HTC Hero CDMA User Reviews

This phone as bad as it was for some people, way back in the day when I got it 2 years or so ago it was good enough to make me see the light and make me an Android believer.. I love this phone.. the only thing I didnt like about it was the battery, but as I figure things out later, it wasnt really the battery, but more of a network/signal problem due to the bad reception in the area and bad indoor reception..

i have gone thru 3 hero's since June 2010. they don't hold a charge. it is slow. it crashes and it stays hot when u talk on it or charge it. I am hoping that the EVO is much better. i like the camera on the phone but that's about it. if i could have taken it back and swapped it for the EVO, I would have done it asap.

I enjoy this phone a lot. It was one of my best phones i had. On the contrary, i had this phone for 4 months now and the phone im using now is the 3rd replacement phone. The reasons for needing to get fix is the application "HTC sense" needed to force close and was needed to opporate the phone. I forgot the other time. I wish it had flash, a keyboard, and a little bigger screen.

I have had my HERO for over 3 months now, and even though it has taken me all three months to learn how to fully use the phone, I wouldn't trade it for any other phone out there. I used to be a die hard iPhone user, have had every version of the iPhone, and Palm, and Samsung. This phone outdoes them all by FAR! Yes some applications freeze, and sometimes the phone lags when there are updates you don't know about. But overall the phone is extremely responsive, clearer than any other screen out there, and when using wi-fi it is the fastest I have ever seen. The only phone I would consider switching to is the new EVO or the upcoming HERO 2. If I switch to the EVO it will be because they chose to give southern california 4G network (and why they would only offer 4G to the Moedsto area and NOT los angeles is beyond me). IF we dont see 4G here in so cali soon, I'll probably just switch to the HERO 2 if mine becomes worn out (since I use it all day every day to do everything in my life on it.) The only complaint about this phone is that once you link everything to facebook, you better never want to delete your facebook account, because it tampers with the whole phone. You lose contacts, numbers that you thought were stored in your phone really arent, and saving numbers to your phone doesn't necessarily mean your phone will hold on to them. This is a great phone, no battery issues, no keyboard issues, the keyboard is actually MUCH MUCH better than the iPhone, and no camera issues. I just wish there was a camera, because pictures taken in not so great lighting come out pitiful.

Some folks complain about the small size of the touch keyboard.  You can leave the keyboard behind (actually, you can switch back and forth) and use your finger to write the characters  you want to input.  It's an old system used on the original palm pilot and now you can use it on your touchscreen Hero.I love this input method.  No more pecking like a chicken.  The app is free for android.See ... http://www.access-company.com/products/androidapps/I have no connection with "Access" but I did own the original palm pilot. 

I may be biased since this is my first ever smartphone, but I am blown away with how well this phone does everything it does.  I previously had an iPod Touch, and was hoping to hold out for an iPhone, but they're still not available in my area, so when my local CDMA carrier (Alltel) got their first Android phone, I jumped on it. The touch screen keyboard is even easier to use than the keyboard on the iPod Touch.  The Hero has entirely replaced my Touch for PDA-type functions, as well as being my eBook reader.  I'm not sure I want the phone to be my music player, too, but the jury's still out on that.  Yes, there's a little lag when switching from portrait to landscape orientation, but that's not a deal breaker for me.  I also would like there to be more customizable notification sounds to differentiate between voice mail received, text received, etc.  I live outside of town and the signal is constantly switching towers, and the phone makes a notification sound every time it switches.  It would be really nice if I could turn that type of notification completely off!I installed Advanced Task Killer Free and am no longer killing my battery before day's end (I spend a lot of time using the phone for internet browsing during the day).  I still have to recharge it every night, but for the amount of time I have it up and running each day, this does not strike me as unreasonable.  I had to recharge my standard cell phone every 3-4 days, and all I was using it for was phone calls - on average 30-45 minutes of talk time per day.  I keep the Hero powered up on average 4-6 hours a day.  I consider that to be a huge improvement over my old, standard phone.

