Thinking a switch from Palm Pre to HTC Hero

[alex1080p#AC]

As the title suggest I was thinking of switching from the Palm Pre to the HTC Hero. I've played with my cousin's Droid Eris and loved the Sense UI, along with the customization. It made my Palm Pre seem so plain and boring, since there isn't much I can do with it and I feel like the App Catalog is going nowhere. I need yous to help me determine if I should get it by stating the Pros and Cons of the Hero compared to the Pre, would love to hear from switchers. I also mainly care about the messaging application (I'm a huge texter) I've heard it doesn't downscale MMS messages so, some people got Message Size Limit Reached. Is that a serious problem? I get lots of picture messages, so I need to know. Any help or tips, would be useful.

Thanks for your time. -Alex

 

[sparda07]

Honestly the hero is hands down better than the pre.
I do a lot of text, picture messaging, and email the hero does them very well the out of box text client is not the best but handcentsms is great and has alot of features as well. In short its a much better phone.

 

[tinsammich]

I just switched a couple days ago and the Hero is putting the pre I had to shame. The one thing that made me hesitant was the not having multiple apps open at the same time but the thing is so fast that it doesn't really matter. I have been texting a lot and after you do the calibration for the on screen keyboard its a breeze to text, even in portrate. The spelling correction system is pretty much spot on and adds words that are not in its default dictionary (slang and such, like sammich) as you type. The app catalog on the Pre is pretty much a joke compared to the Hero as well. I have received a few picture messages without trouble, but they have only been from 2 people so I cant vouch for the MMS system yet. Other than that, I have had a very positive experience with the switch and from what I have read in various forums, I would recommend the switch over. I would suggest to go to a sprint store and mess around with their floor models for a good amount of time. Download some apps, send a couple text messages to some people to see how you like it and such. But like I said again, I have done the switch and just after a few days of using the Hero I know it was a good switch for me. Hope this helps!

 

[Kamen]

I switched to a Hero from a Pre as of Tuesday and I am not looking back. It is a solid built great phone. You wanted Pros and Cons, so here you go.

Pros

-It is well built as already stated. The Pre felt cheap in my hand, like it was a toy cell phone I bought for my Niece.

-Dialer app is smooth and quick. I had so many issues with the Pre's dialer lagging so bad I don't even want to start.

-The phone overall is smooth and quick.

-Tons of nice apps and widgets.

-HTC Sync allows you to sync your Outlook with your phone free of charge. I still cannot believe Palm makes you by a third party app for $29.99 just to do this.

-Auto-correct for Spelling in Texts and Emails is a really nice feature.


Cons

-Battery drain issue after sending and receiving texts with the built in Messaging app. Apparently when you use it it locks the Phone services in an "on" state thus draining the battery quite quickly. There is a workaround for this though. Basically you disable that Messaging app and install one such as HandcentSMS from the Market.

-It may take a little time to get used to the OS and the UI as it is different from the Pre. I cannot tell you how many times I have tried to swipe away an app to close it or an email to delete it. Not really a con though.

That is all I have thus far. Like I said I have had it for like 2 days now so I haven't been able to really dive in to it. Once I come across anything else I will let you know.

 

[Kamen]

I remembered another Pro. Facebook Sync will only sync Facebook accounts to the contacts you have in your address book. With the Pre, when you would sync with Facebook you got all of your friends which took up space in your Contacts with people you have no intentions of ever calling.

 

[kehanra99]

I had the Pre for a few months, and now the Hero for a few weeks. The Hero is the better phone in almost every way. It's just well built, the interface might look complicated but it's actually very simple, and it's more customizable. Battery life is similar, and the Hero has a nicer camera that can do video.

 

[boomhower1820]

I am considering the same switch, well actually I'll be adding a line for the Hero. I am just sick and freaking tired of the lag. I usually keep open drpodder, google maps, email, and a web page. With just those open it will lag so bad that I actually miss phone calls. That is just flat ridiculous. I am reading and trying to do my research and see if the Hero will work for me. I am not sold just yet. My biggest hang-ups are the lack of a hardware keyboard and potential lag still. I swore off touch screen only phones after my diamond but after hearing everyone rave over the Hero's keyboard I am thinking of giving it a shot again. I still keep hearing of lag issues which is my main motivation of getting it. We'll see.

