My switch from Moment to Hero

[aclark414]

sbutch...I will try to give you an unbiased response. I too like the Moment. But I really do like the Hero more.

Music quality - I definitely understand and had the same issue with the Moment. Not so with ther Hero. Sounds much, much better. However, I still get studdering everyone once in a while, just like I did on the Hero.

Accessories - definitely more support on the Hero. I couldn't find ANYTHING for the Moment.

Physical keyboard - I alway always always thought I needed a physical keyboard. I have been pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to type (with the auto correction) on the Hero. I do not miss the physical keyboard at all. This coming from the guy that HAD to have a BlackBerry simply because of email and the awesome keyboard.

Dust - my wife and I have both have had our Heros for a week and not a speck of dust. She keeps her's in her purse, I keep mine in my pocket.

I agree...the moment is a very good phone. The Hero is a very good phone as well. I was happy with both of them. I am just happIER with my Hero.

 

[acp]

Originally Posted by acp
Moment = 2010 Ford Mustang
Hero = Lexus IS250

And I think you you do a disservice to both cars in that scenario. I think both are poor showings for new phones when on specs alone the Droid and Nexus outshine both with ease and were being introduced less than three months from the release of both the Moment and Hero. Old architecture processors, design flaws, clunky designs, lack of sensors and indicators and old firmware. Heck, maybe HTC had to create basic in the Hero and Eris to give Google an edge with the Nexus. I don't know. The Hero is "nice" if you like onscreen keyboards and "need" Sense. The Moment is "okay" if you need a physical keyboard. There is nothing earth shattering in either phone. The Droid is what it is, but the Nexus is in a different league than the Hero.

I disagree wholeheartedly, but do not feel like arguing with you. You severely underrate these phones if that is your true opinion. Also, I specifically chose those cars for that analogy because they are very nice cars, but not the best cars on the road. It's not like I said Ferrari vs Jaguar or something along those lines.

 

[njbianco]

Also, hardware keyboards are very overrated (imo) and just add bulk. Just simply use the onscreen keyboard in landscape mode, the keys are large and you still get to enjoy a nice slim phone.

A lot of people have a lot of trouble with on screen keyboards thats why a physical 1 is so important for many people. Personally I like on-screen keyboard but I also like physical but a lot of people wont buy a phone unless it has a physical keyboard because they have so much trouble with on screen 1s. I wouldn't say there overrated though just thats what sum people like & cant live without a physical keyboard.

 

[acp]

I completely understand, that is why I said it is my opinion that they are overrated.

 

[dbpaddler]

I'm not trying to "argue" and we're allowed to disagree. I just expect better from both camps for an initial effort after knowing what else was on the horizon and what has been put out as first efforts elsewhere (Droid and Nexus). The Hero and Nexus are night and day. Both made by HTC. It's like HTC handed Sprint the Honda CRX and gave the Google the Acura RDX to come out with three months later.

If the Samsung came out 6 months ago, and I was settled in with it to see the likes of the Droid come out, I'd be salivating knowing that round two should be even better and it would be about time for the Moment to be long in tooth. Not that the Droid is great. On just specs maybe, but it's all how it is implemented. Personally I like the keyboard on the Moment much better than the Droid. People call the screen washed out, but it's not. It's just the fanboyism with the AMOLED screen.

In regards to the keyboard. I think it's just the choice of the word "overrated". You're just comfortable typing on screen so the slide out isn't needed. If you don't need it, then why buy something with the extra bulk. It doesn't mean it's overrated.

I disagree wholeheartedly, but do not feel like arguing with you. You severely underrate these phones if that is your true opinion. Also, I specifically chose those cars for that analogy because they are very nice cars, but not the best cars on the road. It's not like I said Ferrari vs Jaguar or something along those lines.

 

[DroidUser1]

I'm in love with this phone as well, as for lag and android apps I would get the "Advanced Task Killer". I really notice some crazy lag after awhile as this phone will keep some apps running in the background. Besides that this phone runs great!

 

[dbpaddler]

task killing is largely a myth and has been proven for the most part in the big threads about it. Supposedly the OS does a better job at management in its latest revisions. 1.5 is pretty much blah and more so on cdma.

 

[ryu79]

I've spent time with both phones and the Moment has felt the better phone to me by a country mile. The Hero just felt like a toy in my hands and wasn't responsive.

