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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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 TECH REVIEW 
10

HTC Hero: Finally a Worthy Android Phone

Sprint's latest could be serious competitor to iPhone, Palm Pre

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(Newser) – Android phones haven’t exactly taken off yet, but that could change thanks to the HTC Hero, a new Sprint-exclusive coming out Oct. 11 that’s “powerful, but different,” writes Walt Mossberg. HTC has tinkered with Android, layering its own “HTC Sense” software over it. Thanks to the added features and big widgets, the Hero goes “beyond the vanilla Android experience supplied to everyone by Google.”

The Sense for example features “Scenes,” collections of customized scenes and apps that change the phone’s look and feel. It also has the best camera around, boasting a whopping five megapixels. There are downsides: the hardware “isn’t especially beautiful,” the screen is smaller than the iPhone’s, and the battery life isn’t great. But overall it’s “the best Android phone I’ve tested, and a worthy competitor to the iPhone, the BlackBerry and the Pre.”

A product image of the HTC Hero.
A product image of the HTC Hero.   (HTC)
A product image of the HTC Hero.
A product image of the HTC Hero.   (HTC)
A product image of the HTC Hero.
A product image of the HTC Hero.   (HTC)
A product image of the HTC Hero.
A product image of the HTC Hero.   (HTC)
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10 comments
VIEWING:
 
Yourself
Oct 1, 09 10:55 AM CDT
it won't happen. "Sprint Exclusive" basically killed it right from the get go. for a prime example see the Palm Pre. Reply
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
oneAwake
Oct 1, 09 12:51 PM CDT
Yeah look at the Palm Pre, Palm sold 800,000 (in the US) units in 11 weeks, analyst had projected 500,000 to 600,000 would be sold. The Sprint Hero will sell like hotcakes!!
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0
IN RESPONSE:
Yourself
Oct 1, 09 5:06 PM CDT
yeah, and the Pre sales have slumped since. Not to mention the number of people that have already given up on the Pre. I know of 5 personally that traded it back cause Sprint sucks. It's not just about the phone, it's also the service. My original statement was about that, in the fact that the Hero won't be a Hero, but more of a Zero. it's not a contender in the game for the SINGLE reason that it's exclusive to a slowly dying provider.
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-1
IN RESPONSE:
oneAwake
Oct 2, 09 12:57 AM CDT
"I know of 5 personally that traded it back cause Sprint sucks." RIIIGHT!!! You're full of it and you know it. Saying Sprint sucks only proves how much of an ignoramus you are. Sprint has been rated to have the best service.
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+1
IN RESPONSE:
Reader83542379
Oct 2, 09 2:26 AM CDT
You must be ANOTHER iPhone clone for sure. Follow the crow that's all you do right? The Hero is just plain WAY better than a crappy lady pretty iPhone. Let me know how many Apps con you multitask on the iPhone... count 2 (music player and some app). About Sprint, I've been with Sprint for 12yrs and have NEVER had a problem with the service... unlike some people I know on AT&T.
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