I've now had my HTC Hero (T-Mpbile G2) for a week. So far I am really enjoying it. Many reviews have said it is sluggish but it's not something I have noticed, probably because my old phone was a N95 8GB rather than an iphone (which is what every review of the HTC is comparing it to).
I have noticed a few small problems though; I thought I'd share them incase they are common problems (with an easy solution). For example, the other day the regular text messaging app kept closing because of some error. I tried again and lost my message again so had to power off and back on (which seemed to fix it).
When entering text (messaging/browsing/emailing etc), the screen sometimes takes a while to rotate when you turn the phone long ways. Occasionally it just doesn't work at all and you are left with the compact keyboard.
HTC Sync isn't working for me either. I have installed, uninstalled and reinstalled HTC sync, both from the phone itself and from the HTC website;however I can't get it to connect. Any other HTC owners have this problem (particularly G2 users).
First impressions :
* The Android market is pretty good. With 30+ android phones rumoured to be coming out over the next 6 months, I imagine we will see some fantastic new applications enter the market.
* Battery life seems good for a multimedia device. As with all phones, the more you browse, use gps/wifi, listen to music, watch clips etc, the more the battery will drain. Seems very good so far though.
* I'm really finding typing difficult. I owned the i-mate JAM a few years ago and had the same problem and sold the phone because of it.
Touchscreen keyboards have clearly come a long way since then however replying to text messages is still taking me 2-3 times more than it would with a standard nokia/SE phone with hard keys. And I find myself constantly having to hit the backspace key because I hit the wrong part of the keyboard.
Though it should be noted that the suggestions feature works fantastically, without it I'd be lost.
I assume that I will get better at typing after using the device longer. Out of interest, how long did it take you new touchscreen phone owners out there to get used to typing proficiently with it?
* Camera isn't that great (though not an issue for me as it wasn't what I was purchasing it for).
* The default Twitter application (Peep) works great and integrates with other Twitter apps like Twitpic for uploading pictures etc. Though it can be sluggish at times.
* Gaming seems to be the same as on the iphone (I have an apple touch with some games on it so can compare). The trackball helps a little but I find it is a little too sensitive with some games. Not a major problem for me though.
* I love the way the Hero discreetly notifies you of new emails and tweets at the top of the screen. Works really well (email/twitter was on of the reasons I wanted the Hero).
* Can't currently send images via bluetooth. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future android update or app release.
* I love how you can link contacts up with their facebook profiles and their flikr accounts. Works incredibly well.
* The Home button is very handy.
On a side note, I have to echo what other people have been saying about their being no need to have both a T-Mobile G2 Touch and a HTC Hero forum room. 95% of HTC Hero questions will no doubt be about the phone itself rather than the network the user is using.
Would it not make more sense to move all the posts into one room and create a sticky post to let users know that they should note the name of their carrier when asking a question regarding a problem with an application or whatever?
Two final questions
* Do you think it's worth rooting the HTC Hero? Pros/Cons etc
* Do you think it's worth switching off HTC Sense. In your opinion, does it save a lot of memory and make things much quicker?
Would love to hear back from fellow Hero owners about all of this
Kevin
I have noticed a few small problems though; I thought I'd share them incase they are common problems (with an easy solution). For example, the other day the regular text messaging app kept closing because of some error. I tried again and lost my message again so had to power off and back on (which seemed to fix it).
When entering text (messaging/browsing/emailing etc), the screen sometimes takes a while to rotate when you turn the phone long ways. Occasionally it just doesn't work at all and you are left with the compact keyboard.
HTC Sync isn't working for me either. I have installed, uninstalled and reinstalled HTC sync, both from the phone itself and from the HTC website;however I can't get it to connect. Any other HTC owners have this problem (particularly G2 users).
First impressions :
* The Android market is pretty good. With 30+ android phones rumoured to be coming out over the next 6 months, I imagine we will see some fantastic new applications enter the market.
* Battery life seems good for a multimedia device. As with all phones, the more you browse, use gps/wifi, listen to music, watch clips etc, the more the battery will drain. Seems very good so far though.
* I'm really finding typing difficult. I owned the i-mate JAM a few years ago and had the same problem and sold the phone because of it.
Touchscreen keyboards have clearly come a long way since then however replying to text messages is still taking me 2-3 times more than it would with a standard nokia/SE phone with hard keys. And I find myself constantly having to hit the backspace key because I hit the wrong part of the keyboard.
Though it should be noted that the suggestions feature works fantastically, without it I'd be lost.
I assume that I will get better at typing after using the device longer. Out of interest, how long did it take you new touchscreen phone owners out there to get used to typing proficiently with it?
* Camera isn't that great (though not an issue for me as it wasn't what I was purchasing it for).
* The default Twitter application (Peep) works great and integrates with other Twitter apps like Twitpic for uploading pictures etc. Though it can be sluggish at times.
* Gaming seems to be the same as on the iphone (I have an apple touch with some games on it so can compare). The trackball helps a little but I find it is a little too sensitive with some games. Not a major problem for me though.
* I love the way the Hero discreetly notifies you of new emails and tweets at the top of the screen. Works really well (email/twitter was on of the reasons I wanted the Hero).
* Can't currently send images via bluetooth. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future android update or app release.
* I love how you can link contacts up with their facebook profiles and their flikr accounts. Works incredibly well.
* The Home button is very handy.
On a side note, I have to echo what other people have been saying about their being no need to have both a T-Mobile G2 Touch and a HTC Hero forum room. 95% of HTC Hero questions will no doubt be about the phone itself rather than the network the user is using.
Would it not make more sense to move all the posts into one room and create a sticky post to let users know that they should note the name of their carrier when asking a question regarding a problem with an application or whatever?
Two final questions
* Do you think it's worth rooting the HTC Hero? Pros/Cons etc
* Do you think it's worth switching off HTC Sense. In your opinion, does it save a lot of memory and make things much quicker?
Would love to hear back from fellow Hero owners about all of this
Kevin
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