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Sprint Officially Announces Sprint HERO!

THIS IS AWESOME!! I'm so happy I got the UK version which looks WAY better then this new version. I hate having the same damn device as everyone else. Go on a subway here in NYC and even old ladies have iphones.

At least no one will ever be rocking the all white teflon HTC Hero!! Besides that sprint service sucks.

Thanks SPRINT for making me look cooler!
 
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IMO, the look of the new model is growing on me. Being a long-time Sprint subscriber, I'm quite happy with their service and coverage here in Central Florida. Never have any dropped calls, and always have great data speeds. This new look is definitely unique in it's own way, and it looks like a Sprint phone. I'm glad to see that it'll be available Oct. 11th for $179. My 2-year upgrade rebate will be available soon so I'll be getting this phone on the cheap for sure.
 
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What the heck?!! The specs for the sprint version says it has a 1500 mha battery, but only 4 hours of talk time?!

The gsm version of the phone says 7 hours of talk time, and it has an even smaller battery capacity. Do you think there's a typo regarding the sprint version? That just doesn't make sense to me.
 
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@explicit - what's the cost of your data plan on Sprint look like?

@alex - could it be the sprint network is more power hungry? I know that the slightest adjustment in my G1 apps drains battery fast (as in from the Market). So either their network or their pre-load apps are likely the cause of the difference. Though we could all hope for the typo.
I have a SERO plan so I only pay about $40.00 for 500 anytime minutes, free N&W @ 7pm, unlimited data and text.
 
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I am curious if you were buying a device now in the US for the first time and wanted Android would you go network shopping or device shopping?

Tmobile or Sprint
Hero or G1 or MyTouch

I went platform Shopping. After being disappointed by the Pre (mostly the phones build quality), I decided to give the myTouch a try 2 weeks ago.

For me, it is working and I find the call quality to be pretty good compared to the RAZR. I am porting my number to www.numbergarauge.com and will then port it to Google Voice once the allow it.

Also, GSM is generally requires less power than CDMA which is why GSM phones typically have 2 - 2.5 times the call length on a given size battery.
Also, the GSM technology has benefits over CDMA: the primary one being the ability to pull the SIM card and place it into any GSM phone supported by the Carrier. I will also be picking up a used iPhone and start actively developing on mobile devices with apps by years end.
 
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@explicit - what's the cost of your data plan on Sprint look like?

@alex - could it be the sprint network is more power hungry? I know that the slightest adjustment in my G1 apps drains battery fast (as in from the Market). So either their network or their pre-load apps are likely the cause of the difference. Though we could all hope for the typo.

Thanks dkaufman1. I still think 4 hours of talk time is like SUPER low! Maybe I'm wrong though. Is that average/normal? Seems low to me.
 
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While the Sprint Hero does look "slightly" better than the leaked China pics, Im not sure Im sold on the facelift. The upside, they stuck to one color metal. As pointed out though, a change this dramatic really warrants a new name.

Either way, I'm going to have to play with this phone awhile in store before I decide to buy it, or wait different device.
 
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Ok...I'm new to sprint lingo...what's a SERO plan? That's a good price compared to Tmobile though for 500 minutes and data.
It stands for Sprint Employee Referral Offer. It used to be offered for friends and family members of Sprint Employees. You would need a special Sprint employee email address to get it. Unfortunately, they got rid of it and have something more expensive called "Everything Plus Referral Program." The plan I have is no longer available, and you will need a Sprint Employee email address along with the last 3 digits of the employee's ID number (CID). You could Google it and get an email and CID.
 
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The Hero is an amazing little thing.
I got it 2 weeks ago in exchange of an iPhone 3GS that sorely disappointed me.
I own also a Nokia N97 and and HTC TouchHD (which is 10 months old but still the best win mob phone money can buy,at least here in Denmark where Toshiba's TG01 is not available), but the Hero has quickly become my favorite phone in a very short time.
If you liked the MyTouch (which was'nt bad) you're gonna totally love the Hero which is much much, much better in every aspect: speed, UI, camera, screen, everything; and that's why HTC released it such a short time after the identically specced (on paper) MyTouch.
Try to read the thread about the new ROM (2.0) due out in a couple of days and you'll be even more tempted to upgrade from myTouch to Hero.