 

[swagner]

I made the same switch. I really wanted to like the Pre and there are things about I liked a whole bunch. The shape is great- the multitasking UI is great. Overall I like the Hero better. There is a better app selection. I have found battery life better (not all seem to). Reception is better. Although I like the UI and notifications on the palm, I also like the "widgets" on Android and they work well enough. The Hero really feels more solid.

One of my big issues was that I really needed to hack the palm to get it to behave the way I needed. I couldn't install a virtual keyboard or change certain settings without doing this. With Android and the available apps (for the most part) I can.

My only big worry with the Hero right now is that if it it does not get a 2.x update, many new apps wont work for it. I am reasonably confident 2.x will be released for it as it developers have it in hand.

good luck.

 

[alex1080p#AC]

Thanks for the answers, guys. Looking forward to hearing more, from Kamen. I want to be sure about this phone. I was sure about the Pre and switched to Sprint for it and now I'm not liking the phone so much but I love Sprint and don't want to leave.

Thanks, again. -Alex

 

[tekkie412]

I originally chose the Palm Pre and loved it. I quickly got into adding apps from the repositories and was digging it all around. Then a buddy of mine had to show me his Hero. I felt like I had nothing compared to his Hero. The next day after sleeping on it I went to the Sprint store and played with one for a while. I thought they were going to run me out. I started to fall in love with the Hero and just in time as I was running out of time on exchanging the phones. I didn't feel like the Pre was a waste but now I knew there was something better. My wife has a Pre and she loves it and had no interest in changing over to the Hero. The things that made me want to change were, 1. No more sliding. I never really liked slider phones.
2. The overall volume on the device. You can hear calls fine and media plays nice and crisp.
3. App store. This hands down was the push over the edge. The Pre is increasing everyday but it will have to speed it on up to compete with the Android market.
4. Camera quality. I no longer carry a separate camera with me. Pics are great and with the MicrSD expansion I can share and print images with ease. Video on the Pre isn't that great compared to the Hero, oh wait what video on the Pre. Come on a smart phone with no video! "Unless you put a beta version of the video recorder on the Pre." Hack, Crack, Smash!
5. Widgets Rule and HTC Sense is great. Customize until you are dizzy. I still haven't finished changing up my home screen, all seven of them.
6. Spell check. I can't sepll for carp!

Go look at it. At this point it is hard to not choose the HTC over the Palm especially if your a geek and like to tinker with technology.

Cheers and good luck!
Tekkie412

 

[dg417]

I am also a current Palm Pre user and I am considering switching to the Motorola Droid. I really do like WebOS but I am not happy with the mediocre hardware but most of all the lag. I find the Pre to be very slow when opening apps, checking email, etc.

Does the Droid have this problem with lag?

 

[kennyidaho]

I am also a current Palm Pre user and I am considering switching to the Motorola Droid. I really do like WebOS but I am not happy with the mediocre hardware but most of all the lag. I find the Pre to be very slow when opening apps, checking email, etc.

Does the Droid have this problem with lag?

Might be a good idea to ask in a Motorola Droid forum/thread.

 

[mcgeorge36]

Current pre user who is seriously thinking of making the switch to the hero myself. It seems allot of people have made that switch, and just about everyone who did is happy with it.

 

[neelesh]

I am another pre user who is (most likely) going to be going to the Hero. I'm sick of the build quality of the Pre (I've had to take the cover out and tinker with the hardware-so annoying) and I've had alot of problems with it....And the lag is killing me, and the terrible apps.

I LOVE WebOS, but it is no where near as good as what they say it is/where it should be.

I am probably going to make the switch this month, so I am very excited!

I just have one quick question, people keep mentioning Handcent. I was wondering about Chomp SMS. What are the biggest diffs between them? I like how ChompSMS looks, but if its functionality isn't as good as handcent, then will go with the latter

 

[jmcgarrell]

I am another pre user who is (most likely) going to be going to the Hero. I'm sick of the build quality of the Pre (I've had to take the cover out and tinker with the hardware-so annoying) and I've had alot of problems with it....And the lag is killing me, and the terrible apps.

I LOVE WebOS, but it is no where near as good as what they say it is/where it should be.

I am probably going to make the switch this month, so I am very excited!

I just have one quick question, people keep mentioning Handcent. I was wondering about Chomp SMS. What are the biggest diffs between them? I like how ChompSMS looks, but if its functionality isn't as good as handcent, then will go with the latter

I love chompsms......... but lack of MMS support killed it for me

Other than that, chomp is a very good client.