Ever since I figured out how to get 30+ hrs per charge out of my phone, I haven't had a single complaint with the Moment. Fast as hell, everything looks awesome on the screen, best speakerphone sensitivity and volume I've ever seen on a phone and easiest keyboard i've seen on a phone.

 

[aclark414]

best speakerphone sensitivity and volume I've ever seen on a phone

Wow, I did not have that experience. The volume was...eh. The speakerphone sensitivity was terrible. Anytime I talked on speakerphone, the other party constantly had a very difficult time hearing me. It seemed that it also picked up a lot of background noise. Thought maybe it was just my device, but my wife had a Moment as well, and experienced the same poor quality.

 

[aclark414]

Ok, I have my wife's Moment that she is sending back sitting right next to my Hero. Let's try a few random tests. Obviously this is non-scientific, but let's see what we get. I will be as un-biased as possible and will try to stick to actual results rather than opinion-type answers.

1. Boot both phones to see which turns on and loads the quickest. Results: Moment booted faster by 15-20 seconds.

2. Open contacts and see which loads faster. Results: both loaded at the same time.

3. Test touchscreen response by sliding between home screens. Results: Hero seems to scroll more smoothly. Had to flick my finger twice on the Moment before it scrolled to the 3rd home screen.

4. Compare LCD brightness/color. Results: Moment's colors are much brighter. Hero's screen seems more crisp.

5. On screen keyboard ease of type. Results: Very similar.

6. Camera quality. Results: took a few pictures around my living room and the Hero pictures look 2-3x better. Sent them to my PC, Hero pics still look better.

7. Weight. Results: Hero is much lighter

8. Using Pandora. Results: Hero loads quickly and plays normally. A few blurps halfway through a song. Moment blurps for the first 5-10 seconds of every song, but is smooth from there on out.

9. Speakerphone quality. Results: Volume is actually about the same. Can't test outbound calls since the Moment isn't activated.

10. Ease of making an outbound call without home shortcuts. Results: A little easier on the Moment. Very nice menu layout on the Moment (though I do like the Hero's layout too...sorry, I know that's opinion).

11. Quickness of pulling up the main app window. Results: Faster (by a split second) and smoother on the Hero. Moment stutter's a little.

12. Turn on WiFi, open web browser, and load ESPN to see which loads the web page the fastest. Resutls: Loaded 4 seconds faster on the Hero. Tried a second time, loaded 2 seconds faster on the Hero.

13. Throw both phones against the wall to see which one holds up better. Results: both screen's shattered....j/k

Well, again, I know this is a random test but maybe it will provide some useful comparisons. My thoughts...the response of the phones are very similar.

 

[numus]

Hardware wise:
The moment blows the hero clear out of the water..
current implemention wise:
the hero wins because htc took better care in porting the gsm functions over to cdma (cupcake 1.5 didn't have CDMA in it.. donut 1.6 is the first android os to have native cdma)...
Once samsung gets off their asses and codes 2.1 for the moment and htc gets 2.1 for the hero, you will see the moment is actually far superior due to the higher end hardware that has been built into it...

This isn't an opinion, this is a fact that the s3c6410 blows the qualcomm msm clean out of the water... The only thing hero has going for it is htc's proprietary software (and a better form factor)

to address some of your side by side comparisons
#3, the hero actually has a worse touchscreen and larger give then the moment.. the reason the moment is lagging is because the hardware hasen't been optimized correctly.. Run zef's 8.2 rom and you will be pleasantly surprised how much faster the moment is in screen switching and scrolling.. Software not hardware

#4 hero uses a tft lcd which uses a regular backlight which will dim and dull over time.. Moment uses an AMOLED screen which will not.. furthermore make sure brightness levels are at the same...

