent. The speaker phone quality is terrible. The build quality is decent, but the phone (as many have mentioned) is a brick. The biggest problem I have is that I constantly mute and dial other numbers when on a call (proximity sensor problem).

I very randomly decided to exchange my Moment for the Hero. I guess it was because of my indifference towards the Moment. I just wanted to try something else. I have now been using the Hero for 4 days.

My thoughts when comparing it to the Moment? ...wow, it blows the Moment clear out of the water. What a difference, especially with the Android experience. The tweaks HTC made to the Android platform with Sense is just beautiful. The overall operation of the phone runs so much more smoothly than the Moment. The difference is night and day. I have heard many complain that the Hero lags. I really have not noticed this. The switch between landscape and portrait is slower than the Moment, but definitely not a deal breaker by any means.

My biggest concerned was not having a physical keyboard. All touch keyboards are hard to type on - even the Hero. However, the auto correct works incredibly well. I in no way miss having a physical keyboard.

The camera is much clearer. The speakerphone is so much louder and clearer. The call quality is comparable. The screen (in my opinion) is even clearer than the AMOLED screen on the Moment.

Hands down, the Hero is a much more wonderful Android experience. It looks, feels, and operates beautifully.

I know I have not given an in-depth review, but if you are waiving between these two devices, I would be more than happy to share more with you.

Obviously, this is just my opinion and I know many people like the Moment. I am in no way bashing the Moment (it is a decent phone and I did like it...I just didn't love it).

 

[pwabbit]

I also switched from the Moment to the Hero. The deal breaker for me was the blue colored characters on the keys. I just couldn't see them. I kept switching to the virtual KB on the Moment (which I could see). Finally, I thought, why am I carrying around a large phone when I don't even use the physical keyboard? Don't get me wrong, I don't really like the current keyboards on the Hero either, but I do like that I can see them.

 

[aclark414]

Finally, I thought, why am I carrying around a large phone when I don't even use the physical keyboard?

Yeah, I never used the physical keyboard either. And when I did, I just thought it was too difficult to type on. More difficult than the touch keyboard.

 

[agent0014]

Yeah, I never used the physical keyboard either. And when I did, I just thought it was too difficult to type on. More difficult than the touch keyboard.

wow, really? my ginormous thumbs move very quickly and easily over the Moment's keyboard, I'm pretty much able to touch type on it. Maybe it's similar enough to my old Tmo Sidekick from back when I was a punk kid haha.

Okay okay, punk twenty-somthing.

Oh wewt... I'm up to 300 posts!
er... 301 now

 

[MobstaJ]

Some people are probably tired of hearing this story as I have posted it in a few forums on a few threads but my switch was the opposite. I started out with a Hero and had a Hero for 29 days. In that time I went through 3 Hero's actually due to issues with dust collecting under the screens. Every single one eventually had large particles of dust under the glass which could not be cleared out. The first one took 2 weeks for the problem to become evident. The other 2 displayed the symptoms in a few days. I had a huge problem with the landscape keyboard on the Hero. Lag was horrible. Scrolling through the contact list was laggy and so was web browsing. Don't get me wrong, I loved the senseui but on the hero it is just downright laggy. Maybe it has to do with the difference in processor speed (benchmarks I've used measured 2.35 Mflops/s Hero vs 3.5Mflops/s on the moment).

The moment has its quirks; the battery meter was off (this has been fixed with a hacked rom update), agps doesn't work yet, and it's lacking senseui. But most issues will definitely be fixed with software updates and there are many quality downloadable apps that do most of the stuff Sense ui does. The dust thing was a deal breaker for me (and this is coming from a guy who has owned 4 HTC phones with no problems). Dozens of people have had the problem, some with multiple phone exchanges like myself(Hero by HTCust under the screen issue - Please...). Sprint still has not owned up to the problem and is not fixing it.

 

[FlyerDroid]

I am a hero owner and love the soft keyboard. The text recognition makes the whole difference in the world. I used to own the G1 and didn't like the physical keyboard. I found it awkward to type in.

 

[njbianco]

. The camera is not quite comparable to the camera on my BB Tour.

Ill have to say the camera on the tour is awesome even though its only 3.2mp its by far one of the best cameras on a phone.

I am a hero owner and love the soft keyboard. The text recognition makes the whole difference in the world. I used to own the G1 and didn't like the physical keyboard. I found it awkward to type in.

