HTC Hero: Tips, Tricks & Useful Apps [v1.6]

[stealthpaws]

Kppsk...there's only one. It'll turn green & blink when you have a notification.

Um...I have a question about apps. Is there ANY app out there as an alternative to the default Hero "albums" ? I thought I saw one that had a filmstrip view option (with a roughly 3/4 size photo showing also), but can't find it anywhere. I really dislike the album app...it's slow even when it's loaded and I have a lot of photos. I have grouped them into albums, but that seemed to slow it down even more. Any suggestions?

 

[KppsK]

Thanks stealthpaws,

It would be nice if there were two led notificators , maybe in htc hero 2 ...

About the apps, I just get back from market , u can find a lot of application there. They are filtered by type, so you have multimedia, games, entertainment... pretty much cool for android community. I am not aware of other source of apps, but if somethings comes up,I'll let all know

Cheers

 

[stealthpaws]

Yeah...I'm sorta addicted to the Apps Market...lol. Can't find a good photo album tho. I'll check back every so often. Thanks!

 

[zeze999]

great, great site... thanks a bunch... however, lot of barcodes are not recognizible by my program... startup auditor is one I am looking for, I can't even find it on search in the market...so please help me, how can I get it? or some alternative program... thanks in advance...

 

[lekky]

great, great site... thanks a bunch... however, lot of barcodes are not recognizible by my program... startup auditor is one I am looking for, I can't even find it on search in the market...so please help me, how can I get it? or some alternative program... thanks in advance...

Where are you based, you might not be able to access paid apps.

 

[Heroine]

The Camera Zoom FX application however manages to produce much better pictures, and is definitely worth the very small cost (

 

[zeze999]

Where are you based, you might not be able to access paid apps.

in croatia... I am new in smartphone comunity so, it might be that's the problem... I was surprised that all apps in the market are free

anyhow, any other free startup program to recommend? market search doesn't give me any

 

[jonaldo87]

Ive had my HERO for 6 months now and im still impressed

I use these apps and would recommend to anyone

Audio manager (cool widget for managing the different audio parts of HERO)
Advanced Task Manager (the best app i have used for stopping/killing application)
Age of conquest (Really Good and adictive Game)
Astro (The best file manager app around)
BBC news (Good widget for keeping upto date with the news or sports in my case)
Beeb player (For catching up with missed TV)
Bettercut (Makes everythign look cool and great for making shirtcuts)
Bloo (i Use this for the notification checker)
Calorie counter ( A must have application for keeping fit, specially after christmas)
Documents to go (Great for opening and working on word documents and excel sheets)
Dolphin Browser ( Much better than the Stock browser, tabs facility are really usful)
FX camera (good if you like taking photos)
Google unread (widget that shows how many unread e-mails you have)
Handcent SMS (the SMS app on the market, doesn't load the full conversation list which saves time, the default app was laoding all 3000 meassages on thread!)
Hidenseek (Great app for hiding naugty photos from certain people)
Imusic (free music??? YES please?
lock 2.0 (Pin access to the phone instead of deafult shape security which is murder when drunk)
Meridian (good music player witha a cool looking widget)
Flixster movies (cool for looking up what movies to watch on Orange wednesday)
Phone my PC (remotely access your computer from your phone)
Ringdroid ( customise the free music you get from i music)
Robo Defence ( a must have game, adictive)
Shazam ( whats that song? it'll tell ya)
Spare parts ( see whats using what on phone)
Start Up auditor ( stop programs from starting up when the phone is powered on)
Voice serch ( great for the pub quiz and impressing people)

 

[Flashtales]

great thread for us newbs

 

[zeze999]

start up auditor, it is not free? I dont know if it is fair question to ask, but could it be installed free somehow? I would buy it but here we cannot...

 

[009droid]

per recommendation from Lekky as a new owner, i came to this thread right away. wow, i have to say there are lots of cool things for this phone. I have browsed the market but not really sure what's good and what's better. This thread really helped. thanks for the startup info.

 

[NOVA]

Astrid - Fantastic to-do list manager. I use it all the time for things I might forget when going to the store or as a reminder to complete certain tasks.

 

[kalesi]

Enough here to keep me busy for a long time! Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

 

[jamespg81]

Thanks for the info... time to get busy!

 

[Saint2710]

Excellent sticky! already downloaded a few of the apps. Thanks.

 

[eric.danielson]

Thanks for providing this. I just got my Hero, and while I am no stranger to smart phones this is my first Android! I am loving it though. One thing I would like to find is info on a business card reader. I will search the forums though.

Thanks again, I will put this on speed dial!

