HTC Hero a good first foray into Smartphones

Author's Rating:

Pros: Quality construction, Voice quality, Screen, Camera, HTC Sense, WiFi, GPS, Sprint's plan pricing

Cons: iPhone experience better, Mediocre battery life, Can be laggy, Camera controls, Disjointed Android Market

The Bottom Line: 
If you want an Android touchscreen and are in a Sprint area, you should consider the Hero.  It's not for uber users, but it's a good first smartphone.  

Author's Review
  I have been using AT&T for 10 years, and only used voice service.  With friends, family and coworkers making the move to smartphones and using text messaging more often than voice, I decided to take the plunge.  I had become unhappy with AT&T's service in my area (dropped calls, no 3G data) so I looked at Verizon, Sprint and TMobile.  For a number of reasons, I went with Sprint and was torn between the Evo, Hero and Moment, since the iPhone clearly wasn't coming to Sprint.  I loved the Evo, but didn't want to pay the $10/month premium just to have it.  I didn't like the bulk/thickness of the Moment, so I got the Hero. 

Physically:  The phone feels a lot heavier than it looks.  You can tell there is a lot crammed into the case.  The screen is big and is pretty clear.  In direct sunlight it can be a little difficult to see.  The trackball is certainly of better quality than the ones I have seen on Blackberries, and the buttons have a pretty good feel to them.  If you pocket this phone, it's possible to get some interesting button presses, but I have yet to "butt dial" anyone. 
I like the HTC Sense UI on top of Android due to it's ability to link with my Google, Facebook and Twitter contacts and data.  It has very useful widgets that make it easy to stay organized.  The animated weather widget gets a lot of "ooohs" and "ahhhs" from people when I wake up the phone from sleep.  Being used to the iOS on an iPod touch, I'm used to a certain level of interaction with a device, but Android is pretty good.  It took some getting used to, but I'm an IT Professional by trade, so I understand a lot of the underpinnings of Android.  For those who may be used to an iPhone, there's a bit of a learning curve. 

I got the Hero recently enough that it had Android 2.1 installed out of the box.  I read a number of complaints about problems when running the previous version, but I'll comment on that in a moment.  

Sound quality is very good.  One of the first things I noticed is that between the Hero and Sprint's network, I have never had such high voice call quality.  The speaker phone is pretty good, but I don't use it very often.  It's been up to the task when I have needed it.

The camera (5MP) is pretty good, but I don't like the controls. Zooming is difficult as you have to push the /- button on the screen and then slide your finger on the screen to zoom in and out.  Also, there is no dedicated camera button on the side of the case.  I would really like to have that functionality.  A flash would be nice, but I get by alright without it.  

The keyboard - The Hero actually has 3 keyboards to choose from, but I generally rely on the stock HTC keyboard, which works pretty well.  I have pretty big hands, so it did take some time to adjust.  I have experimented a bit with the Compact QWERTY, and am liking it more each time, and I may make that my default choice.
  
The dialer - This is a problem, but it varies.  Perhaps it's because Android still isn't as polished as other mobile OSes, but sometimes, you'll open the dialer application by pushing the phone button on the screen, select a contact and push to call that person... and you'll wait, sometimes 10-15 seconds for the call to start.  Other times, it's a second or two.
  
The default messaging app (Messages) is alright, but I have replaced it with Handcent SMS from the Android Market.  It has a huge number of features, including speech recognition, which can be handy.

That subject brings me to task killers.  If you've researched this phone, you've no doubt come across people telling you to use ATK (Advanced Task Killer) to kill apps running in the background.  In my experience, using this app only made things worse.  I have learned that when using apps, it is more efficient to use the back button to get out of it, rather than hitting the Home button.  No doubt, the Hero is an older phone with a slower processor.  It does not have the horsepower of the Moment or the Evo, and this problem is intensified by having HTC Sense running on top of stock Android.  If you're a power user, this mostly likely will bother you... but if you're a true power user, you understand the things that can be done to *ahem* avoid running Sense.
  
So, how about the Android Market?  Well, it's not bad, but it's no iPhone App Store - not by a long shot.  It's quite disjointed and it's difficult to find what you're looking for there.  I don't like not being able to browse the market from another source (dedicated app on the PC or on the web) but I have found a way around that and that is appbrain.com. Check it out if you get a chance.
  
Battery life is adequate.  At first I thought it was awful, but considering I went from a standard phone with no connectivity options to one with WiFi, 3G and GPS, I should have known that I would tear through battery life.  It did get better after a week of charges. 

Overall, I'm happy.  I almost returned it for the Moment, but I just don't want a slider phone with a physical keyboard, and with no Sprint 4G service in my area, I think it's unfair to charge $10/month extra for the Evo.
  
Random Tips - It charges with a mini-USB cable, but the cable that comes with it is essentially a mini-USB with a proprietary pinout to cover features I haven't discovered yet.  I have successfully charged it with the cable that came with my Canon digital camera and with an old Motorla RAZR charger.
  
Get a screen protector!  I first got the Zagg Invisible Shield, but I hate it, and am waiting on a replacement.  I'm still trying to find a decent case, but since I always pocket my phone, I want something that isn't too bulky.
  
Lastly, choose your phone by picking a carrier first.  I looked at the other members of the big 4,  Sprint offers fantastic pricing and I get a 20% discount through my employer.  Two phones, 1500 minutes, unlimited texting, unlimited data, unlimited mobile to mobile (to ANY carrier; not just Sprint) costs me right at $100 a month.  AT&T, Verizon and TMobile couldn't touch that.