Ive always heard not to great of things about the g1 keybard

 

[PiggyGirl]

Since this was posted in the Moment's forum...I'll post my opinion. I went with Android only because I didn't like the Pre (though I love WebOS). I aslo wanted a larger touchsreen smartphone. That slimmed it down to really only 2 options, since no way in h#ll was I paying $350 for a TP2...anyways. I went with the Moment due to the hardware and the overall nicer look, even if it is plain jane. I considered the Hero, but I just find it to be an unattractive phone. The Droid Eris on Sprint may have given me pause...I've had my Moment since 11/15 and, despite its quirks (GPS and airplane mode problems), I'm still loving it. I love the real keyboard, the trackpad, and the beautiful screen, and Android has been pretty cool, too. I'm looking forward to the 2.x update.

 

[dbpaddler]

I actually own both phones. I got the Hero when it first came out and then switched to the Moment (keeping the Hero). I've used it up until last week. Activated the Hero so I could update it (which is a big crock of sh*t that I couldn't update it over wifi. I did pay for the thing after all.) and decided to take it to Vermont for New Year's.

I've determined I really really really hate on screen keyboards. There is just nothing intuitive about typing on them unless you're looking at the damn thing. And the predictive part while pretty good for the most part is extremely inconsistent in the web browser. And it also wants to save every acronym, abbreviation and similar type word to the dictionary only to come back and bite me in the *ss when I'm typing something similar that is an actual word. Drives me bonkers. And then you get somewhat used to the auto correction that you don't pay attention to your actual accuracy. So when it doesn't correct and you are not accurate, it's a pain to correct.

I quickly became adept with the Moment's keyboard. The spacebar felt normal after a few days. The 4-way nav is a godsend when navigating through text. Cutting and pasting is much easier. And I am very accurate when typing.

Some dismiss Sense as UI fluff, but those people tend to be more fanboyish towards the Moment from what I've read. Sense does make for a more user friendly and polished experience out of the box. I like their email app much better, especially the UI, black on white text and background, the ability to move mail to folders (like reporting spam), and their in house Exchange support doesn't compare to Moxier on the Moment. Email notification is also nicer on the Hero as well as are the icons used in the notification bar. I also like the stock messaging app on the Hero a bit better than the moment's.

While the on screen keypad is smaller than the Moment's, the Hero has stock T9 dialing which I use quite a bit. The 3rd party solutions suck. They are very laggy, and aContacts being the best of the bunch is just slow overall.

The additional home screens are welcome, and overall much speedier than any of the home replacement programs I've put on the Moment. On the Moment I keep speed dials in a folder. On the Hero I keep them on the screen to the right of home.

If people compare lagginess and such, they should do it post update on the Hero. I don't see a whole lot of lagginess, but things are still a little smoother on the Moment.

The Hero also will do local Outlook syncing out of the box. To do it all efficiently on the Moment costs money or the use of multiple programs.

As soon as I can get the kernel update done I will be going back to the Moment. The keyboard for me is what effects my daily use the most and thus is the deciding feature for me. I'll give the home replacements another shot when i get the kernel update done. The phone is a bit large for my tastes, but I think it has more positives with the keyboard and faster processor. And while the many of the Sense and overall HTC additions are welcome, they are not dealbreakers, and I am not one that is in awe with them and think the Hero is the coolest because of it. If anything I'm less impressed with Google in general as a smartphone as it lacks many smartphone features I and many have become accustomed to with previous smartphones. HTC somewhat gets it, but Google really needs to get it and not depend on 3rd parties to come to the rescue. But that rant is a broken record on my part. The phone app in general sucks on both phones. I double dial people every now and then. The handling of call waiting sucks. The fact I have to go into a specific call in the log to see the actual date and time if it's not today is a pain. Little things like that just annoy the hell out of me. These are phones first afterall. How can you not get that part right after how many years of making phones, seriously? I do know that the next slider android phone that comes down the pike for Sprint will make me retire my Moment really quick. As a seasoned slider phone manufacturer, I think their 1st Android phone is a bit lackluster in its overall design. Another nail in the coffin is the lack of a maintenance release yet.

And no dust problem on my Hero, and I've had it on the slopes, around an ashen fireplace, in and out of lint filled pockets and so on.