#5 hero has a 5mp camera vs the 3.2 in the moment.. the hero does win here.. BUT the hero doesn't have a flash.. so negative points to the camera feature

#8 known issue with samsung's audio buffer that is semi fixed in zef's patch, but wont be truthfully fixed til samsung either recodes the buffer files OR the new OS comes out.. Once again this is SOFTWARE not HARDWARE

#11 Same hardware not optimized issue as before.. when the kernel is re-optimized moment gets the lead... Software not hardware

#12 optimization issue again.. Semi fixed.. Software not hardware

Not trying to be critical.. but software issues aren't a factor in early adopted phones (remember the hero is actually a lot older then the moment in relative time)

 

[aclark414]

numus...didn't feel like sitting around and waiting for Samsung to get off their ass. Sure, the Moment has a better processor. But that doesn't make (or break) a phone for me. I personaly (my opinion) think the Hero screen looks better than the Moment. Also...It's lighter, smaller (come on you know the Moment is a brick), has LED notification, doesn't have major battery read problems, etc.

I don't know...I understand what you are saying but I don't think the MOment blows the Hero out of the water (nor does anything about the Hero blow the Moment out of the water). The Moment does have the better processor but IMO it isn't significant enough to make a difference for me personally. Now, when 2.1 comes out, you might be right and could be a different story. But we probably have another 6 months before that happens and I'll be 5 months from another upgrade.

How about this...they both are solid phones in their own way and right now, I'd take either one of them over anything else out there that Sprint carries.

 

[aclark414]

Nah, I don't think you are being critical. I understand where you are coming from. I am just giving some comparisons to those that are on the fence about which phone to get. Right now, I think the Hero runs smoother (I had ZE07 loaded, but not 8 so I don't have personal experience with how much it helped). Overall, I juts like the small and more compact form factor of the Hero, love the LED notification, actually like not having the physical keyboard, and surprisingly I really like the extra touches of Sense.

I really am not saying the Moment is a bad phone. It's a great phone. I really did like it. There are just some things on the Hero that I like.

 

[numus]

For the average user you are completely right.. but if you actually like to modify the phone and run experimental stuff you can get the moment damn near perfect... just takes a lot of risk of breaking the stupid thing... for the simplistic uses.. right now the hero is probably the correct way to go

 

[aclark414]

For the average user you are completely right.. but if you actually like to modify the phone and run experimental stuff you can get the moment damn near perfect... just takes a lot of risk of breaking the stupid thing... for the simplistic uses.. right now the hero is probably the correct way to go

I had a lot of fun loading the custom stuff, like Zefie's kernels. It was a learning experience for me and I found it very interesting...and helpful/useful.

Though I don't have the Moment anymore, I put so much time and effort into the custom kernels, the guides, etc. that I keep finding myself checking this forum more than the Hero forum.

Anyway, yeah...

 

[dbpaddler]

geez numus...simplistic...give it up already. There are quite a few things Sense addresses that vanilla android and 3rd parties don't. People seem to forget this is supposed to be a smartphone and Android is just lacking in this department. And with the some things that are addressed by 3rd parties, they are often slow and laggy because they're done by some guy in his basement and sitting in RAM as opposed to done right and fully incorporated into the OS in ROM. They just might fair better after the MR or the kernel fix, but the masses don't want to deal with a kernel fix to make up for a company's disregard for a timely MR.

And there is a big difference between tinkering and customizing to enhance the functionality of a product as opposed to make up for its deficiencies. Has zero to do with being simplistic and/or not liking to tinker and modify

oh, and the tft dimming over time? sorry. laughing at that, because no one, I repeat, no one will be using this phone by the time that even begins to happen. And I can't disagree with Clark's conclusion that the colors are better on the Moment, but the Here seems a bit crisper. And the touchscreen on the Hero has been more responsive to me than the Moment's, and it is less of a fingerprint magnet too. I play trap a lot, and I am definitely more accurate playing that on the Hero. Personally I miss the pinpoint accuracy of a stylus and resistive screen at times.

the only argument you make that doesn't scream bias and seems to matter is about the chipset and how it should shine a bit better when 2.1 hits. But since HTC decided to go the extra mile, for anyone that doesn't need a hard keyboard, it's easy to see how one would prefer the Hero over the Moment. Throwing around the word "simplistic" to refer to people that don't want to have to customize the crap out of a phone to get it to work somewhat right is just a bit immature because we know you're referring to the people and not one's needs.

Have you owned the Hero? Have you used one on any sort of regular basis for any amount of time? Doesn't sound like it.

