Hero or no?

[archer7056]

My Sprint upgrade comes up next month and I just had a few things on my mind.

1. I think I want an Android phone, pretty sure actually... As far as my choices with Sprint go I can get the "Evo", "Hero" or "Moment".

The Evo is just simply too big for me no matter how great it is, its just too big, so its a no.

The Moment has a sliding keyboard that I am not a fan of after messing with it in the store for a while, I found it thick and bulky also.

That leaves me with the Hero. I have played around with a few of them and I like them for the most part, but its been out for a while and I was hoping for something a bit newer. However, if it is my best choice I will still go with it (new for me).


Talking it over with my friend earlier today though, he said the Hero is about to be discontinued. Apparently a Sprint store rep told him so and he said a few stores no longer carry it.


So, basically I was wondering if anyone had any input for me as what to do.


Thanks.

 

[user7618]

Well, the Hero had pretty much hit the end of the line. HTC nor Sprint will be throwing out anymore major updates for it. What exactly do you intend to use you phone for? Texting, mostly? Internet browsing? Or as an actual phone? Tell us these things, and we can probably point you in the right direction.

 

[voghan]

I'd wait a month or two to decide. The Hero is a nice entry level phone but its end of life. Sprint will have some new android phones coming out soon. Checkout the Epic or maybe the moment's replacement.

If you do get a hero be aware it won't get software updates from Sprint.

 

[archer7056]

What exactly do you intend to use you phone for? Texting, mostly? Internet browsing? Or as an actual phone? Tell us these things, and we can probably point you in the right direction.

I would mainly use it for calling, web, GPS and light texting. I just want something kinda cool. Why though would Sprint no longer be releasing updates for it?

Is the Hero "gingerbread" capable?

Any news of other new Android phones on th way for Sprint other than the Moment 2?

 

[oluvinu]

no the hero has 2.1 and thats it . tech wise its at its limits and it is worthless if you buy. its like buy a 2 year and 11 month old car with 45,900 miles not out of warranty but just about close to the 3 year 36k warranty limits ...get an evo if you have to update ...samsung moment is garbage . i had it replace 5 times because of internet freeze issues

 

[user7618]

I would mainly use it for calling, web, GPS and light texting. I just want something kinda cool. Why though would Sprint no longer be releasing updates for it?

They got bigger and better things now. The Hero is getting ancient in smartphone terms. Still, a rooted Hero can and will do all of that with ease and it is a good device.

Is the Hero "gingerbread" capable?

Any news of other new Android phones on th way for Sprint other than the Moment 2?

In a word, no. Truthfully, as there isn't much info on gingerbread out yet, and most, if not all, is just rumor, I can't honestly answer that. Bear in mind that the Hero and Moment didn't even get all of 2.1 due to hardware limitations, and we are not slated for 2.2, aka Froyo.

There is the Samsung Epic coming, which looks to me to be a super powered moment. I imagine, size wise, it's on par with the Evo.

 

[archer7056]

What does it mean when you "root" the phone? (sorry, I'm new to it)

 

[swebb]

What does it mean when you "root" the phone? (sorry, I'm new to it)

Root means root access. It frees your phone from most carrier restrictions. You can delete bloatware, run applications from the market that are "restricted", and install custom roms. Search "root" on this forum and you will find much information.

 

[user7618]

What does it mean when you "root" the phone? (sorry, I'm new to it)

Don't be sorry! I'm new, too, and we seem to have a quality community here that doesn't look down on us neewbs.

Anyhoo, check out gbhil's root guide. He can answer any questions you have on rooting your phone.

gbhil's root guide

 

[beezy]

i would wait a few weeks then see what comes out by then.The new samsung is pretty slim from what i can tell.As for the hero it is getting old and we won't be getting anymore updates.Yes the hackers/geeks have 2.2 going for the hero but gingerbread is out of the question we don't have the hardware from what i understand.I love my hero and will probably always mess around with it,but it's about time to get a new phone.If it were me i would wait a little while see what comes out,then make a decision.

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Froyo is coming from the dev community, Sprint is abandoning the phone. Nothing "wrong" with it. I love mine. But I can't wait for the Epic personally. Its bigger, but not much and its not as thick as the moment, and does have a slide-out keyboard.

 

[etnpnys]

I, too, would wait just a little. I love everything about the EVO except for its size and the $10 premium so that some guy in Iowa can have a 4G network. I got really really bored with my Palm Pre, so I found a bunch of Heros for sale online and picked one up pretty cheap. I love the phone so far, but I've rooted (hacked) it and done a bunch of things to avoid the frustrations that most people have with it (myself included - I ran it stock for a week and it drove me nuts). My biggest complaint with it: it doesn't have a proximity sensor. Honestly, this may sound like a nitpick, but it drives me nuts.

Would I do it again? Probably - but not a new one. The build quality is great, and it's a great entry-level Android phone. But it truly has reached the end of its shelf life. The only support you will get on the Hero is on this forum.

Personally, I'd try to stay away from the lower end Samsung phones - but I'm really anxious to see what HTC puts out next for Sprint that isn't the size of a minivan. And I don't wanna pay that extra $10/month.

 

[Luckydog666]

If you root, the Hero is a great phone. With out root, it's mind numbingly laggy. It might even be fairly cheap. And it's pretty nice looking and solid feeling. Just my two cents.

Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk

 

[Luckydog666]

Also, the xda forums seem a little more active with the hero from dev standpoint in my opinion. I use the Regaw 2.1 rom. Nice and fast and not overly themed.

Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk

 

[archer7056]

I really need a phone in the next few days and as it goes now. I only like the Hero in terms or Android in the current line up, for the reasons I stated. Also, I didn't realize the Hero had no proximity sensor.

I know its a jump, but... any thoughts on the Palm Pre or Pixie?

 

[Andrew Ruffolo]

Garbage for phones. I have a Hero now cause I went through 5 of them in 5 months. Horrible battery life, about 30 seconds or so for google maps to load with their recent updates. It just seems like every time they updated the phone, they made it worse. The Pre plus isn't as bad with the Too Many Cards open, but the Sprint Pre is absolute garbage. I would get that error and not have a single app open. They have piss-poor memory management, and not a single memory killer app to prevent painful 5 minute reboot which is necessary. Plus, since no one at Palm could design a proper slider for it, it will either come already oreo'd or will oreo shortly after you buy it.

 

[SilverLight98]

I would just get the Evo.

Sent from my Droid

 

[user7618]

Tell you what, op. Go get an evo and I'll trade you my rooted hero for it. Really.

 

[anon(1458)]

Had the same issues with moment when I was on Sprint earlier in the year. Garbage. Evo or Hero.

 

[d-shade]

I personally like the hero as it is a good size, but if I could get the evo or a faster phone I would switch to it.

Also the better camera is always a plus, but I know a lot of the hero owners would love to be able to switch to the evo.