I got my Hero nearly a month ago (switched from a Samsung M520 thank goddd) and overall I'm really happy I got this phone! I'm still finding out new things about my phone every day, there's really a lot to do with it.

So first off, a lot of people complain about the battery life. By the end of my day my battery is already low (I'm a texter/email checker myself), definitely need to recharge it everyday, but I've been used to plugging in my phone at night anyways. There's a lot of task killer apps on the android market, the one I like most is 'Advanced Task Killer Free'. I've read that task killers are 'bad" for your phone though.. I don't know the truth behind that but the app is useful for shutting down apps that run in the background even when you're not using them causing your battery to drain quicker.

Texting took a little to get used to since I've never not had a physical keyboard, but I'm actually surprised at how well I'm able to type on it now. Texting is A LOT easier in landscape mode because the buttons are bigger and more spread out obviously since there is more room, but the time it takes the phone to adjust the screen (when you turn the phone) to landscape mode is laggy. It can get super annoying when you're wanting to quickly text someone and you have to wait a couple seconds for the screen to adjust. Texting in portrait mode seemed hard at first, but I'm able to butcher a word pretty bad and the text prediction still picks up the word I meant to type. Another irk I have with texting is that unless the text you've sent or received is from that day, you can't see the time stamp, even when you long press on a message to view message details - it just says 'yesterday' or the day. I'm picky like that and found that annoying.

A nice added touch to texting - the cute android smileys it has, I was surprised they offered them. There is an app in the android market that allows you to customize font and other things called chompSMS that you can try out when you get your phone (it's free) Also, if you have a facebook account, you can snyc your friend's profile pictures as their contact picture, i thought that was super cool!

As for email, when I got my phone from the Sprint store, the sales representative went through the set up with me and set up my email account (i use hotmail though so I don't know how yahoo goes but I figure it would be the same?)

I truly love this phone, the android market, the sense UI, the beautiful screen, pretty much every aspect of the phone. I also think it's the best design of any android phone out right now. A tip for you if you do get this phone, long press everything to find more options within the phone and within apps. And also get a phone cover/case, people complain about dust getting under the screen though I haven't had this problem since I always keep my phone cased.

and here's a list of my most useful apps that are FREE in the android market:
Advanced Task Killer Free (as mentioned above)
AK notepad (like a memo pad without any frills)
Astrid (a to do list app that is really customizable)
Backgrounds (TONS of wallpapers for your phone)
Bloo (best app for facebook)
Dolphin Browser (better than the phone's browser, similar to firefox with tabs)
FxCamera (cool effects for the camera and also has a useful auto focus button and on-screen shutter button instead of having to press the trackball)
Google Sky Map (generally awesome)
Movies (self explanatory)
Places Directory (finds local restaurants, shopping, & more with reviews from the web)
Ringdroid (turn a song on your phone into your ringtone (this is possible on the phone anyways, but with this app you can select a certain part of the song)
Shazam (identifies songs and even offers to find them on youtube)
ShopSaavy (price comparison using the phone's camera as a barcode scanner, took awhile to figure out how to get the app to recognize the barcode, i suggest standing back and not upclose to the barcode)
Twidroid (best Twitter app, but starts up when phone starts up and causes lags, so if you get this app definitely change the settings)

Fast InternetBattery is ok if you know how to manage your appsCalls never dropped for meLOUD speakersLots of free appsLittle Big Lag on the text but its still awsomeLoved the displayCamera is GREAT

 Its been awhile since I have used this phone. When I was testing it I was also using the HTC Touch Pro on the Windows 6.4 OS. Android OS blew Windows away but I think thats old news now. I didnt like the keyboard but there are many different downloadable keyboard platforms that are free to download and run flawlessly. If this phone had a slide out Qwerty keyboard and stayed slim I would have ranked it a 10 but that wont happen. Overall as of now and until the EVO is released, I would have to say the HTC Hero is my #1 pick for available phones from Sprint. 