 

[numus]

geez numus...simplistic...give it up already. There are quite a few things Sense addresses that vanilla android and 3rd parties don't. People seem to forget this is supposed to be a smartphone and Android is just lacking in this department. And with the some things that are addressed by 3rd parties, they are often slow and laggy because they're done by some guy in his basement and sitting in RAM as opposed to done right and fully incorporated into the OS in ROM. They just might fair better after the MR or the kernel fix, but the masses don't want to deal with a kernel fix to make up for a company's disregard for a timely MR.

And there is a big difference between tinkering and customizing to enhance the functionality of a product as opposed to make up for its deficiencies. Has zero to do with being simplistic and/or not liking to tinker and modify


oh, and the tft dimming over time? sorry. laughing at that, because no one, I repeat, no one will be using this phone by the time that even begins to happen. And I can't disagree with Clark's conclusion that the colors are better on the Moment, but the Here seems a bit crisper. And the touchscreen on the Hero has been more responsive to me than the Moment's, and it is less of a fingerprint magnet too. I play trap a lot, and I am definitely more accurate playing that on the Hero. Personally I miss the pinpoint accuracy of a stylus and resistive screen at times.

the only argument you make that doesn't scream bias and seems to matter is about the chipset and how it should shine a bit better when 2.1 hits. But since HTC decided to go the extra mile, for anyone that doesn't need a hard keyboard, it's easy to see how one would prefer the Hero over the Moment. Throwing around the word "simplistic" to refer to people that don't want to have to customize the crap out of a phone to get it to work somewhat right is just a bit immature because we know you're referring to the people and not one's needs.

Have you owned the Hero? Have you used one on any sort of regular basis for any amount of time? Doesn't sound like it.

Dude why dont you just leave android and go with a dumb phone, or windows, or blackberry.. Your ideaology of this "it should come native" doesn't work in the LINUX WORLD! Welcome to customization, you replace them with community created programs.. that is the idea that drives LINUX... so seriously shut the hell up already because your argument is worthless..
I am pretty sure i know more about the hero and moment and any other android phone then you do (and probably way more about android then you even could guess at)...

Oh btw people.. when you wonder why i dont visit this forum that much (as was wandered in the battery problems forum) it is because of idiots like this guy who have no idea what he is talking about but tries to pass it off as he has this "understanding"... until someone who actually knows anything calls his B.S.

edit: Hell even when i have been out drinking i can still identify and call you on your Bullshit

 

[dbpaddler]

bs? I don't think I claimed to have any extraordinary knowledge of android. I have owned pda's of most brands for 13yrs. I've sold the crap for another 4-5. I've beta tested various devices. The only thing I don't do is program, but I knew enough to turn my Nokia N770 into a USB host and listen to music and watch videos off of an HD.

Buying into a linux based phone isn't like buying a computer, loading on a distro and trying to find all the MS software equivilents, and hoping you can find all the drivers for the peripherals you're used to using and so on. This is a mainstream device aimed at masses, labeled as a smartphone and trying to beat out other smartphones on the market. Go over to the google forums and see the number of threads complaining about basic functionality from people coming over from winmob, bb and palm.

I could really care less about your knowledge of Android, and I could care less about what forums you frequent. Outside of your obvious bias in this thread, I've never had an issue with any of your posts elsewhere and have often appreciated them. But your posts here are just like every other Moment rules, Hero drools post outside of the presence of a little more technical knowledge.

Maybe you've had too much to drink (or maybe not enough), because you didn't really call me out on much of anything, and it's just laughable how one can hate a phone so much as to infer the people who want one are "simple". You can call me any name and poke fun at me all you want. Your repeated "simple" reference towards people in regards to their choice of phone just shows a lack of class.

g'night.

 

[Rakeesh]

I am curious, has anybody attempted to load android 2.1 with HTC's sense UI on a samsung moment? If so, how did things turn out?

I'm curious why people go on a phone forum and proceed to tell everyone else why they switched. If it works for you, great!!! But why post it?

Well for those of us who haven't yet made a final decision, posts like this are useful I'm leaning towards the Hero myself, but I think I may have occasional use for the keyboard (e.g. if I'm ever on a long flight and want to play a snes emulator or quake or something - these wouldn't work too well without a keyboard.)

I think the Hero will win though because I must have multitouch and pinch support, period. If this is obtainable via hacking RIGHT NOW then I'll consider the moment. If not, Hero it is.

