Htc hero vs droid vs nexus

[imfrickenfoofy]

I'm trying to learn about my new phone, as well as its competitors, so if my question has been answered or is flat our ******ed for those of you who are experts on this subjects, please bare with me.

I have been told that HTC will be sending a release to upgrade the Hero with android 2.0 software sometime soon, is this true?

If the above is true, then when this release is made available, what will be the difference/advantage/disadvantage of owning a Hero vs DROID vs Nexus?

Are the internal components of the Nexus and or Droid any better than those found in the Hero?

Thanks a lot guys.

 

[Bigjohn]

You forgot the MOMENT!

 

[Eaglesfan9106]

No he didn't the moment blows

 

[energizer1389]

Although the Droid and Nexus have way better hardware, none of them have the SENSE UI that the hero has which makes it one of the best android experiences around. I will stick to my Hero. When I upgrade I will wait for HTC,s next best Android phone.

 

[TF1984]

Although the Droid and Nexus have way better hardware, none of them have the SENSE UI that the hero has which makes it one of the best android experiences around. I will stick to my Hero. When I upgrade I will wait for HTC,s next best Android phone.

+1 to Energizer. They have a "quicker processor" and some other things, but my personal preference is against the bulky slide out, which is crap to begin with and their plain jane, no frill user interface.

And without SenseUI, the Android platform, at least visually, seems more like a plain miniature desktop on which you can move your app shortcuts.....oooooh.


So forget anything but an HTC, the SenseUI IIIIIIIISSSSSS Android if you ask me!

 

[Sosumya]

Call my bias but I am going Hero as well. The SenseUI is amazing and while I purchased the Open Home program which I heard many raves about, it still doesn't beat the SenseUI.

7 home pages to cover everything I need. Slim candy bar factor. The cheap Sprint monthly plan but still get great coverage thanks to agreement with Verizon.

I give the hardware nod to Nexus/Driod, but thats about it.

 

[LTZguy]

You forgot the MOMENT!

You might as well carry a netbook with you...take about the same space in your pocket as a moment...doodoo

 

[Droidone]

yeah I wouldn't put the moment in either. I had the phone and I am glad I let it go. Not bashing it because people do like it but not for me.

 

[imfrickenfoofy]

Ok so the nexus and droid have much faster/more sophisticated internal components?

I just really wish my HTC Hero had iPhone responsiveness/speed in terms of the operating system. The little lags here and there really bother me, but I am willing to wait for another generation of android phone to be released for sprint.

It does however bother me that the HTC hero seems on the low end of available android phones, when it is so new (at least in the U.S.)

 

[kennyidaho]

I think the HTC Hero is hands down the best phone that I have ever owned and I have owned more then enough high end smart phones in my days. I think it's very responsive and gets excellent battery life. I am not a complete fan of the design of the phone but it has grown on me. Sense UI is cool but it's not a major factor for me...I care more about ANDROID...sense is just icing on the cake.

I like the idea of the Droid with the larger screen and keyboard however the Motorola part of it turns me off. Plus from what I have read the larger screen doesn't seem to add much.

Nexus One - Larger screen, best of class processor yada yada yada. Honestly I am not a fan of the touch buttons but I could live with it. I think the design is a little bit uglier then the Hero but still nice. Only really crappy part is that the device is on T-Mobile, if it was on Verizon I might consider it but in the end would probably pass, if it was on Sprint I would buy it and even pay full price if I had to.

I have no complaints about the Hero's power and I use my phone pretty heavily - but more power is always nice. Truth of the matter until the Nexus One comes to Sprint (doubtful) I wont be buying it. Sprint is just to good to me to switch and pay more monthly. Honestly sooner or later Sprint will have an HTC Android phone similar to the Nexus One or better.

 

[imfrickenfoofy]

kenny,

I completely agree about the HTC Hero having great battery life and all the above. Droids full keyboard is not too appealing to me, neither is the nexus touch buttons..