 

[Stringer]

Just wanted to say a big thank you from Norway and a fresh HTC Hero user for this splendid thread!
Having had my Hero a couple of days most problems have now been ironed out, battling with contact sync being the major challenge, and I'm now ready to really start exploring this great device. Really looking forward to getting stuck in, and I'm sure this forum will be a great help

 

[zzrgraeme1]

Thanks for the info, really helpful. Its getting to be a full time occupation owing a hero, love it though. thanks again

 

[bzzzzz]

Great thread. And yes owning a Hero does seem to be a full time occupation (my wife thinks I'm addicted)

I have keypad pattern turned on. This means that when I turn on my phone I have to slide down to unlock screen and then enter my pattern. Is there any way of disabling the unlock screen stage as it seems fairly superfluous.

 

[akk454]

This guide is brilliant.
After 3 months of use. I have already downloaded most these apps but just wish I had a guide like this when I first got my hero. Would of made it so much easier to get the best apps. Especially as the Android market is quite badly designed.
Well done 'lekky'

 

[akk454]

This guide is brilliant.
After 3 months of use. I have already downloaded most these apps but just wish I had a guide like this when I first got my hero. Would of made it so much easier to get the best apps. Especially as the Android market is quite badly designed.
Well done 'lekky'

 

[dpw65]

Got my first android phone and found your tutorial a great help.
thanks it is much appriciated

 

[simplysquare]

found this thread very useful.

got some other tips ppl might find useful.

ALTERNATIVE TO UNLOCKING KEYPAD - PRESS ANY BUTTON THEN PRESS MENU STRAIGHT AFTER

HOLDING MENU BUTTON WHILE PHONE IS ACTIVE BRINGS UP RECENT APPS

HOLDING POWER BUTTON BRINGS UP OPTIONS MENU

TO SEE IF YOU HAVE A MESSAGE JUST BY PRESSING ANY BUTTON WAKES THE PHONE UP, HOWEVER PRESSING THE POWER BUTTON AFTER TURNS THE BACKLIGHT OFF ALL WHILE THE PHONE IS STILL LOCKED

ALTHOUGH NOT REALLY ANYTHING NEW BUT PRESSING MENU WHEN PHONE IS ACTIVE BRINGS UP A LITTLE OPTIONS MENU WHICH HAS A SHORTCUT TO SETTINGS - VERY USEFUL!

TURN 3G OFF UNLESS YOU ARE USING THE INTERNET REGULARLY - SETTINGS - WIRELESS SETTINGS - NETWORK SETTINGS - USE ONLY 2G NET WORK. THIS WILL HELP SAVE YOUR BATTERY

USING AN APP MANAGER WILL HELP TO INCREASE YOUR STANDBY TIME IF YOU GET THE RIGHT ONE. I PERSONALLY USE "ADVANCE TASK MANAGER FREE" IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY END PROCESESS AFTER A CERTAIN TIME PERIOD ALSO HAS A SHAKE FUNCTION WHICH KILLS THE APP YOUR IN THOUGH VERY TEMPERAMENTAL AND CLOSES THE APP VERY EASILY BUT STILL VERY HANDY TO HAVE.

OTHER USUFUL APPS-

steel internet browser - not sure if its faster but has some very nice easy to use functions

free dictionary org- usuful if your out and about and not sure how to spell something also has definitions

hideNseek- great app does exactly what it says inn description. although not a free app it is worth the $0.99. basicly it hides any pictures or videoes you choose to keep hidden. SCREEN WILL APEAR BLANK WHEN LAUNCHED - PRESS MENU BUTTON 3 TIMES TO ENTER PASSWORD!

note pad - self explanitory

pkt autions ebay- great quick app for checking on your ebay listings - also has barcode scanner so you can check on ebay if its cheaper.

ringdroid- enables you to edit and cut any song in your library for use as a ringtone or message notification.

astro file browser- simple file browser that enables you to edit, move, copy, cut files.

wikipedia mobile- handy for them fact finding moments.

Shopsavvy- barcode scanner which then looks up in your local area and internet for the chapest price though doesnt work on all products.

Well thats most of the apps i have on my hero and it runs butterly smooth. hope this has helped.


id like to know how you can change the overall theme of the phone? (menu things like that?)

 

[simplysquare]

Great thread. And yes owning a Hero does seem to be a full time occupation (my wife thinks I'm addicted)

I have keypad pattern turned on. This means that when I turn on my phone I have to slide down to unlock screen and then enter my pattern. Is there any way of disabling the unlock screen stage as it seems fairly superfluous.

yeah you can turn it off or get an app that will alow you to enter a number instead.
menu - settings - security - uncheck require unlock pattern - enter unlock pattern - done

 

[bzzzzz]

yeah you can turn it off or get an app that will alow you to enter a number instead.
menu - settings - security - uncheck require unlock pattern - enter unlock pattern - done

Turning of unlock pattern wasn't really the issue, it was the unlock screen which precedes this. Anyway it doesn't matter as the poster above you submitted the brilliant tip of double clicking the menu button. That's exactly what I needed so big thumbs up to you!