The HTC Hero (also marketed as T-Mobile G2 Touch in the UK, Austria, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands and Hungary, and Era G2 Touch in Poland) is the third phone manufactured by the HTC Corporation for the Android platform, as part of the A series. Notably, it is the first phone of that series to feature a 3.5 mm audio jack, multi-touch capability, the HTC Sense user interface, and a "Lite" version of Adobe Flash.[4] The phone was announced on June 24, 2009 in London. It was released in Europe during July 2009, and in the U.S. via Sprint on October 11, 2009[5] and via Cellular South on November 9, 2009.[6] FCC documents surfaced to show that there a version of the HTC Hero supporting Rogers and AT&T's bands for 3G, which was later released in Canada for Telus' new HSPA network.[7] The phone is available in the UK on Orange, 3, T-Mobile, BT Broadband Anywhere (MVNO), and SIM-free. In Australia it is available exclusively through retailer Harvey Norman SIM-free.
Specifications
The specifications according to the HTC website in October 2009:[8]
Screen size: 3.2 in (81 mm)
Screen resolution: 320 × 480
Input devices: Multi-touch Touchscreen with lipophobic coating, trackball
GSM Version has teflon phone cover (White); CDMA Version has grey-rubber cover
Size (h. × w. × d.): 112 mm (4.4 in) × 56.2 mm (2.21 in) × 14.35 mm (0.565 in)
Weight: 135 g (4.8 oz) with battery
Supports MP3, AAC(AAC, AAC+, AAC-LC), AMR-NB, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, MIDI and Windows Media Audio 9 music formats and MPEG-4, H.263, H.264, AVI, and Windows Media Video 9 video formats
The Sprint/Cellular South/Cellcom version of the HTC Hero is different from those that will be sold in Asia, Canada and Europe. The outer body has been significantly altered, with the controversial "chin" that is present on the Asian, Canadian and European models being removed in lieu of a smooth, beveled surface where all but two of the once raised buttons now lie flat.
A modified version of the Hero, the HTC Droid Eris, was released on the Verizon Wireless network on November 6, 2009. Pictures of Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt have been circulated showing him holding the Droid Eris after a press conference that announced an Android-centric partnership between Verizon and Google.[12] The Verizon Wireless version, unlike the Sprint and GSM versions, features a proximity sensor.
Updates
The HTC Hero[13] is the first phone to feature HTC's own "Sense" software, which includes a customized user interface. There had been initial issues regarding lag on the device, however a firmware upgrade resolved the problem to some extent.[14]
HTC has announced their intention to release an update for the Hero in the first half of 2010 that will upgrade the Android OS to version 2.1 while incorporating Sense. This news was released via Twitter on December 17, 2009.[15] Sprint further clarified on their own Twitter that the 2.1 update would be released early in the second quarter of 2010[16].
As of May 14, 2010, Verizon Wireless has made publicly available a system update to Android version 2.1 on their Droid Eris. The Sprint Hero 2.1 update was released on 19 May 2010.[17]
Update 2.1 has been officially released on the HTC website for the Sprint (CDMA) version. GSM version is still yet to be released officially. HTC have suggested [18] that they will not be updating the device further to version 2.2.
Separately, numerous groups have created custom ROMs for both the CDMA and GSM versions of the HTC Hero based on Android 2.1. These are widely available on the internet and are generally very stable. One group has announced they have already began work on an Android 2.2 ROM which appears to work fine on the Hero, and have published a YouTube video showing its operation.[19] This is expected to be available in the coming weeks.[20]
Problems
Numerous uses have reported problems with this phone. In particular issues relating to interface with a computer using HTC Sync software [21]. Other users have complained about the difficulty in writing text messages, the poor quality camera and a design flaw connected to the incoming call volume which can set itself to silent.
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