Getting HTC Hero in 3 days, what should I do first!!!!???

[dufran3]

Hey, I'm new to the scene. I am getting the HTC Hero(Sprint) in 3 days, I have already been looking around to see what I should do with it first. Also, this will be my first phone that has Android on it, so I have been looking around on that too. First off, I am a technical savy guy, so I'm not worried about not understanding how to do stuff to it. Could you maybe give me a list of the first things you would do to your Hero?

I did look at getting root access and was planning on doing that, would you suggest that.

Also, do you know if 1.6 is on these phones now?

Thanks!!! I hope to learn a lot soon!


Also looking at accessories I should get for it. Was thinking of getting this http://www.zagg.com/invisibleshield/htc-hero-sprint-cases-screen-protectors-covers-skins-shields.php...any comments?

 

[Nemmy]

If it doesn't have the latest firmware, do an update!!!!

 

[dufran3]

what is the latest firmware?

 

[Nemmy]

ROM Upgrade for HTC Hero_2.73.405.5

 

[quantumrand]

To answer one of your original questions, Android 1.6 is not yet available on the HTC (European) Hero. The Sprint (USA) Hero is a CDMA phone, so it must have at least some of the 1.6 package in it. I have not seen the actual Android version of the Sprint version, so I dont know if it is 1.6 or a modified 1.5.

I'd expect HTC to come out with another update for the European model before long, hopefully with Android 2.0, but certainly at least 1.6. The Sprint Hero should also be getting an update soon to fix a few bugs with the initial firmware (and possibly add Android 1.6/2.0).

Judging by your link, you're getting the Sprint version, in which case, that ROM upgrade Nemmy suggested will not work. DO NOT try and update to that ROM. It is for the European model, not the Sprint version.

Currently, the Sprint version has an issue with its default sms app, hurting your battery life. The first thing you should do is disable it and install a third party sms app (such as Handcent or ChompSMS).

Also, in your future posts (and probably not a bad idea to edit your original post as well), make it clear which version of the Hero you're talking about, either European or Sprint (or Verizon since it looks like they're getting one as well).

 

[dufran3]

Hey thanks for the information, sorry I didn't specify, being new to the scene, didn't realize I needed to specify. Yes I am getting the Hero(Sprint).

ROM Upgrade for HTC Hero_2.73.405.5

Is this the one I should use: http://www.htc.com/us/SupportDownload.aspx?p_id=300&cat=3&dl_id=716

 

[spenspuma]

Charge it up.

 

[dufran3]

Battery life isn't good? I read some reviews of people who said the battery was fine.

 

[quantumrand]

Hey thanks for the information, sorry I didn't specify, being new to the scene, didn't realize I needed to specify. Yes I am getting the Hero(Sprint).



Is this the one I should use: HTC Sync Upgrade for HTC Hero

Yes, that page is where Sprint ROM updates will show up. That specific file there is the HTC Sync program. It's what you'll use when an update comes out to install the new firmware. It also lets you sync contacts and calendar events and such.

The battery life for the Sprint Hero will be fine, but currently, the bug with the default SMS app is eating the battery life needlessly. For now, the only fix is to disable the default app and use a third party SMS app (like Handcent or ChompSMS).

 

[dufran3]

Ok, I think I can manage that. Thanks for the help.

SD Card: Any recommendations on a micro SD to get? I've heard that SanDisk is the way to go, and that it should be class 6. Does that mean SDHC? I've found some microsd cards that are SDHC and some that are not. I'm trying to find the one that will work best for the Hero. Any recommendations? Here is what I was currently looking at:

Newegg.com - class 6 micro sd

Also I was hoping to replace my old iPod with the Hero. Is the music support good for this device? Does it interrupt music listening when a call comes in? Does it work well? I was hoping to get a 16 GB microsd and have my music and apps on that. Thoughts?

 

[quantumrand]

If I were buying a 16GB microSD card from newegg today, I'd probably get this:
Newegg.com - OCZ 16GB Micro SDHC Flash Card w/ SD Adapter Model OCZMSDHC6-16G - Flash Memory

It's a bit more expensive than the generic 16GB cards, but it's hardly even a 10% markup, and OCZ makes very good performance products. You should definitely get a Class 6 card, especially if you intend to try to run apps from your SD card. The SDHC classification just means they're high capacity, it has no bearing on their speed. I'm pretty sure any SD card over 2GB is SDHC.