The only thing I really don't get is why the American (sprint) edition has to be so much uglier than our squared chin european version; sorry about that guys, but in any case go for it.
Ive had it for over 2 weeks and it still surprise me every time I use it.
 
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The Hero is an amazing little thing.
I got it 2 weeks ago in exchange of an iPhone 3GS that sorely disappointed me.
I own also a Nokia N97 and and HTC TouchHD (which is 10 months old but still the best win mob phone money can buy,at least here in Denmark where Toshiba's TG01 is not available), but the Hero has quickly become my favorite phone in a very short time.
If you liked the MyTouch (which was'nt bad) you're gonna totally love the Hero which is much much, much better in every aspect: speed, UI, camera, screen, everything; and that's why HTC released it such a short time after the identically specced (on paper) MyTouch.
Try to read the thread about the new ROM (2.0) due out in a couple of days and you'll be even more tempted to upgrade from myTouch to Hero.

The only thing I really don't get is why the American (sprint) edition has to be so much uglier than our squared chin european version; sorry about that guys, but in any case go for it.
Ive had it for over 2 weeks and it still surprise me every time I use it.

Great write up. Sounds like you used the MyTouch or least had a hands on. Do you find the Hero "faster" in menu access and other processor intense things? With that slick interface overlay I wondered if it slowed it down at all?
 
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Sounds like you used the MyTouch or least had a hands on. Do you find the Hero "faster" in menu access and other processor intense things? With that slick interface overlay I wondered if it slowed it down at all?

Yes, I had the My touch in my hands very often because some friends and collegues ,including some with whom I am obliged to spend most of my waking hours, bought it last spring and I carefuly checked it out because at the time I was looking for a subsitute for my old Samsung Omnia (i900).
I thought it was OK , but in the end it did'nt convince me so I bought the N97, which now (after Nokia produced 2 new ROMs in a month and about 2 OTA firmware updates and fixes A DAY for the last 3 weeks, plus some intensive decrapping sessions and themes and apps downloads)it has finally become the superphone it was'nt when it first came out of its box.

The Hero however is my fav now, the Sense UI is a real pleasure to use and does not slow the system one little bit because the phone is actually faster than the identically specced (on paper) My touch.
If you want to understand why you should read this thread


http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/8616-custom-htc-hero-rom-1-5-super-fast.html


It's incredible what a well optimized software can do for speeding up a phone.
 
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THIS IS AWESOME!! I'm so happy I got the UK version which looks WAY better then this new version. I hate having the same damn device as everyone else. Go on a subway here in NYC and even old ladies have iphones..... .....At least no one will ever be rocking the all white teflon HTC Hero!! Besides that sprint service sucks.
Even though I wouldn't join your trash-fest against Sprint as I can't agree with them being a bad carrier (I'm a T-mobile customer), I do agree with you in that my imported teflon white HTC will be more unique and nicer to my eyes than the version Sprint will launch with a more business-y look (am I the only one getting that vibe?).


chins1.png
 
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Even though I wouldn't join your trash-fest against Sprint as I can't agree with them being a bad carrier (I'm a T-mobile customer), I do agree with you in that my imported teflon white HTC will be more unique and nicer to my eyes than the version Sprint will launch with a more business-y look (am I the only one getting that vibe?).

You arent the only one with that vibe. I refered to it earlier as a more "grown up" looking phone, but yeah, business-y works too. Its probably a good bet they had it redesigned to make it a more serious looking phone. I didnt have a problem with the Euro version, but I could imagine someone sitting in on a board meeting might feel a little different.
 
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Even though I wouldn't join your trash-fest against Sprint as I can't agree with them being a bad carrier (I'm a T-mobile customer), I do agree with you in that my imported teflon white HTC will be more unique and nicer to my eyes than the version Sprint will launch with a more business-y look (am I the only one getting that vibe?).


chins1.png
Hey rdelfn,

You are on t-mobile with the GSM Hero? How's the speed on EDGE? Does it affect the widgets (ie: Weather/facebook status in contacts, etc)? Are they slow to load?

Would you recommend going that route? I'm on t-mobile and debating whether to switch to sprint or import a GSM Hero. Please let me know your thoughts.

Also...how will you update firmware since it's not through a carrier, hence no OTA updates. Do you have to go to the HTC site and download and install yourself from there? Please let me know if you have any info. Thanks in advance!
 
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