Hero v Pre: Round 1

[mocciamm]

For everybody that's owned both, how about throwing out some pro and cons?

 

[mjz773]

Besides the Apps on Android, I would say the Pre is a better phone. I have owned both phones.

Multitasking- Obviously the Pre is much better, its smoother, and it allows you to do anything at the same time v. Android 6 last used apps.

Web: The Pre's browser is one of the best, Safari on the 3GS is a little faster (wifi), but the Pre is one of the fastest, clean looking, and much better multitouch than hero

Apps: Hero, android has much more and much better apps/games, web os only has a 1000, if android didnt have so many headsets released, The pre would have much more, but android beat them.

Customization: Hero, obviouslt better because you have widgets, and can HTC Sense, which is great. However the Pre does have a nice sleek UI.

Multimedia: Pre, I think HTC Sucked at making the Hero a Music player, it is by far the worst music player I have seen on a phone. Way to laggy, and too much going on, the Pre is clean looking, and works without lag.

Notifications: tie, android has notification bar, but Web os has something similar that pops up on the bottom, and you dont have to swipe it up or down, the bubble just shows up.

Camera:tie, on paper HTC is better but they are the same.
Video: HTC, Pre doesn't have it.

Typing: tie, the keyboard on pre is cramped at first but takes some getting used to, typing on the hero is not bad at all, untill palm releases on on screen keyboard its a tie.

Lock screen: Pre, much easier, HTC also crippled the lock screen by making it slide down, v. the pre single circle that you drag up.

Screen: Hero: 262,000 colors 480*320 resolution, 3.2 inch screen v. Pre 16 million, 480*320 resolution, 3.1 inch screen.

 

[fireboltr]

Honestly I'm probably going back to the pre.
I'm tired of the lag machine (hero).
I'm tired of not receiving all my calls, and texts.
I really really hate the freaking e-mail limit on the hero, causing me miss too many important things.

Besides palm Is actually supporting the pre like no other.
When 1.4 drops in a couple of days, the hero for a zero.

 

[tatonka_Hero]

Honestly I'm probably going back to the pre.
I'm tired of the lag machine (hero).
I'm tired of not receiving all my calls, and texts.
I really really hate the freaking e-mail limit on the hero, causing me miss too many important things.

Besides palm Is actually supporting the pre like no other.
When 1.4 drops in a couple of days, the hero for a zero.

Lol, wow.

Lag? Root/ROM to fix that (extremely simple)
Not receiving calls/texts? sounds like you need to go to tech support.
Email limit? No clue what you're talking about, as the only email limit that would be there is based on your gmail account, assuming you're using gmail. Otherwise it's in your settings, to change how many emails (based on the date received) are shown in the app.

If the pre was running android, and wasn't so ugly..then maybe I'd go for it.

 

[dhero]

I've played with the Pre and iPhones, and have been working the technology end of cellular | wireless services since 1986. And there's been only one platform that has truly excited me since 1996 (when it was GSM Nokia), and that's the Android platform. And only one of those that would entice me to give up my enterprise Blackberry, and that's Android with the Sense UI. Hopefully this will incent Palm and Apple, or others, to improve on the customizable and open (or at least standards based) concept - but until then, I want my HTC Hero!

 

[fireboltr]

The e-mail limit is in the phone.
I hate/do not use g-mail.

It has to do with the small amount of available memory on the phone.
The limit is set by HTC, I don't remember the size offhand but it is small, you can't receive more than like 30 full html messages before it quits taking them.

 

[tatonka_Hero]

i'm sure there's an app that will work that limit out.

But, if you want a pre, go for it...

 

[Matt Scars]

I got rid of my Pre to get the Hero. And I pretty much agree with MJZ773 on everything except the camera part, I'm pretty sure the Hero Camera is a lot better, My Pre never took Pictures like this phone does, BUT one other thing, The Pre has a FLASH!

Personally, If I could have the WebOS, With the HTC Sense, In the Hero Body. I'd be set and that phone would sell Millions.

 

[Droidone]

I currently have both and I have to say that it is a tough decision between the two. They both do some things better than the other.

1st Build quality...hands down the hero wins with a flaming torch

2nd UI I have to say that this goes to the pre with the hero right behind it. I say this because the multitasking that can be done on the pre is second to none

3rd Screen quality between the two seem to be real close to me. I like that the hero has a glass screen

4th Web browsing is great on both but multi touch is better on the pre. I give everything else to the hero because I like browsing on it better

5th Email is much better on the pre for me because both my accounts are integrated in one central place...unlike the hero where there is a gmail and a email icon to keep charge of

6th Camera on both, well they are cell phones, so I really don't care but the pre is a little better because of flash

7th Games... the pre wins there because they actually have real 3d games from gameloft that are idetical to the iphone. One flaw is they are not the easiest to play on a small screen. I have all the 3d games currently out and even though they are fun. I hardly play them because the battery sucks on the pre.

