My Thoughts on our Beloved Hero

[medicX]

rushed over to BB after a dr. appt that i had. i asked a rep if they had the Hero and he said yeah, for those who preordered. he ended up letting me play w/ the device. i gotta say, it felt awesome in the hand; sturdy, kinda heavy, just put together well. i immediately started scrolling through the scenes. a little laggy. ok, i thought. how about the browser. that's what we all wanna know about right? went to Google homepage, and i $h!t you not, it took Forever for it to load. i looked at the rep and was like are you for real? he told me that it was on their wifi and had not been activated yet. excuses imo. well, when the Google page was loaded, i tapped the search bar so that i could type in a query. it initially displayed the keyboard in the vertical mode. i go and flip the phone on its side and...nothing. flip back up. flip back down... screen fades and eventually transitions to the landscape mode. come on! for real! the 5mp camera is imo no better than the top of the line 3.2 mp cameras on the other smartphones. honestly. the apps lagged loading. NOT IMPRESSED. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, NOT GETTING A HERO. being hard you say? not really. if you think about it, there is too much going on with all the scenes (and their scenes were bare) for the processor to handle. Android? yeah, i want a an Android device. i think they are promising. just not the time. i don't care if i can upgrade here in a year being a "premier" customer, why waste the money now and have to put up with the bs? like i said, just my thoughts. I DON'T WANT TO SEE SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS BEEN OBSESSING OVER THIS DEVICE FOR THE PAST 2 MONTHS BUY IT AND BE DISAPPOINTED. yes, dislike to every device, but too many for the amount of money on this one.

 

[dvdqnoc]

holy...

 

[WordIsBorn]

Look, I have had my Hero since yesterday afternoon, and after owning iphone 2g, 3g, 3gs, and Palm Pre, I have to say I was a bit surprised by the browser speed. For some reason it is faster today than it was yesterday so IDK about that, but I downloaded Opera Mini, and it is much faster, just no multitouch.

The phone is on the performance level of the iphone 3g, and though even the Pre is faster, this phone offers much much more in the feature department. Hopefully they have 1.6 out soon, and otherwise I am not dissapointed. Anyone that is had too high of expectations IMHO.

 

[Edaze55]

First off, it doesnt take "forever" to load anything with the broweser that I have noticed.

Second, the rep I talked with said they didnt even have a demo, so the one they had to play with they couldnt activate (Im assuming they were planning on selling at some point) so they had to use wireless.

Third, everyone has said the camera pics came out a bit off due to the auto focus. Maybe this can be fixed with a software update.

Fourth, my rotation usually works fine. I have noticed that some keyboards dont flip. Like in contacts.

The 10 or 15 mins you spent playing with the phone wasnt nearly enough time to get used to it.

Finally. Next time, try not writing the great wall of text. A break in the wall here and there makes for much better reading. Im not even going to get started on your lack of caps when using the work i.

 

[RhinoDoc]

Word is born:

I have a Pre currently, and am watching this all with interest. How is the conversion to on-screen keyboarding? I thought I would prefer a hard keyboard, but will have to try the onscreen at the store.

I like the speed of the Pre browser, but I don't know that I use it enough for it to be a critical issue if they are close.

 

[ChrisPlague]

The only lag I saw at all was the lag in the accelerometer

 

[medicX]

First off, it doesnt take "forever" to load anything with the broweser that I have noticed.

Second, the rep I talked with said they didnt even have a demo, so the one they had to play with they couldnt activate (Im assuming they were planning on selling at some point) so they had to use wireless.

Third, everyone has said the camera pics came out a bit off due to the auto focus. Maybe this can be fixed with a software update.

Fourth, my rotation usually works fine. I have noticed that some keyboards dont flip. Like in contacts.

The 10 or 15 mins you spent playing with the phone wasnt nearly enough time to get used to it.

Finally. Next time, try not writing the great wall of text. A break in the wall here and there makes for much better reading. Im not even going to get started on your lack of caps when using the work i.

i am posting MY OPINION. further, i am not a typist, scribe, nor a columnist. HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING ON CAPITALIZING YOUR I'S, AND SHOOTING THE SOMEONE DOWN, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION.
now, to address YOUR remarks. i would hope it didn't take "forever" to load. but, it takes way too long.
pictures? a bit off? fixed with an update? that's exactly what i am talking about. this is out of the box man. should we have to wait? esp with all of these features that it is supposed to have?
I LIKE HOW YOU SAID, "MY ROTATION USUALLY WORKS". who the heck wants the accelerometer to work USUALLY? nice post.
10 or 15 minutes is long enough for us to get a 1st impression about anything. like i said, i have watched, and read countless reviews and how-to's on the Hero..enough to know what i am looking for. i don't want to have to "get used" to a devices failures. i shouldn't have to. remember, IMO.
so this again, is for those that had the high expectations (and rightfully so. look at all the premature forums started before it came out). i wanted to provide my opinion. go and check it out. i'll be at the sprint store sunday testing it on the network.

