HTC Hero - Good Intro to Android?

[Fingolfin269]

So Sprint is selling the Hero (Refurb) for $79. Would you guys consider this worth picking up if I want to see what Android is all about before my real upgrade in a few months? I was planning on getting the Evo or Epic but this seems like a cheap way to try out the OS first.

 

[JACKHAMMER]

I have a Hero that I have CM6 (2.2) on. I bought it on launch day. It will give you the android experience, albiet a laggy one - though even the new phones IMO are (less, but still there) laggy. If you only plan on using it a couple of months, it'll be fine but it would be a mistake to buy it as a primary phone for the long term. Plus you can root it and play around with different setups if that appeals to you.

 

[rudeguy]

Why not spend an extra $100 and get a phone that you know will work great?

With that said...there are tons of people out there using Heros. Its been out long enough that its fully hackable. If you really want to go that route, why not check out Craigslist and pick one up for around that price without a contract?

 

[Fingolfin269]

Why not spend an extra $100 and get a phone that you know will work great?

With that said...there are tons of people out there using Heros. Its been out long enough that its fully hackable. If you really want to go that route, why not check out Craigslist and pick one up for around that price without a contract?

This is without a contract and comes with a 30-day warranty.

And what Sprint phone that will work great is $100 more off-contract? Keep in mind I have my on-contract upgrade in another 3 months or so. This is just to test out Android.

 

[boomhower]

For what your paying it's a good buy. I had one for a while and it's a solid phone. Not the fastest in the world but gets the job done, especially with the right ROM.

 

[rudeguy]

This is without a contract and comes with a 30-day warranty.

And what Sprint phone that will work great is $100 more off-contract? Keep in mind I have my on-contract upgrade in another 3 months or so. This is just to test out Android.

Sorry. I thought you were saying that the refurb would be with a contract.

Buy that bad boy. It will be a bit laggy unless you install a Froyo bases Cyanogen ROM though. So don't judge Android based on that.

 

[sswingle]

I used the Eris, which is the same hardware. I was happy with it. But then I got a free Moto Droid and like it MUCH better.

 

[you2]

I would skip the hero; way tooo slow. Typing on it is laggy and that spoils the experience; though if someone has ported 2.2 then perhaps it will run faster ?

 

[tfinch2]

I think the Hero is the perfect form factor, but it's dog slow.

I'd buy a Hero 2 if there was going to be one.

 

[daMachine]

I would skip the hero; way tooo slow. Typing on it is laggy and that spoils the experience; though if someone has ported 2.2 then perhaps it will run faster ?

CM6 is Froyo (2.2) (no HTC SenseUI though). I put it on my hero and am pretty happy now. The stock HTC dialer was slow and was irritating. Overclock and custom SenseUI roms made it much better but not great (NFX-Hero). Finally, went to Cyanogenmod 6 and now things are even better. I was very eager to get and Evo/Epic, but thanks to CM6 I am now willing to wait a bit (Evo too wide for my personal taste, and epic gps pretty iffy until I actually see a REAL fix from samsung).

Hope this helps. Head over to xda to check your options. If you don't feel comfortable rooting and updating the rom you may want to wait a bit for your upgrade (if you have a working phone to get by on until then).

http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=643


P.S.: Still looking to upgrade, but not bothered by the lagginess as much now.