8th Battery (the battery sucks on the pre and is not that bad on the hero) nuff said..

9th Keyboard, The hero has a great onscreen keyboard but it can be a pain in the arse sometimes. The pre has a decent keyboard but can be real hard to use one hand. I give this to the hero because I can type faster then I can on the pre and I can use it one handed.

I am weighing my options daily between the two and it is a real hard decision because I like the pre for what it can do but the build quality is just not up to par. This is big because the refurbs sprint hand out are usually worst then the phone your turning in.

If you want a solid phone all the way around, Choose the hero.
If you want a phone with top notch UI then the pre would be it.

I am currently rooted and running the new AOSP 2.0 rom and it is great and really brought the hero back to life for me. 1.5 sucks compared to anything above 2.0. I am using the hero this week and then have to make that final decision. Just waiting for the 1.4 update on the pre before I make my final decision.

I hope this helps. Any specific questions, Just ask

 

[Mauddib]

I owned both but switched to the Hero in October. The Pre was very nice but the problems with build quality makes this an easy Hero win. The Oreo effect just got worse every day with the Pre and not worth the trouble of trying to get Sprint to replace it. The Hero has everything the Pre has except for fluid multi-tasking. I don't think I have been happier with a phone than I have been with the Hero.

 

[fireboltr]

It's not that I don't totally agree with the build quality issues with the pre.

I have tried the root Rom fun with the hero and yes it makes the phone itself rock bit none of the custom roms use the a-gps. This royaly blows as I use the crap out of the navigation system.

 

[fireboltr]

It's not that I don't totally agree with the build quality issues with the pre.

I have tried the root Rom fun with the hero and yes it makes the phone itself rock bit none of the custom roms use the a-gps. This royaly blows as I use the crap out of the navigation system.

 

[tatonka_Hero]

why not just turn the GPS on and leave it on?

It doesn't actually turn on until an app calls on it, and the navigation apps are just about the only ones that call on it...

Maybe I'm missing something with this "a-gps" thing

 

[saint84]

I have to agree totally with Droidone, I have both as well and am just learning the ropes with the Hero. I've had the Iphone 3g, Blackberries, Samsung I 760 and so far the Hero is probably the top as far as build quality only next to the Iphone. The Older BB's (the world edition) was a tank of a phone but anyways back to the Pre Vs. Hero. I loved/hated the Pre, It's like this pretty cool phone with cool shiney things but that's it. I hated the limited apps, I couldn't forward PDF's for some reason, I have no idea why and that was a Huge Huge bad no no in my line of work. I found I like the browser much better (so far) on the Pre, it just seemed easier. Basically everything else though I've found I like the hero 10x better. It's the first phone I've had besides the 3g that I absolutely love, like it's an extention of my hand, I wanna learn everything about it. As far as people talking about the Hero and lag.... I've had that on about every smart phone I've ever used, I had it all the stinkin time on the Pre too, and due to the fact that I already had a huge disdain of the Pre it just P'd me off even worse. I've had a few "Luggish" points so far with the hero but due to the fact that I love this phone I'm just like "Eh, no biggy" and I think that that is really what it comes down to, if you like the phone you will be willing to put up with "Kinks" with the phone. I know this wasn't very intuitive because I think that what Droidone said pretty much hits the nail on the head.

 

[chestont]

My father has the Palm Pre, when he got it I had major phone envy for a while. The phone has a great UI and it is super smooth and responsive. That being said, I love my Hero now that I have it rooted with fresh.

Web OS on the Pre is a more refined and polished OS out of the box, but Android on the Hero is so much more customizable and fun to play around with. And with all the Android handsets coming out, its reassuring to know there will be a lot of support for it in the near future.

 

[pwabbit]

-The Pre's build quality is horrible, the Hero's is pretty good (not great though).
-The ability to jump from open program to open program, the WebOS is second to none. The Android could use some help.
-The camera is about equal. The Pre's flash is pretty much useless unless you want to use it as a flashlight.
-Quantity of programs: The Android wins hands down. That is the main reason I switched from the Pre to Android.
-Contacts/Email/Calendar: The WebOS blows the Android away in these areas. Palm put a lot of effort into these features, and it shows.
-Battery life: I thought the Pre and Hero were comparable in stock form.
-Performance: In stock form, the Pre performs better than the Hero. With rooting, custom ROM, Gumbo Kernel, the Hero is better than the Pre.

