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10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
Negative.
I'll probably rue making this statement but I work for Sprint, and I currently have a Pre. I love my Pre, and Sprint is the tits, especially the plans. I'm just open minded enough to realize hotness. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
ps
the Sprint NFL app sucks balls. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
Anyway, I am also getting a bit annoyed by the general tone with the Hero. I can't speak for the GSM version, but the Sprint (CDMA) version is very polished as it is. Personally, I think the Sprint version looks a bit better, with the exception to the button area. If you look at the back and top of the phone, you'll probably agree.
Far as I can tell, there is no lag in the UI, it does take a second to switch from portrait to landscape. It can tend to bog down if I am running too many applications in the back, but taskkiller eliminates that problem. Website zoom is very smooth (as opposed to one review video I watched). The ability to continuously type on the virtual keyboard is unmatched by almost anything. I miss the keys A LOT, but 95%, it knows what I want, and it's seamless, you just keep typing.
If you ask anyone who has the Hero, or even a few fans of HTC, they'll tell you this phone is the one to get for 2009, and probably most of 2010. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/29/09
Typing is great, though, except for in the web browser, where it's practically unusable due to the lag. I can type very fast on my Magic, and even though the iPhone allows me to physically type faster due to the better responsiveness, overall the Magic wins because of its superior spell-check. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/28/09
10/28/09
We've got a Moto version of it but I've seen nothing to indicate that is how the regular 2.0 build is going to look. I'm sure that sense will look just fine on top of it and all features will be preserved.
10/28/09
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10/28/09
Its still mostly a given though. Android has pushed all updates just like apple has with the iphone. There is hardware limitations here that will likely prevent it from being on the G1 (which is a current phone but defiantly at the end of its life). Thats just how it works though. Even the updates on the iPhone is still hardware limited. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
Besides, it's never really a given that you'll ever get an update for a device. Eventually apple will release a new version of the iPhone that will software that is just too much for the old 1st generation iPhones to handle. It just so happens that Android is evolving quite quickly now, so hardware is more prone to being tossed asunder.
Besides besides, the carriers have a lot of say about what updates they push, and carriers can suck sometimes ;) #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
The G1 and other android phones are still being sold on contracts and we don't know if they will receive the 2.0 update. The G1 is being sold in Canada on THREE YEAR contracts. Do you honestly think that the G1 is going to get an android 3 or 4.0 update when it comes out? HELL NO.
They shouldn't be selling the device anymore when they don't have plans to continue releasing updates for it. It's totally unfair to the consumer, and the way android updates are done the consumers are pretty much in the dark, whereas with the iPhone you plug it in and iTunes tells you there's an update. :/ #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
The fact is, no one is yet selling a phone that for sure won't get this update. All we have are rumors, and the telecom's shouldn't stop selling a phone that people will buy just because of a rumor it won't get an update in the future.
Of course none of that changes the face that if I don't get the 2.0 update with my G1 from T-mobile, I'll be upset. But the benefits of an open platform are that someone will get the update to the phone if it is possible, it just may be a bit more work. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/28/09
my head is exploding #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/28/09
The hero is one of the top of the line Android phones and it can remain that way with the new 2.0 update. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/28/09
The "hero" is the "other" droid launching on VZW. The cheap one that no one really cares about.
The specs are seriously outdated when you start comparing it to android phones in the pipeline.
Software updates don't make it more current. They don't fix processor or screen resolution. It may change how the processor crunches on the sense UI but thats still the limitations.
If I were deciding between an android phone and an iPhone (which I think was the original poster's real intent). The hero isn't even on the list now 2.0 or not. #android20onhtchero
10/28/09
10/29/09
Software updates don't make it more current? I hope that's a joke because that is exactly what it does, for software not hardware, which is we were talking about.
Obviously, the hero is going to be outdated when comparing it with phones that haven't even come out yet. Isn't that the point? Right now the hero is out there and people want to be included with the new updates that android has to offer, more and more android phones are going to roll out and at least half of them are going to be better hardware wise than the ones before it.
Lastly, i'm pretty positive that they are deciding between the iphone and the hero that is on sprints network which is already out. And by no means is the hero not on the list. It definitely is still and will be one of the top sprint phones for awhile. #android20onhtchero
10/29/09
But on your other points...
No, no joke. Software doesn't change hardware and that was my point. It may add features but if the hardware can't pull its weight its pointless. The underlying problem was never "just" the software. It was the hardware running it that strained to keep up.
And you're right it is the point to compare it to phones that aren't out yet. When some one says "should I get this or this" at this point you're silly to not say "why not wait a week and get one of the best reviewed android handsets yet". Thats why we read stuff like this and come here. Hell I tried to convince my friend to just wait a week for it when he thought he lost his phone. He didn't like that idea for some reason. So no, its not about whats out right now because right now there is no hero with 2.0 so its silly to buy one on the promise of 2.0 when there is a phone with better hardware and software only a few short days away.
Again, I'm not 100% sure he even knew what he was really comparing it to, but the hero currently on Sprint is the same as the phone thats going to be on VZW (thus the quotes) which is going as a budget phone. It may be on a Sprint short list but its a stretch to infer thats where he was going with it. Its not on any other short list that I have though.