Had this phone for almost the full 30 days, but in the end I'm returning it and cancelling.I liked the phone a lot, although it takes a little getting used to.  I have large hands, so the portrait mode keyboard was really too small.  In landscape, it was tolerable.  The type-ahead and error correction were really great.  I often mis-typed things and it almost always either picked the right word or had it on the list.  If you just keep going, it inserts the word which, once you get used to it, is a nice feature.I picked a sampling of Android apps.  Most worked fine on this phone.  Several initially seemed to fail, but re-opening them seemed to work and I didn't have any major problems after that.  As for the keyboard, it was difficult to work with some of the apps.  I tried recalibrating the touch surface a couple of times, but I was still getting key strikes slightly below where I actually touched the screen, so was difficult to play some games and use some apps.The browser can be a little temperamental.  It seemed to want to always go to a previous URL, so I must have missed a way to go to the one I typed, rather than using type-ahead.  Some websites forced me to the mobile version of the site, even though I wanted the full version.  The mobile versions are very restricted and this phone handles most regular websites just fine.  Beware that the hyperlinks are often small and close together.  You'll need to zoom (using multi-touch - it works great) to make the touchable links big enough and far enough apart on many pages.Hooking up to my e-mail accounts was flawless.  It can usually find the right settings and the right server address without intervention.Battery life on this phone sucks.  You really need to turn everything off except the voice / SMS link to get decent battery life.  Bluetooth, mobile data, and GPS all put a big drain on the bettery - as others have noted.The first day I had the phone, the mobile data connection would not work.  Could not fix it with Customer Service.  Took it to the Sprint Store near me (not franchise).  They said they could not do anything with it and directed me to an Authorized Repair Center a mile up the road.  The repair center guy completely reset the phone (which would have wiped storage if I'd had anything I wanted to save).  That seemed to fix it.Had trouble with the You Tube widget - would not play.  Could get You Tube videos to play through the browser if I went to the detail page and clicked on the link there, but not in the results list.  A guy in the office with the same phone did not have this problem, so I think the phone itself is / was defective in some way.Calls were usually OK - bluetooth to my car worked much better than an older Verizon phone I had used.  People on the other end gave me mixed reviews on call quality.What really tipped the scale for me was when a text message that my boss sent was delayed 6 hours.  When I called Customer Service, all of a sudden about 7 other SMSs came through, plus two voicemails!  The phone never rang and there were no missed calls indicated - it was with me the whole time in the same place from which I called Customer Service.  The rep said that I was supposed to turn the phone on and off each day (this isn't Windows, right?).  I asked how I would know this - she said it's in the manual.  I read / browsed the whole manual - it's not there as far as I could see.  Tried working with the authorized dealer I got it from.  No joy.  So I ported my number to another provider and cancelled the line.  Sprint customer service lived down to its fabled poor quality and the reseller wasn't any better.I still have Sprint Mobile Broadband which I generally like.  The tech support was great a few years ago when I got it.  Did not have a good experience this time around though.

This phone is fashionable.  the call quality is very good and the MUSIC experience was AWESOME.Signal strength is Excellent.I found the battery life TOTALLY unacceptable and the virtual keyboard frustrating.   I found myself not using hte phone to spare the battery.  I found myself not replying to texts or emails and just calling due to lack of physical keyboard.  It's all and how you plan to use the device.  Yes there is lag.I had this phone for 5 days and turned it in.

This phone is awsome is pretty fast when you change from apps to apps and the touch screen is very good and spaceful. I had the G1 and switch to this and i think i made a good choice it looks better and sexy with a faster g3 network so the web is pretty fast also. This is one of the best and comfortable phones out there.