 

[Kamen]

Thanks for the answers, guys. Looking forward to hearing more, from Kamen. I want to be sure about this phone. I was sure about the Pre and switched to Sprint for it and now I'm not liking the phone so much but I love Sprint and don't want to leave.

Thanks, again. -Alex

Glad I could help.

As someone already stated, which I forgot to mention, the camera is much nice on the Hero. Although I don't use video recording features on my phones, it is nice to have. With the Pre you couldn't.

Also with my Pre pics always looks grainy and for some cases with my first Pre, they had an orange tint. Come to find out it was because the phone overheated so badly it started to fry the lens for the camera.

A con for the Hero (which is also for the Pre) in regards to the camera is you cannot zoom.

 

[alex1080p#AC]

Zoom

Glad I could help.

As someone already stated, which I forgot to mention, the camera is much nice on the Hero. Although I don't use video recording features on my phones, it is nice to have. With the Pre you couldn't.

Also with my Pre pics always looks grainy and for some cases with my first Pre, they had an orange tint. Come to find out it was because the phone overheated so badly it started to fry the lens for the camera.

A con for the Hero (which is also for the Pre) in regards to the camera is you cannot zoom.

No I'm pretty sure you can. I mean if it is the same as the Eris, then you should because I zoomed in with the Eris. Lets say you hold the phone in landscape when taking a picture, on the left side, bottom of the screen move your hand up. Let me know if it works.

 

[envoynv]

I switched

I just switched from the Palm Pre to the Hero. I researched the Palm Pre for a long time before I made my move to it and ended up very disappointed. If the theory of WebOS would have held true it would have been a great phone. I was very disappointed in the basic PIM features all smartphones should have.

I now have a phone that integrates awesomely with Google. Emails contain labels, threaded messages, emails can be archived and stared as well as emails can be read in landscape mode without modification.

The calendar has an agenda which the Pre does not. The associated calendar colors from Google transfer to the Hero.

The Hero has video capabilities and the camera has a zoom which the Pre did not have.

The Hero provides an out of the box LED notification when you have emails, or other messages.

And widgets make up for the lack of the "cards" that the Pre has.

All in all I am very happy for changing.

Jeff

 

[doublebullout]

The Hero camera does zoom. You can either use the trackball or slide your finger up and down the left edge of the screen in either portrait or landscape orientation.

My experience has been very similar to all the other Pre-Hero switchers. Been a Palm user for years, waited impatiently for the Pre since the day it was announced, bought it, and then got increasingly frustrated and angry with the inability of webOS to handle basic features that Palm PDAs have had since 1996. There's simply no excuse for this. I switched to the Hero the day it was released and am ecstatically happy with it. There are a few switchers who prefer the Pre and switched back for various reasons, but it seems that users who have tried both tend to prefer the Hero by a wide and enthusiastic margin. The Hero is an awesome phone.

Something to keep in mind if you read a lot of older threads comparing the Pre and the Hero. Sprint released an OTA update for the Hero a few weeks ago than resolved issues like the battery drain caused by the stock messaging app and camera app lag. Read the sticky threads about Hero issues and workarounds if you're concerned about these issues.

 

[alex1080p#AC]

The Hero camera does zoom. You can either use the trackball or slide your finger up and down the left edge of the screen in either portrait or landscape orientation.

My experience has been very similar to all the other Pre-Hero switchers. Been a Palm user for years, waited impatiently for the Pre since the day it was announced, bought it, and then got increasingly frustrated and angry with the inability of webOS to handle basic features that Palm PDAs have had since 1996. There's simply no excuse for this. I switched to the Hero the day it was released and am ecstatically happy with it. There are a few switchers who prefer the Pre and switched back for various reasons, but it seems that users who have tried both tend to prefer the Hero by a wide and enthusiastic margin. The Hero is an awesome phone.

Something to keep in mind if you read a lot of older threads comparing the Pre and the Hero. Sprint released an OTA update for the Hero a few weeks ago than resolved issues like the battery drain caused by the stock messaging app and camera app lag. Read the sticky threads about Hero issues and workarounds if you're concerned about these issues.

Sounds good, that messaging bug was a biggy for me since I've always prefered using the stock applications on phones. If I would have had to replace it, with another messaging app that would be a big no no for me. Hmm I may be getting this phone, everything sounds good, hopefully get it before Christmas

Thanks guys. -Alex