But it is my personal opinion that overall, a touch screen phones value is fundamentally determined by how the touch UI operates.. And so far as I can tell, it seems as though the iPhone does this better than all the rest. I can only hope that the internal components of my Hero are not too inferior to that of its new competitors. I also hope that the upcoming 2.0 software update will improve the speed of my phone.

 

[BrianR]

When I saw the Nexus was coming, I started to get buyer's remorse. While I really like my Hero, and have had no problems with it, I dont like being on the outdated end of a product. To get the brand new Hero, then get stuck with 1.5 for a still determined amount of time, while 2.0 comes, 2.1, and now much faster/better hardware, it left a sick feeling, considering I dont have the money to jump around.

Droid was not an option. I think the phone is ugly, and I left Verizon over 10 years ago due to shady billing practices. I needed to switch to Sprint for the lower priced plans, (been w/ ATT/Cingular since I left Verizon - and had NO problems w/ any aspect of ATT) and it just so happened Sprint had the phone I wanted - the Hero. Also, I know several people that got the Droid, hated it, and now they have no faith in Android and went back to iPhone.

Now w/ the Nexus, even though T-Mobile isnt an option for me, I just felt like I bought in on the inferior end. That said, Engadget's review of the Nexus is not GLOWING. Sure it's NICE, sure it's FAST, but there is MUCH that can be improved. And this reassures me that I made the right choice.

I spent $99 on the phone - not $200 or $530. Just $99. I have great coverage, great network speed, and the lowest priced plan available. My phone is GREAT, right now, w/ 1.5, and will only get BETTER when 2.1 is released for it in the next few months. And that's GREAT, but the thing that makes it BETTER, is that by the time I'm ready to upgrade from the Hero to the next one, the issues that exist with the Nexus will be alleviated.

I'm looking forward to the HTC Bravo/Passion v2 in a year or so. Until then, the Hero will be awesome. Perfect? No phone is perfect. But the Hero is d@mn fine.

 

[kennyidaho]

kenny,

I completely agree about the HTC Hero having great battery life and all the above. Droids full keyboard is not too appealing to me, neither is the nexus touch buttons..

But it is my personal opinion that overall, a touch screen phones value is fundamentally determined by how the touch UI operates.. And so far as I can tell, it seems as though the iPhone does this better than all the rest. I can only hope that the internal components of my Hero are not too inferior to that of its new competitors. I also hope that the upcoming 2.0 software update will improve the speed of my phone.

Speed is always good but I won't complain if there is not major improvements in speed when 2.1 hits the phone. It will suck though if it slows down the phone and I do worry about that. From the little bit that I have read 2.1 seems to be great but really in the end if HTC botchs the Sense UI integration it could blow any performance improvements included with naked 2.1.

I do have to disagree with you on the iPhone though. I am totally a function over form type person. When the iPhone first came out I was using Windows Mobile and well the iPhone looked amazing. However when I started to read about the devices limitations I lost interest quickly. I further lost interest when I bought my wife an iPod Touch (1st Gen). Of course it lacked the phone feature but I it gave me a really good idea of how the iPhone works. Of course I was envious of the fancy interface but below that the device seemed much less powerful in terms of what it could do compared to even my HTC Mogul.

Flash forward to now and there has been some improvements in the iPhone/ Ipod Touch line. They are faster and pack a few more features....of course I am still envious of the sexiness of the device. However when my brother received the iPod Touch of the newest generation for Christmas last month I had the opportunity again to play with the device. I walked away wishing only one thing....that my Hero was as fast as that device, but that's all. I even toyed with the idea of buying a 32GB Touch just for fun; but in the end there is not a thing that I need my device to do which the Hero can't do.

As far as interface is concerned I really can't see what makes the iPhone / iPod Touch superior to the Hero. Just seems different.

 

[NovaFox238]

I must say, I agree with nearly all of you in some aspect.

The Hero, being my first EVER Android phone, and one of the first on the Sprint Network, must say I am far beyond pleased with it. Why?

1) Its top-notch when it comes to Sprint phones.

2) Sense UI is priceless for me, cant beat it. (Neither do any of the ROMs ive seen.)