 

[dkjones96]

I've determined I really really really hate on screen keyboards.

I got my hatred of on screen keyboards from the iPhone, couldn't stand using it on friends iPhones. I use it on the Moment to answer a quick text if I'm eating since the screen cleans easier than the little grooves in the hardware KB but normally use the hardware keyboard. The reason I got the Moment was that it was a side-slide touch screen phone on Sprint with an open source OS and it has not only met but exceeded my expectations for a phone.

After 2 months I still can't get over how black the blacks are on this thing. They're expensive as hell but my next TV will most definitely be an LED tv. They've sold me.

 

[DoormanIsGod]

I actually own both phones. I got the Hero when it first came out and then switched to the Moment (keeping the Hero). I've used it up until last week. Activated the Hero so I could update it (which is a big crock of sh*t that I couldn't update it over wifi. I did pay for the thing after all.) and decided to take it to Vermont for New Year's.

I've determined I really really really hate on screen keyboards. There is just nothing intuitive about typing on them unless you're looking at the damn thing. And the predictive part while pretty good for the most part is extremely inconsistent in the web browser. And it also wants to save every acronym, abbreviation and similar type word to the dictionary only to come back and bite me in the *ss when I'm typing something similar that is an actual word. Drives me bonkers. And then you get somewhat used to the auto correction that you don't pay attention to your actual accuracy. So when it doesn't correct and you are not accurate, it's a pain to correct.

I quickly became adept with the Moment's keyboard. The spacebar felt normal after a few days. The 4-way nav is a godsend when navigating through text. Cutting and pasting is much easier. And I am very accurate when typing.

Some dismiss Sense as UI fluff, but those people tend to be more fanboyish towards the Moment from what I've read. Sense does make for a more user friendly and polished experience out of the box. I like their email app much better, especially the UI, black on white text and background, the ability to move mail to folders (like reporting spam), and their in house Exchange support doesn't compare to Moxier on the Moment. Email notification is also nicer on the Hero as well as are the icons used in the notification bar. I also like the stock messaging app on the Hero a bit better than the moment's.

While the on screen keypad is smaller than the Moment's, the Hero has stock T9 dialing which I use quite a bit. The 3rd party solutions suck. They are very laggy, and aContacts being the best of the bunch is just slow overall.

The additional home screens are welcome, and overall much speedier than any of the home replacement programs I've put on the Moment. On the Moment I keep speed dials in a folder. On the Hero I keep them on the screen to the right of home.

If people compare lagginess and such, they should do it post update on the Hero. I don't see a whole lot of lagginess, but things are still a little smoother on the Moment.

The Hero also will do local Outlook syncing out of the box. To do it all efficiently on the Moment costs money or the use of multiple programs.

As soon as I can get the kernel update done I will be going back to the Moment. The keyboard for me is what effects my daily use the most and thus is the deciding feature for me. I'll give the home replacements another shot when i get the kernel update done. The phone is a bit large for my tastes, but I think it has more positives with the keyboard and faster processor. And while the many of the Sense and overall HTC additions are welcome, they are not dealbreakers, and I am not one that is in awe with them and think the Hero is the coolest because of it. If anything I'm less impressed with Google in general as a smartphone as it lacks many smartphone features I and many have become accustomed to with previous smartphones. HTC somewhat gets it, but Google really needs to get it and not depend on 3rd parties to come to the rescue. But that rant is a broken record on my part. The phone app in general sucks on both phones. I double dial people every now and then. The handling of call waiting sucks. The fact I have to go into a specific call in the log to see the actual date and time if it's not today is a pain. Little things like that just annoy the hell out of me. These are phones first afterall. How can you not get that part right after how many years of making phones, seriously? I do know that the next slider android phone that comes down the pike for Sprint will make me retire my Moment really quick. As a seasoned slider phone manufacturer, I think their 1st Android phone is a bit lackluster in its overall design. Another nail in the coffin is the lack of a maintenance release yet.

And no dust problem on my Hero, and I've had it on the slopes, around an ashen fireplace, in and out of lint filled pockets and so on.

this sir is the most unbiased and truthful thing i've read on this forum.

 

[AndroidSPCS]

I'm curious why people go on a phone forum and proceed to tell everyone else why they switched. If it works for you, great!!! But why post it?