 

[Fake Name]

i am posting MY OPINION. further, i am not a typist, scribe, nor a columnist. HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING ON CAPITALIZING YOUR I'S, AND SHOOTING THE SOMEONE DOWN, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION.
now, to address YOUR remarks. i would hope it didn't take "forever" to load. but, it takes way too long.
pictures? a bit off? fixed with an update? that's exactly what i am talking about. this is out of the box man. should we have to wait? esp with all of these features that it is supposed to have?
I LIKE HOW YOU SAID, "MY ROTATION USUALLY WORKS". who the heck wants the accelerometer to work USUALLY? nice post.
10 or 15 minutes is long enough for us to get a 1st impression about anything. like i said, i have watched, and read countless reviews and how-to's on the Hero..enough to know what i am looking for. i don't want to have to "get used" to a devices failures. i shouldn't have to. remember, IMO.
so this again, is for those that had the high expectations (and rightfully so. look at all the premature forums started before it came out). i wanted to provide my opinion. go and check it out. i'll be at the sprint store sunday testing it on the network.

then get iphone 3gs and stop complaining

 

[SDscorch]

hey medic.. if its not your cup of tea, pass on it

yeah, im having some frustrations too - the v-kybd is "an issue" with me




we'll have to catch you on gtalk when you're on your sammy!

(no, i don't capitalize either! and, if anyone finds any typos... they can keep them!!heh)

 

[MrMattux]

i am posting MY OPINION. further, i am not a typist, scribe, nor a columnist. HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING ON CAPITALIZING YOUR I'S, AND SHOOTING THE SOMEONE DOWN, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION.
now, to address YOUR remarks. i would hope it didn't take "forever" to load. but, it takes way too long.
pictures? a bit off? fixed with an update? that's exactly what i am talking about. this is out of the box man. should we have to wait? esp with all of these features that it is supposed to have?
I LIKE HOW YOU SAID, "MY ROTATION USUALLY WORKS". who the heck wants the accelerometer to work USUALLY? nice post.
10 or 15 minutes is long enough for us to get a 1st impression about anything. like i said, i have watched, and read countless reviews and how-to's on the Hero..enough to know what i am looking for. i don't want to have to "get used" to a devices failures. i shouldn't have to. remember, IMO.
so this again, is for those that had the high expectations (and rightfully so. look at all the premature forums started before it came out). i wanted to provide my opinion. go and check it out. i'll be at the sprint store sunday testing it on the network.

Don't be that guy (or gal), medicX. No need to flame something you don't plan on spending more than 10 minutes with. It makes you look bad.

 

[Edaze55]

i am posting MY OPINION. further, i am not a typist, scribe, nor a columnist.

Thats pretty obvious!

HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING ON CAPITALIZING YOUR I'S, AND SHOOTING THE SOMEONE DOWN, YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION.

I'll work on this just as soon as you stop writing hard to read walls of text.

now, to address YOUR remarks.

Oh goodie.

i would hope it didn't take "forever" to load. but, it takes way too long.

You are the one that used the word "forever" to describe how "fast" the internet was on WiFi. Which, for the record, should be faster than Sprints 3g. Maybe it was Best Buys crappy internet, or wireless.


pictures? a bit off? fixed with an update? that's exactly what i am talking about. this is out of the box man. should we have to wait? esp with all of these features that it is supposed to have?

Everyone has said the camera is lacking. They also say it may be possible to be fixed in a firmware update. If you havent heard that, than maybe you didnt watch enough of the reviews.

I LIKE HOW YOU SAID, "MY ROTATION USUALLY WORKS". who the heck wants the accelerometer to work USUALLY? nice post.

The rotation doesnt work from the homescreens. As far as I know, it doesnt do this on any droid unless you root it. I'll try and compile a list of things that dont rotate. Most do however. Its not an accelermeter problem though.

10 or 15 minutes is long enough for us to get a 1st impression about anything. like i said, i have watched, and read countless reviews and how-to's on the Hero..enough to know what i am looking for. i don't want to have to "get used" to a devices failures. i shouldn't have to. remember, IMO.

Obviously you dont, you were complaining about lag, and frankly, I havent seen any lag so either the handset you were using was just JUNK, or you really dont know what you are talking about.

so this again, is for those that had the high expectations (and rightfully so. look at all the premature forums started before it came out). i wanted to provide my opinion. go and check it out. i'll be at the sprint store sunday testing it on the network.