3) Being an Android OS Smart phone, you wont be "COMPLETELY" left behind due to constant updates from HTC & Google. (Unlike the "Instinct Series" which seems to be getting so much less attention, especially when it comes to upgrades to firmware and such...)

To me, the Hero will hands-down last me until the next awesome Android Smart phone coming to Sprint. It satisfies my needs, and so does Sprint. If another carrier just happens to get a quicker phone, so be it. Sprint will eventually have one as well. I am patient... sometimes... LOL

 

[dbpaddler]

I have both the Hero and the Moment. Bottom line for me is I still hate typing on screen no matter how much I try to get used to it. Sense UI is nice and HTC adds some nice touches to it that I miss on the Moment, but not enough to keep me using the Hero on a consistent basis.

Now if HTC would come out with a slider Hero (like the fabled espresso), I'd be there.

If Sprint's coverage does the job for you, there is ZERO reason to explore the other phones (Nexus (well t-mob might be competitive), Droid, Eris...) unless you enjoy spending more money on a monthly basis. The Moment or Hero are perfectly capable for 1yr which is how long you have to wait to get the full upgrade price on a new phone. By then, gen 2 Android phones will be out, and you'll be off and running with faster processors, better screens, sleeker designs, and a 2.x OS.

Could care less about fanboy responses on Sense or the Hero since they are just so biased you can't take anything constructive out of them.

Having used both...Moxier on the Moment handles Exchange much better than HTC's in house program. Webmail on HTC has more functionality on the Hero than the Moment. I like being able to move mail among folders from my phone. Can't do that on the Moment. The T9 dialer being stock on the Hero is nice since 3rd party options are limited and laggy.

The word completion on the Hero can annoy the hell out of me. It saves all my abbreviations and such so that if a real word starts if similarly it goes right to the abbreviation that got saved. If I use a "w/" in place of the word with, it saves "w/name" and then constantly tries to put that in as well. After using the Moment's hard keyboard for awhile, mistakes are rarer than ever, and I can type much more intuitively without looking at the keyboard than I ever could typing on a screen.

So ignore the fanboys that will tell you one phone is junk and the Hero is great. Both phones have their pros and cons. Read through the forums, play with them in the store, and then decide. With Sprint you also have 30 days to try the one you don't pick. But the only way I'd go with GSM or Verizon is if I had coverage issues with Sprint. With their free mobile to mobile, there's almost no need to pay for more than their 450 minute plan unless you do a lot landline calling.

 

[kennyidaho]

I am coming back to say that........I am seriously contemplating switching to the Nexus One. I made it to the final order screen this morning but held back. I've decided to wait until tax time if I get a good return it's a sign from god.

 

[Visionikz03]

IF the DROID is getting 2.1 and since the Hero IS getting 2.1 like the N1 whats the point in spending that much money on a phone which it's main strong point is that it merely has a slightly faster processor and 1/2 extra space of screen for Hero useres. Not to mention once the groupies fill up their N1s with apps and other crap, that 1Ghz processor wont seem all that great... I think the Hero will be on par with the N1 minus the extra 500 mhz processing speed and extra 1/2 inch in screen area. With the DROID there is almost no difference minus the processor speed and addition of hardware keyboard. N1 is way too hyped up!

 

[Bigjohn]

No he didn't the moment blows

Sorry, no.
I've played with several HTC 'UI's, including the touch cube, touchflo 2d, touchflo 3d...

While they're cool, I have to say that Moment + Ultimate Favorites = FTW!

 

[toomuchgame441]

Yea, the Nexus one looks pretty nice but it being on any other carrier other than Sprint is a turn off. I love my Sprint Hero, its like my little sidekick. Having e-mail, internet (great experience by the way), a terrific number of apps, and the greatness which is sense UI, its hard NOT to love this phone. My only gripe is the internal memory and the lag here and there, a few tweeks and you could have pretty good performance from the Hero, and I know 2.1 will deliver great things once it arrives so I'm sticking with my Hero for a long time.