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I received the final product, a white, unbranded, European HTC Hero. Before I decided to get this phone, I did some thorough research on the internet to two contenders, the Hero and the iPhone. After reading so many mildly negative reviews about the Hero, on Engadget, Gizmodo and other sites I decided that I should try out the HTC Hero myself. Though first I had a serious hands-on with my neighbour's iPhone 3GS. I wasn't very impressed with the 3GS, even though the user experience was absolutely great in terms of smoothness, videoplayback and of course its iPod functionality.
Having had an HTC Wizard in the past I have become really skeptical about HTC. Especially since they have had serious issues with Qualcomm hardware. However, I had by now read so many good stuff about the Hero, Android and HTC's Sense UI, that I figured this phone would probably rock in terms customization. So despite the negative reviews about the Hero's speed I took the jump and ordered the HTC Hero, as customization seemed like a major virtue over the iPhone. The iPhone seemed a bit boring even when it comes to customizing and integration of apps (i.e. multitasking).
Well I have one thing to say: All of the criticism on the Hero's speed seems greatly exaggerated to me. Lag is barely noticeable and I do not believe the iPhone 3GS is that much faster as some reviewers would like you to believe. I have to add though, the devices that were reviewed in the US could have been different from the ones shipping to European customers. In addition I am only talking about general user experience, I haven't had a chance to test videoplayback (except for youtube which seemed slightly choppy compared to the 3GS) and of course I haven't taken a ton of pictures or videos on the device yet.
when it comes to browsing the web: this phone is everything I ever looked for in a smartphone (and I have been longing for an experience like this for almost a decade now). Especially the keyboard makes things really easy. Of course the iPhone 3GS delivers a great user experience too. I should add that the 3GS in fact does smoother pinching. But the iPhone 3GS does not deliver the extras you get on the Hero, like open source software, a great virtual keyboard and seemless integration of apps like twitter and facebook.
Thus far I am really satisfied with the Hero's performance and I would like to tell those still in doubt: Go a store and try the Hero for yourself. Don't rely on the vast amount of reviews already out there. One thing to note: the WiFi connection in the store may be slow and thus make browsing seem sluggish. However, At home the browsing went like a breeze.
Unboxing and Hero in action videos soon!