Now keep in mind that you can only install apps to the SD card if you root your phone. Of course that may or may not change when 2.0 Eclair comes out.

As for music, I've actually never had a phone call while listening to my music, but I'm sure it has an appropriate way of handling it. The play quality is great. I've only had it lag slightly once or twice when I was installing an app and doing something else at the same time. The default music app is pretty manageable and does a great job finding your songs and grouping them in artist/album/genre categories (album art supported).

 

[Edaze55]

To answer one of your original questions, Android 1.6 is not yet available on the HTC (European) Hero. The Sprint (USA) Hero is a CDMA phone, so it must have at least some of the 1.6 package in it. I have not seen the actual Android version of the Sprint version, so I dont know if it is 1.6 or a modified 1.5.

I'd expect HTC to come out with another update for the European model before long, hopefully with Android 2.0, but certainly at least 1.6. The Sprint Hero should also be getting an update soon to fix a few bugs with the initial firmware (and possibly add Android 1.6/2.0).

Judging by your link, you're getting the Sprint version, in which case, that ROM upgrade Nemmy suggested will not work. DO NOT try and update to that ROM. It is for the European model, not the Sprint version.

Currently, the Sprint version has an issue with its default sms app, hurting your battery life. The first thing you should do is disable it and install a third party sms app (such as Handcent or ChompSMS).

Also, in your future posts (and probably not a bad idea to edit your original post as well), make it clear which version of the Hero you're talking about, either European or Sprint (or Verizon since it looks like they're getting one as well).

The Sprint Hero is using a modified 1.5 version of Android. I dont know if they got the 1.6 CDMA support from Google or if they built their own support.

As for an OS upgrade, it was mentioned when the Hero first came out that the first update wouldnt be anything OS related. I dont know that Sprint users will actually see 1.6. They might, but I believe someone at Sprint stated an OS update wasnt likely until 2010 sometime.

 

[dufran3]

I've been looking around, and I've heard that if you root the Hero(Sprint) you can't get OTA updates. Does this mean that I won't be able to update get any updates for my phone? :-( That would suck

 

[toomuchgame441]

Well you definitely want to play around with the keyboard, get used to it a bit. Let it learn how you actually type.

 

[quantumrand]

When you're running a rooted ROM, odds are you wont be able to get OTA updates, or install official updates yourself (since they'd overwrite the root), but the mod scene will more than likely have a rooted version of the update out shortly after the update hits the air. In the case of the Hero, the modders have been releasing rooted versions of updates before the updates are even officially available.

 

[dufran3]

When you're running a rooted ROM, odds are you wont be able to get OTA updates, or install official updates yourself (since they'd overwrite the root), but the mod scene will more than likely have a rooted version of the update out shortly after the update hits the air. In the case of the Hero, the modders have been releasing rooted versions of updates before the updates are even officially available.

oh, ok. Well that is a relief. Would you recommend rooting it?

 

[quantumrand]

Well, thus far the only reason to root my Hero would be for tethering and apps2sd, but I have yet to have much use for either; however, with the advent of HTC releasing their Hero kernel, there may be some nice new additions to the mod scene.

If a rooted ROM adds the full android.speech package to the Hero (as well as apps2sd and tethering), I'll probably root mine, assuming HTC shows no sign of adding that feature to their official ROM. For now, I'm waiting.

 

[dufran3]

Well, thus far the only reason to root my Hero would be for tethering and apps2sd, but I have yet to have much use for either; however, with the advent of HTC releasing their Hero kernel, there may be some nice new additions to the mod scene.

If a rooted ROM adds the full android.speech package to the Hero (as well as apps2sd and tethering), I'll probably root mine, assuming HTC shows no sign of adding that feature to their official ROM. For now, I'm waiting.

I'm assuming that apps2sd is the ability to run apps off of the sd card? If so, that is what I was hoping to do. What is the android.speech package?