We've all done our homework, and we're happy with what we've got. I spent literally 2 days in a Sprint store over the course of a week or two, playing with the Hero and Moment, and for me it was a no-brainer, the Moment was the much better of the two phones.

Now that I've got the Moment for over a month and half, I still love my Moment.

Yet I don't feel compelled to post about how much I love the Moment over at the Hero forum...

 

[dbpaddler]

so you actually never owned the Hero. Just played with it in the store. Not everyone has done their homework, and some people who are looking for help in choosing might find it helpful to hear from people who have used both phones extensively. Just a thought. And try going back to the Kyocera 6035 if you want to be a longtime smartphone user

And thanks Doorman.

 

[dannyg40]

I'm curious why people go on a phone forum and proceed to tell everyone else why they switched. If it works for you, great!!! But why post it?

We've all done our homework, and we're happy with what we've got. I spent literally 2 days in a Sprint store over the course of a week or two, playing with the Hero and Moment, and for me it was a no-brainer, the Moment was the much better of the two phones.

Now that I've got the Moment for over a month and half, I still love my Moment.

Yet I don't feel compelled to post about how much I love the Moment over at the Hero forum...

Very Well Said !
It's like anything else.... a matter of personal preferance.

 

[jeffdlb]

I actually own both phones.

Thank you for your excellent comparison based on actual experience.

 

[masbirdies]

I feel the same way about why people come here and type as though their opinions mean something. So you switched, bye-bye. Go play in the Hero forum where you will see the problems those guys are having, find them on your phone, and then start talking about your next switch.

Bottom line, hack your moment to ZE08/CL14. Add Open Home....you will love the Moment. It only took me about a week to know what they blue keyboard symbols are...and where they are...on the Moment Keyboard.

I love my moment!

 

[acp]

I'm curious why people go on a phone forum and proceed to tell everyone else why they switched. If it works for you, great!!! But why post it?

It is annoying, but I'm sure it is very helpful to prospective buyers.

and for me it was a no-brainer, the Moment was the much better of the two phones.

I owned both phones and my wife still has her Moment, so this statement made me laugh because before I owned the Hero I felt the same way. I would never switch back to the Moment, the "extra" speed is so minimal and only affects a couple of things on the phone (trust me I did so many a-b tests it made my head spin).

I used this comparison once before:

Moment = 2010 Ford Mustang

Hero = Lexus IS250

Both badass cars...one has more power with a little less emphasis on the interior design and features.

 

[dbpaddler]

Such angry little fanboys around here. God forbid should someone post their experiences so it might help others make an educated decision about which phone to choose. If you want to be an annoying moment fanboy then go hang out in the ilounge where fanboyism grew to its greatest level of immaturity.

If you don't care about the topic, why bother reading it and taking the time and effort to post in it? Ignoring it and moving on requires much less effort and puts much less ueless clutter in the thread.

And I think you you do a disservice to both cars in that scenario. I think both are poor showings for new phones when on specs alone the Droid and Nexus outshine both with ease and were being introduced less than three months from the release of both the Moment and Hero. Old architecture processors, design flaws, clunky designs, lack of sensors and indicators and old firmware. Heck, maybe HTC had to create basic in the Hero and Eris to give Google an edge with the Nexus. I don't know. The Hero is "nice" if you like onscreen keyboards and "need" Sense. The Moment is "okay" if you need a physical keyboard. There is nothing earth shattering in either phone. The Droid is what it is, but the Nexus is in a different league than the Hero.

Moment = 2010 Ford Mustang
Hero = Lexus IS250

 

[PiggyGirl]

If you don't like the Moment, why are you reading this forum? People will ultimately make their own decison; no one needs to be converted, and there is a Hero forum...

 

[dkjones96]

Hero = Lexus IS250

So the Hero is a Toyota label whore?

 

[dbpaddler]

And I thought the forums were places where people could gather information from people who might have some knowledge about the products they own. In the case of a thread like this it's about people who have owned both phones and can make comparisons between the two to help others make their own informed decisions about which one to buy. Maybe it helps them vent about things they can't stand about the phone and others share their opinion, are happy someone else had similar issues, while others might be able to chime in and help with a workaround, a program they liked or just something someone didn't know about.