This phone is designed to be thin and lightweight. Easy function. Great responsive touchscreen.
It has every current feature available from gps to thousands of free applications that could not be easier to download.
The camera is better quality than some actual cameras I have owned. Lacking a flash, but catches photos clearly.
Text messages are easy to manage. Emails are easy to manage. Calendar is extremely useful.
Twitter and Facebook have great apps to keep in touch, but if insufficient, you can hop online and see the full page.
Wifi is available, but mobile network works fast.
GPS reliable.
Alarm, stopwatch, and local weather available instantly.
Great speaker

"even when i change the screen the keeps are as bad. I had better phones but its okay to use. sad i cant use some of me ringers from myxter."Once again, have the right expectations set. Not only is myxxer, not myxter, is absolutely horrible for your phone! Even if your device allows for myxxer to send ringtones/screensavers to your device you should NOT do it! Its like poision ivy, it looks fine from a distance; however, its slowly killing your phone's software. If your software gets corrupted your device will become a paperweight. In addition, part of the beauty of the HTC Hero is there are applications, which are not supported by Sprint, through the market that you can have FREE screensavers and ringtones. For example, for ringtones try Mabilo. Furthermore, remember that unlike other devices the HTC Hero, and the Android OS in general, minimizes your applications and they are constantly running in the background; thus, your battery will be drained quickly if you do not take the proper steps to ensure battery life. If you are simply looking for a leisure device invest in a phone that is geared towards just that; however, should you take the leap in the realm of PDAs then have the proper expectations.

I have the hero for about 4 months now. It's a really good phone. the down fall of course is the battery. every since i updated the software my phone have been working by itself. it changes screens and calls people for no reason. the keyboard needs to be a little better. even when i change the screen the keeps are as bad. I had better phones but its okay to use. sad i cant use some of me ringers from myxter.

For those using the HTC Hero: this is a given! Honestly, if you are using your phone I guarantee you have email hooked up (which will constantly run in the background). In addition, many applications you are using run in the background of the phone; thus, you may not see the application up on your screen, but it is "minimized." A way to help is by downloading Advanced Task Killer Free through the market. Furthermore, you may download Handcent SMS to replace your standard Messaging application. To do so: go to messaging, hit menu, settings, uncheck auto-retrieve, uncheck notifications. I would also recommend that when you start to use Hancent SMS you go under the settings and uncheck the Pop-Up. This is significantly help in battery life, but PLEASE have the proper expectation when it comes to the battery. Battery: Here's probally the only major downfall to this phone. The battery is HORRIBLE! Ive used third party apps for SMS (for a early problem that caused SMS not to sleep) (now Sprint has fixed that so dont worry about that). But I'm not a heavy heavy texter i text about four people all the time, and just doing that all day and with out using internet or anything else i get about 11-12 hours of battery tops.

I consider myself lucky to have even obtained this device first off. I traded with someone on Craigslist for my Blackberry Tour and I HAVEN'T LOOKED BACK SINCE!!!! The app selection is awesome. So many customizable options that can be applied that even if you don't initially like the phone, you can set it to where your would. Obviously one of the best features is that it's a Android which means you can browse the normal internet! No watered down, condensed version of the internet! Music Player is great with crisp, clear sound. The battery life is the only problem. It just doesn't last, of course given all the things it is capable of, you would expect this, but I guess I thought HTC would have been more prepared for this. Little lag with texting and when you open the Application management section but I believe a simple increase in memory can fix that. Nevertheless, this phone is still by far, without doubt the best phone I have ever had in my LIFE!

I really like this phone! It's with out a dought the best phone Ive had! If your debating to get a phone from Sprint I'd really recommand to choose this one! It's So fun just to  mess around with, you just never get bored with it.Texting: Texting on the phone is well just okay. It's one one of the best virual keyboards I've used. One little not is that this phone is sometimes slow if you can type really fast. Like it well delay a second to display what u jst typed on yout phone.Interface: There's a lot you can do on this phone to customize it! I bet this is the most customizable phone out there!Market (App Store): I like that you can download apps on this phone! BUT there are some bad things about the app store.  It's not very diverse (yet anways), like there aren't many great apps. It's also not as easy as apples app store (NO im nmot a fanboy of apple because I'vre had both phones and prefer this one slightly more)Battery: Here's probally the only major downfall to this phone. The battery is HORRIBLE! Ive used third party apps for SMS (for a early problem that caused SMS not to sleep) (now Sprint has fixed that so dont worry about that). But I'm not a heavy heavy texter i text about four people all the time, and just doing that all day and with out using internet or anything else i get about 11-12 hours of battery tops. camera: Well i don't really use it everyday but i would say it's just an okay camera. I mean it's a phone not a digital camera so it gets the job done.Coverage/Calling: In the area where i live i have a decent sprint coverage. I've been down to one or no bars but i still haven't dropped a call and I've only been to one place with out service. But one little not is that the phone doesnt lock when your in a call.

