The new HTC Hero is the most mature Android smartphone in the market at the moment. Applications and menu are easy to use, the touch screen supports multitouch, it has seven well-designed home screens with widgets and shortcuts that can be customized, and it offers up-to-date technical features such as a 5-megapixel camera, WiFi and HSPA with up to 7.2 mbps download speed as well as the Chrome Lite browser with Flash support and it is Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync-enabled. Workmanship is good and, in addition, the body of the HTC Hero is protected against fingerprints by a Teflon coating. In a nutshell: The HTC Hero provides an user experience that is comparable to the Apple iPhone – just with Android apps and Google services instead of iTunes or Safari browser.

Unlike with the HTC Dream, that German mobile operator T-Mobile sells as G1, the user of the HTC Hero does not necessarily need a Google Mail account in order to activate the phone. Users without a Google Mail account just cannot with Google calendar or their Google contacts, that’s all. The second technical innovation of the HTC Hero is the user interface Sense, that HTC put on top of the operating system Android 1.5 Cupcake.

HTC Sense combines the strong points of Android and the TouchFlo3D user interface that you can find on Windows Mobile smartphones built by HTC. It offers several customization options for the seven home screens and the menu, increases the number of widgets, and integrates different communication channels such as mobile phone, SMS, email, pictures and status messages into one single view for each contact. HTC Sense also allows gesture control.

In comparison with the Apple iPhone the HTC Hero provides better speech quality and has a removable battery. It also supports Flash and – just like the iPhone – multitouch. Zooming in or out websites works even better than on the iPhone, because on the HTC Hero the selected text column is considered. The Chrome Lite web browser makes it possible that several windows are open at the same time, but it is not possible to synchronize bookmarks with the Chrome browser on the PC at home. Users can set up ten different email accounts (POP3 and IMAP4) on the HTC Hero. The touch screen of the HTC Hero is very responsive, users can switch between landscape and portrait mode depending on how the smartphone is being held.

But let’s also talk about the weak points of the HTC Hero: The great number of apps and the graphics-heavy user interface demand a powerful processor. The built-in Qualcomm processor MSM7200A with 528 MHz and 512 MB ROM respectively 288 MB RAM cannot always meet this demand of the phone. Thus, HTC Hero can be sluggish when the browser switches between panel and landscape mode, when apllications like the camera or WiFi are started, or when you try to speed-type messages.

And: Photo quality of the 5-megapixel camera is disappointing, snapshots can only be saved on the memory card. The HTC Hero supports microSD cards with up to 32 GB storage capability.

In Germany the HTC Hero is available at stores for 445 euros without contract at the moment. With T-Mobile only one mobile operator sells the HTC Hero with mobile phone contract in its shops. Here the HTC Hero is called T-Mobile G2 Touch, prices begin at 9.95 euros with a Combi Relax or Combi Flat price plan with 24 months minimum term.

Features of the HTC Hero:
Operating System: Android 1.5 Cupcake with HTC Sense user interface
Processor: Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 MHz with 512 MB ROM und 288 MB RAM
GSM Networks: 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
Data transfer: GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA 7.2 mbps, W-LAN
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB
Display: TFT touch screen, 3.2″, 320 x 480 pixels, 65536 colors
Keyboard: virtual QWERTZ
Camera: 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus
Storage: 32 GB with microSD card
Size: 112,0 x 56,2 x 14,4 mm
Speaking Time: 7 hours

Read more about the HTC Hero aka T-Mobile G2 Touch at www.teltarif.de (in German).