I still have high expectations of it. So far, I like it. Im pretty sure I can get used to the virtual keyboard, which was the one point of this phone I did not like. Which premature forums are you refering to? With any luck, you will have a better experience with a live phone. If not, maybe its just not for you.

See my reponses in red. Reply if you must. Im done with you, and your eye bleeding walls of text.

 

[twospirits]

^ Good post Edaze55. I totally agree.

TS

 

[medicX]

so i dropped on by to check out how the majority of Hero users are liking their devices, and to see what kind of topics were posted.
gotta say, i am not impressed with all of the problems. i went with the Pre. i am very happy with it. i love the multitasking capabilities, and the fast browser.
i hadn't been able to read these comments that were posted in response to my original... wow. a little harsh don't ya think? just for someones opinion? well, i'm outta here to go play with my PRE which has a virtual keyboard and physical keyboard, faster browser... you get the picture.

 

[ElAguila]

It may have been their wifi causing the lag. I have used my wifi and sprint and the browser is fast for me. It puts the browsing on the touch pro to shame.

 

[cirehawk]

so i dropped on by to check out how the majority of Hero users are liking their devices, and to see what kind of topics were posted.
gotta say, i am not impressed with all of the problems. i went with the Pre. i am very happy with it. i love the multitasking capabilities, and the fast browser.
i hadn't been able to read these comments that were posted in response to my original... wow. a little harsh don't ya think? just for someones opinion? well, i'm outta here to go play with my PRE which has a virtual keyboard and physical keyboard, faster browser... you get the picture.

Cool. Enjoy your Pre. But stop trying to convince those who really like the Hero that they shouldn't. Sheesh!!!

 

[revtime]

Enjoy your Fisher Price Pre. Good luck with the hardware issues you are bound to have. Also this is just my opinion but does anyone else think the Pre looks a little metrosexual? I mean in my opinion its a sissy phone. LOL
I had one in my hands for 15 minutes and it was enough to know the pre needs alot of work.
Anyway, just my opinion of course.
My Hero has an issue here and there but they are niggling little things that have not kept me from thoroughly enjoying this phone.

 

[apollomaker]

You know, it is like flying a 747. You don't learn how to do it overnight. You have to LEARN THE SYSTEM. Then of course, when the first 747 was built, it had to be debugged too.

If you have any patience at all, wait and give HTC and Sprint engineers an appropriate chance to fix what is broken. If they do, it is a credit to them, and we end up with a superb phone. If they don't, it will hurt their business badly, and we will have to move on to something better.

So wait. Give the situation a chance to prove itself, one way or the other.

Cheers ---

 

[blozout]

...not to mention when Palm goes under as EVERYBODY predicts it will, you won't be receiving any updates or support.

BTW, I heard the Pre app catalog is up to 300 now! FAIL.

 

[toomuchgame441]

I'm aware with a lot of the issues on the hero, I think the hero is a great device but a few bugs are keeping it from its potential

 

[blozout]

Nothing to do with your post Toomuchgame, was already looking this up...

No Way! Apparently the iphone 3gs and Palm Pre both have bugs too!

iPhone 3GS Bugs/Issues - The iPhone Blog Forums

webOS Software - Palm Support Community

Well gosh, now what?!

Clearly, as has been stated in previous posts - To each his(or her) own! Just enjoy your freaking phones.

 

[pdragon]

You come to a forum discussing ANY electronic device, the majority of posts you see are of course going to problems and issues people are having. If things are working great, which they honestly are for a large majority of Hero users, they're just going to go along on their happy way and not have anything to really discuss.

You cannot judge the performance of any device based on the issues in a discussion forum. Because all you're going to see are people asking for help and trying to figure out problems they're having. You base it more on comprehensive reviews that show the good and bad. And more importantly, find a friend that has one and see what they think.

 

[Deleted User]

I still stand by the Hero. There are only 2 issues outstanding for me.

1. The ROM leak Blue Tooth issue
2. The Blue tooth sync is horrible see issue one. It is intermittent and will not fade to radio while in GPS.

I bought a USB charger / Aux adapter to use in the mean time.

I like the design of the phone and the ability to change the battery and SD card. The price was stellar at $129.99. The sprint plan is greatness.

Maybe some folks don't have the patience or technical wherewithal for the device. I do admit for this phone to be an IPhone killer some minor tweaks need to be made. I think for someone to say the phone is horrible is quite amusing. I have owned every flavor of smart phone and I like the Hero overall more than any phone I have owned. In a year from now I will likely have something else because I am constantly trying new devices LOL.