Seriously, if the thread topic doesn't concern you, why waste your precious time and energy to read through it (which you obviously didn't if you don't get the gist of it) and even respond. Just go to the market, stay home, have some roast beef or not, and leave threads like this alone

If you don't like the Moment, why are you reading this forum? People will ultimately make their own decison; no one needs to be converted, and there is a Hero forum...

 

[PiggyGirl]

There are multiple forums on this message board, including one specifically for the Hero. This one is for the Moment. While it is important to share experiences and opinions about the device, I fail to see how trying to convert everyone into a Hero user is helpful for current and future Moment owners. There are aguably many phones better than the Moment.

Threads about how and why the Hero is supposedly better than the Moment belong in the Hero's forum. That's just common sense, and common decency. The same as, say, an aetheist has no business on a religious-centered forum, or a Republican on a Democrats' forum...

 

[AndroidSPCS]

Such angry little fanboys around here. ...

Fanboys? Excuse me but I hate pointless threads cluttering up the forum.

I also chimed in on the Eris forum, where some new guy registered as "buh bye Eris" and proceeded to post a long rant about why he was returning his Eris because of this and that. Pretty much every one thought it was pointless and annoying.

No, threads like these do not help prospective buyers, because it gives them negative impressions without actually playing the phone and trying it out.

Threads with review type information are far better, than rants on "hey I dumped this phone for another phone"... pointless and wastes everyone's time.

 

[acp]

No, threads like these do not help prospective buyers, because it gives them negative impressions without actually playing the phone and trying it out.

this thread includes reviews from people who have owned both phones, that is the best possible scenario for a prospective buyer researching both phones online.

 

[dbpaddler]

Excuse me? I hate pointless posts from people who have no bearing on the topic and thus clog up a potentially useful thread. In fact, there was another thread posted, a poll actually, comparing people that have jumped ship or stuck with one or the other.

The only thing that gives buyers negative impressions are post like yours and miss piggy's. The posts by people who actually owned both phones or have continual access to them (not just played with in a store for 20 seconds) have not gone the route of "Hero rules, Moment drools". The only posts like that are the ones by you people on the opposite side because your feelings are hurt that someone isn't happy with the phone you picked. Awww... There isn't a phone comparison sub forum. People that switch phones and post their thoughts are going to post them in one forum or the other whether it's the one they came from or the one they went to.

And Piggy's points are completely off because it's more along the lines of an aethiest who thinks he/she found religion or a democrat who just jumped ship and became a republican. They're going to make a comparison of both sides because they have a knowledgable perspective of both. Threads like this aren't about an aethiest jumping into a Christian forum and saying "God doesn't exist and your religion is a farce." That's as dumb as coming into a thread about two phones and posting drivel when you've only owned just the one.

Now if I read a title like "buh bye Eris" I'd say don't let the door hit you in the *ss on the way out because I'd bet a dollar the point of the thread is to blindly trash the Eris.

In this case it's you, Piggy, birdy and the like that filled this thread full of waste because you can't stand people comparing and contrasting the two phones with the things they like and don't like. God forbid should someone see the Moment in a bad light because we all know it is just smartphone perfection (cough bullsh*t cough cough). Actually, Android isn't even smartphone perfection, it's closer to dumbphone perfection while being a smartphone wannabe. At least HTC attempts to improve on that aspect. That being said, I just deactivated my Hero and am retiring it to the nightstand again in favor of my Moment. The digital clock app is pretty nice.

If you want a Moment love fest, go to Samsung Moment Forum - Index since it's all Moment all the time. This is a general android site and people will be jumping ship and comparing all the various phones. People will be active in one subforum and then be active in another when they switch phones. So if you can think of a better place to put their thoughts on the two than in one of the two subforums, then be my guest and enlighten us. Until then, just don't post. If the thread is useless and wasteful, it will die and be on page 10 soon enough and you'll have your wish. Though I think there's been enough posts to the contrary. And aren't they lucky they get to read through this whole off topic argument. Way to go.

Fanboys? Excuse me but I hate pointless threads cluttering up the forum.

I also chimed in on the Eris forum, where some new guy registered as "buh bye Eris" and proceeded to post a long rant about why he was returning his Eris because of this and that. Pretty much every one thought it was pointless and annoying.

No, threads like these do not help prospective buyers, because it gives them negative impressions without actually playing the phone and trying it out.

Threads with review type information are far better, than rants on "hey I dumped this phone for another phone"... pointless and wastes everyone's time.