HTC Hero deals & review

Summary

The first phone to feature HTC´s new Sense User Interface, the Hero takes Google Android phones to a new level. Offering significant improvements over previous iterations of the Android OS interface, Sense allows to to stay in closer contact with those you want to, to completely customise your user environment (even to the point where it changes depending on time and situation) and to interact with all the other functions and features of the phone in a much more intuitive and enjoyable way.

Features

The new Sense User Interface is the thing HTC are proudest about with the Hero, and rightly so. Although not offering anything truly revolutionary, the new interface (debuting here on the Hero, and to be featured now on all HTC Android phones) does make just about every interaction you have with the phone a whole lot more appealing. Built around three guiding principles – Make it Mine; Stay Close; and Discover the Unexpected – Sense allows you to get more out of your handset than ever before.

That´s not all the phone has to offer though. The design of the thing, while not to everyone´s taste, is great once you get used to it. The beveled edges running around the rear make it nestle into your hand very nicely, and the Teflon coating makes it feel incredibly soft, and will of course keep the phone cleaner and more scratch free than any other phone you´ve ever had.

The phone also sports a capacitive touchscreen which works by channeling the electrical energy in your fingers themselves, allowing the greatest amount of precision of any type of touchscreen. It´s so sensitive, in fact, that you do not have to direct touch the screen for it to be activated. And what´s more, the on-screen keyboard is absolutely fantastic, with a simulated feedback system that makes it feel like the keys are resisting your touch, just like they would on a physical keyboard. Very impressive. This really is one of the best typing experiences we´ve had on a phone.

With its 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero is also fantastic for browsing the internet, playing videos and games, and also making the most of the GPS, digital compass and gravity-sensor (g-sensor). This is also the first HTC Android phone to have a 3.5mm stereo headset jack, something we´ve been praying for from them for a long time. The 5 mega-pixel autofocus camera is also more than competent. Finally, the Hero also includes HTC´s cool dedicated Search button that goes beyond basic search by providing the ability to lookly deeply but easily through through everything from Twitter to your SMS and email messages to documents, meaning everything stored n your phone is available in an instant.

Conclusion

If you managed to hold back from buying the very first iterations of Android phones, you might thank yourself now, because the Hero really does feel like a step up. The Sense interface gives Android a fresh new look and feel, and in our book that´s a great thing. Also superbly durable, this is a phone that´s going to be making you glad you chose it for a long time to come.