Great phone if you love to socialize. Keeps you connected with Facebook, Twitter, [nobody uses myspace anymore], your friends. I've had it for about a month and there aren't that many cons. Battery and lag in responsiveness. Everything else is great. You can customize everything to how you like it. <<< That's my favorite feature.

 I had the Instinct hd for one week before trading to the Hero.  I carried a blackberry and no phone seemed better until this!  I love the web browsing, the display, user ease, the clarity and quality.  Only thing I dont care for is it does not have a flash.  I can customize it to do things the way I want them.

The build quality feels great it has a solid feel yet isn’t too heavy. Combine that with the metallic look and you’ve got a very corporate looking phone that seems rugged enough to take some abuse. The specs are impressive and boast a nice set of features. The display is a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with 320 x 480 resolution. The 5MP camera with auto-focus and video recording does a decent job and the 3.5mm headset jack.  32GB of extendable memory via MicroSD,  comes with a 2GB MicroSD card in the box. 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR and a 1500 mAh battery. This is the best phone Sprint has to offer at this point in time.

Sorry but mine is going back. Yes the phone does everything, and for a geek like me, its awesome, I wouldn’t recommend this to a non geek.   This OS does almost everything you can imagine and them some.  You can hold the search button down and ask anything like “what is the difference between a frog and a toad?” and the phone will google it! Same awesome feature in Google Maps. The OS is great and very versatile, but I think the device isn’t powerful enough for it.    My problem is the battery life. With medium usage the phone will not last a day, I have done all the fixes I have seen on forums even turned off Sense UI, GPS WIFI, Bluetooth(which I have never used) and it went from 4 hour life before dying to 8 hours before being dead. That is not acceptable at all. In order for the device to work well you have to run an application killer a few times a day, or restart the device that does basically the same thing to end all the applications not in use taking up RAM in the background. Other Nit picks:   Lets say you take a picture on the 5mp camera, well the file to to big to MMS, does the phone automatically lower the file size? NO! So depending on the reason for taking the picture you have to toggle the resolution on your camera. This design feels cheap compared to my buddies Tmobile version. I have always been with Sprint, but I don’t recall having a phone that lost it's EVDO signal so much!! I have done all the updates and talked to tech support but still dropping calls all the time.   Google ought to set minimum system requirements for their OS. This phone’s faults are Sprint and HTC’s problems, but most people are going to blame Google, and have a negative opinion of Android from this phone, which is not fair to Android.  

 This sleek, and pocketable phone is one of the best phones I have ever played with or had. Sense UI is beautiful and works very well. The seven customizable screes is useful however almost overwhelming (I mean with 1x1 app shortcuts how many screens do you need?). Whenever I make calls or listen to music the sound quality is great. The speaker is louder than the iphone. The visual voicemail interface is also really appealing to the eye and easy to use. The app store is pretty big and full of useful and useless apps (isn't this why people get the iphone). The screen is nice at a 3.2'' size and the phone isn't overwhelming to cary it around. There is a little bit of lag during texting sometimes, and it sucks if your browsing the internet and get a call because it shuts down the browser to bring up the incoming call screen. Other than that the phone is solid and I would recommend it to anyone. 

In short Htc Hero is a great phone. I had an iphone that phone was also great but I like the hero better. The reasons why are multitasking, and conecttivity to your diffrent social networks. The way that it handels linking you facebook friends with you contacts is flawless. The hardware is also good. The trackball feels better than any other trackball I have ever used. i had a choice between this and the pre and im very happy I chose the Hero.

I really loved this phone, and the sens ui is amazing. The one thing that kills this phone si the lag when texting. I tried texting in landscape mode and the phone would lag a little and mess my message up. It seems like if you text too fast it cannot keep up and will make it feel awkward when texting.