Let's get the requisite comparison out of the way. The HTC Hero is no iPhone-killer, but it's definitely worthy of being considered as one. As of this point, though, Android still has some rough edges that needs polishing before a handset like this can topple the almighty smartphone leader.
As the first phone to sport HTC's Sense UI overlay for Android, it brings a fantastic amount of customization that iPhone users can only dream about (seven screens that you can basically fashion however you like in numerous iterations that you can all save). It does pay, however, in occasional sluggishness as a result of the update (largely because HTC just went ahead and used the same 528MHz processor from the Magic / MyTouch 3G). This sluggish behavior is even more notable because many of the widgets don't even try to update in the background.
Physically, the phone is a stunner, with the quarter-moon chin really not getting in the way of its aesthetic appeal. It feels incredibly good in the hand and looks sturdy from all angles. The touchscreen interface is so well-implemented that we ended up barely using the trackball, something we couldn't say for HTC's previous Android efforts.
Regular phone talents are very good, with excellent voice calls and a full set of advanced messaging options. Of particular note is the phone's address book, which automatically pulls details from your Facebook, Flickr and Gmail accounts, filling up the fields without requiring you to do any typing on your end. Not that entering text is any trouble at all, because this phone arguably offers the best typing experience among all Android models released so far.
This phone, however, is about features, of which it has plenty. It offers one of the best browser experiences around, with decent Flash support (not all videos handled very well, sad to say) and multi-touch zooming over fast 3G and Wi-Fi connections. I'm pretty sure it will get even better when we load Opera into the handset, so the phone's prospects as far as staying connected to the web are pretty great.
Other prominent features of the Hero include 5-megapixel optics (average photos) with video support, terrific music playback, GPS and a few other smartphone standards. We're quite disappointed, though, that the handset still doesn't come with its own syncing utility, leaving the transfer of files a backup-less drag and drop effort.
Given a choice between this and the relatively recent HTC Magic, the HTC Hero wins hands-down. While the Magic seems the more affable-looking fellow, the Hero bests it in almost every category, from UI to battery performance. There are many Android phones coming out this year and if they're hoping to excel, this handset, duly propped up by the excellent Sense UI, is easily the benchmark from which they'll be judged.