 

[Edaze55]

I've been looking around, and I've heard that if you root the Hero(Sprint) you can't get OTA updates. Does this mean that I won't be able to update get any updates for my phone? :-( That would suck

I dont believe that Sprint was planning on doing OTA updates. When they were asked about it, they mumbled something or other about size and that was when it was stated an OS update wouldnt likely happen until 2010.


Most of the users here would recommend rooting it. As it stands right now. Good luck with that. AFAIK, and Ive been waiting to hear those magic words, the Sprint Hero hasnt been rooted yet. By anyone.

 

[dufran3]

Most of the users here would recommend rooting it. As it stands right now. Good luck with that. AFAIK, and Ive been waiting to hear those magic words, the Sprint Hero hasnt been rooted yet. By anyone.

What magic words would you be referring to?

Also, is it beneficial to run apps off of the SD card? or is that not really something I should do? I saw some things about formatting it to ext3 and such, not sure how that would work for me because I plan on putting my mp3 collection on my sd card too. I know I'm a n00b. I'm sorry, just trying to learn. You folks on here seem to know way more than me...I'm a sponge...soak me!

 

[quantumrand]

I've been looking around, and I've heard that if you root the Hero(Sprint) you can't get OTA updates. Does this mean that I won't be able to update get any updates for my phone? :-( That would suck

I'm assuming that apps2sd is the ability to run apps off of the sd card? If so, that is what I was hoping to do. What is the android.speech package?

Apps2SD is indeed the ability to run apps directly from the SD card, but I think you'll find that you probably wont have any space issues with apps any time soon. Also, there's still the possibility that 2.0 Eclair may include the ability to run apps directly from the SD card natively, negating the need to root the device in order to do it.

The android.speech package is what makes TTS and voice recognition possible. As things stand now, the Hero (at least the Euro version) does not include this ability. I currently have a support ticket open with HTC regarding this issue, and hopefully I'll have some definitive answers on it within the next few days. There is however the Enhanced TTS library available on the Marketplace that will allow TTS capabilities, but still no voice recognition >.<

 

[dufran3]

Apps2SD is indeed the ability to run apps directly from the SD card, but I think you'll find that you probably wont have any space issues with apps any time soon. Also, there's still the possibility that 2.0 Eclair may include the ability to run apps directly from the SD card natively, negating the need to root the device in order to do it.

I was worried about the space issue because I have heard across the web that the device starts to run slower the more apps you have. I was wanting to try a good number of apps on my device, and didn't want to have to deal with my device slowing down. I thought this would be a great way to get around that right out of the gate.


And additional question I have. Which keyboard do you guys use? I used the first Instinct, and texting was very slow! There was a big delay when typing, I'm a fast texter, and I'm hoping this wont be a problem on the hero. But I did hear that some keyboards are faster and more responsive than others...which do you guys find to work best?

 

[quantumrand]

The amount of space that apps take up really has no effect on the speed of the device. The reason the device slows down as you install more apps is because a lot of apps will start up on boot, taking up more RAM. RAM is what keeps the device running crisp, not Flash memory. All apps2SD does it save room in your flash memory.

The best way to keep the phone running smooth with a lot of apps is to install a task manager (I personally use TasKiller) to close any additional apps taking up your RAM.

As for the keyboard, the default that comes with the Hero (usually in landscape mode) works fine for me. I also type pretty fast on it, but it keeps up. Basically I just throw my fingers at the approximate location of the key I want and let the phone sort out what I'm trying to type. It's surprisingly accurate.

Setting up apps2SD isnt all that tough. The mention of the ext3 partition can be setup automatically now I think, and it's only a small portion of your SD card (like 1GB or whatever). Then a partition is formatted as a swap space (basically like Window's Page File) and is also small. The rest is the usual FAT32 format.

 

[Nemmy]

Apologies for posting the incorrect update link earlier in this thread
I was just trying to help.

 

[gnarlyDUCK]

Doesnt look like anyone mentioned this, but im sure being a techie, you want to take some screen shots.

Taking screenshots on an Android-based phone

The only problem i ran into while trying that method, was needing the latest version of Java.