Given the chance to pick a phone all over again, I would pick the Hero, but would prefer the Pre if it had as many apps as the Hero/iPhone. The WebOS is an awesome operating system.

 

[dmm5157]

why not just turn the GPS on and leave it on?

It doesn't actually turn on until an app calls on it, and the navigation apps are just about the only ones that call on it...

Maybe I'm missing something with this "a-gps" thing

Yeah, I'm lost on this as well. I must not be understanding his question.

I use the HTC GPS widget to toggle it on and off, but when I'm using GPS a lot when I travel, I just leave it on so I don't have to wait the extra 2 seconds it takes to hit the widget.

 

[jazzneel]

how is the battery life on the Hero compared to the Pre? And by this, I mean total talk time until the battery dies? And also, I text ALOT, so how does texting alot affect the battery life on the Hero as opposed to the Pre?

 

[Droidone]

how is the battery life on the Hero compared to the Pre? And by this, I mean total talk time until the battery dies? And also, I text ALOT, so how does texting alot affect the battery life on the Hero as opposed to the Pre?

Battery wise, I can say that comparing apples to apples. If I use the hero all day, which consist of web browsing, 60 minutes of calls, 40 text messages and using an app here and there and a game here and there. I can get a full day out of the phone no problem.

Scenario 2 with the pre and I wouldn't make it to 5pm before I hit 15%. I have two batteries for my pre, a car charger, and two home chargers....I have only two house chargers for the hero.... I think that says it all. People complain about the hero battery and I really don't know where it's coming from. I have never had a problem with mine.

 

[mocciamm]

Good stuff guys – it looks like the Hero wins on points, but definately not a clear KO. Let’s head over to the “other” forum and see if home-court advantage is a factor.

 

[Droidone]

Good stuff guys

 

[Dose]

I have both, and my wife has a Pre.

Even tho small I miss the keyboard on the pre......I just had to backspace multiple times just to type that sentence*hero

I miss the multitasking.....

I wanted a more customizable phone, and more apps...so i got the hero.....Now I could care less..it was cool at first...but now.....Ehhh......who cares, and as far as apps go.....I dont use many, except when Its time to show off

Hero has widgets yes....but on the pre.....if open an app....u can just leave it open and go back to It whenever...so not a big deal

I hated the position of the mic on the pre, Ann always dropped the pre*not recommended for 1 hand use*

Build quality Ehh, off course the hero is going to be better It Isnt a slider....but dust under my screen and call and end buttons fading aren't a plus for me

Imho....it all depends on what you want......oh wait one more thing
Battery life......Pre........horrible........don't plan to use your phone for long.....my hero lasts all day.....and Its been a while since I've had a phone that does that.

If your a moderate user who needs a keyboard*I've been laggy typing this whole time* go with pre

If u need custom, apps, battery life....pre...

I have stuck with my hero....but there's a lot I miss about the pre...... I think when the next webos phone comes out....I will get It......or if a not huge slider keyboard Android comes.....I will get that too.... I buy em all.....and now with every yr upgrades.....life is even better

 

[pwabbit]

If u need custom, apps, battery life....Hero...

Fixed it for you

 

[bradspace]

I have recently become a Hero user and migrated from the Pre. I think the Pre has the best UI hands down. The open apps on Android drive me insane. It's like being back on WinMo. I know that there are a ton of app killers, but I don't NEED one with the Pre. I am trying hard to love the Hero, but it's hard. Email came immediately to the Pre. Not so with the Hero. When it hits me that I haven't received an email alert in a while, I go to check it and it hasn't updated even though I have it on send as it arrives. I am here to search for ways of improving battery life and flashing to a new ROM if there is one available for the Sprint Hero. We'll see how it goes.

 

[tatonka_Hero]

I have recently become a Hero user and migrated from the Pre. I think the Pre has the best UI hands down. The open apps on Android drive me insane. It's like being back on WinMo. I know that there are a ton of app killers, but I don't NEED one with the Pre. I am trying hard to love the Hero, but it's hard. Email came immediately to the Pre. Not so with the Hero. When it hits me that I haven't received an email alert in a while, I go to check it and it hasn't updated even though I have it on send as it arrives. I am here to search for ways of improving battery life and flashing to a new ROM if there is one available for the Sprint Hero. We'll see how it goes.

You don't NEED an appkiller with android either. In fact, it's probably what's giving your phone the issues.

Flashing a ROM will improve your battery life. There's no reason you shouldn't get 18 hours minimum with a custom ROM.

Your best bet is to have email come every 15 minutes for now. That was probably part of the reason the Pre has such terrible battery life, if you had email coming immediately.