 

[aclark414]

numus...I have appreciated your posts and enjoy talking Moment/Hero with you. I don't get offended by what people say on these forums, even if they think my post is dumb, unneeded, repeated, etc.

(and I don't think you are arguing this point) but a lot of people have appreciated this thread, so for those of you that don't like it, don't read it.

With that being said, is your response towards paddler needed? We are just a bunch of phone junkies talking about our opinions and having fun. I think we all take things a little too seriously. We are all going to have our different opinions. I personally like the Hero and think it operates better. Sure, the Moment looks better on paper, but right now I like my Hero. Why do people need to get upset about that?

 

[sbutch6969]

Exactly aclark.......I love this thread and appreciate the comparisons greatly. I have not made my final decision yet so I am looking for real world reviews.

Numus - I am not a power user as it sounds like u are. Wile u have provided some good reviews from a technical perspective, I am still probably switching to the hero. I live in the here and now. I am not going to wait and hope that the current quirks are fixed through future updates. I want a phone I can accesorize now - need a car kit as well. Moment has very few options.

There will be several folks who see ur posts and use the data to choose the moment. There will be others, like me, that will appreciate aclarks feedback and use it to make their decision. That is the joy of these forums. Of I didn't want to know about other users experiences, I wouldn't have asked for feedback.

Hope everyone has a great Saturday!

 

[dbpaddler]

I don't know if everyone will bang out long emails (3-4 paragraphs), but I do a few times a week because I just don't feel like breaking out the laptop which is always in my bag. Also get into some extensive messaging for work. I go bonkers trying to do it on the hero. I feel like I'm working on a little computer as opposed to a toy when I'm getting work done.

In the grand scheme, I rarely use multitouch with the Hero. On the Moment, it might seem archaic to some, but the +/- buttons work well. I just don't seem to do a ton of zooming to where multitouch seems like a necessity. It's more like a gimmick for wow factor when you're showing other people.

But that's just me. If you're more multimedia or web oriented, it might be a bigger deal.

I'm all for trying to keep this thread more constructive. I'm sure it'll be tough to do in this Moment sub forum. And I've got no issue with numus. Appreciate his posts elsewhere. In this thread it's just tough with the obvious bias.

It is a shame the MR is taking so long and some have driver issues doing the kernel update. Would be nice to see if some of these home replacements become efficient enough for daily use compared to the Hero. I'd like to have more than three home screens so I don't have to toss quick dials and some other things in folders to conserve space. Was digging the panda with those two slide out columns so I could keep separate email icons in there and not clog up the home screens.

I'm leaning towards the Hero myself, but I think I may have occasional use for the keyboard (e.g. if I'm ever on a long flight and want to play a snes emulator or quake or something - these wouldn't work too well without a keyboard.)

I think the Hero will win though because I must have multitouch and pinch support, period. If this is obtainable via hacking RIGHT NOW then I'll consider the moment. If not, Hero it is.

 

[aclark414]

I go bonkers trying to do it on the hero. I feel like I'm working on a little computer as opposed to a toy when I'm getting work done.

Based on your and my two very different opinions of the touch keypad (at least on the Hero), I think this just goes to show you that some people need to try both. It works for some people, it doesn't for others.

I did not find it easy to type on the Moment's physical keyboard and found myself typing more on the touch keypad. Comparing the Moment's touch keypad to the Hero touch keypad, I like the Hero's better.

 

[dbpaddler]

I definitely don't disagree on the on screen keyboards. Was definitely more accurate on the Hero compared to the moment. It's only once in a blue moon that I don't slide open the phone though.

One thing I don't know if I mentioned before or not, but outside of just typing you need to think about screen real estate. When using the on screen keyboards you lose it. When replying to messages you can actually see what you're replying to on the Moment. When using the on screen keyboard (of either actually) you have to undo the keyboard to see what you're responding to. That was another annoyance for me coming from using Palm devices for the longest time.

 

[aclark414]

When using the on screen keyboard (of either actually) you have to undo the keyboard to see what you're responding to. That was another annoyance for me coming from using Palm devices for the longest time.

Yep, definitely something you have to take into consideration when looking at any touch phone. I've been a Blackberry user for a long time (4 different Blackberry devices, most recent being the Tour) and this was a concern for me. I think it comes down to this...you have to be willing to give it time to get used to. Touch keypads definitely have theire drawbacks.