Palm Pre or HTC Hero?

[qdigga]

I so agree with you!! I've had the Pre since July and by August I was looking at new phones again! You can't really customize it, no predictive text, no video - I'm sure all these things WILL happen in future updates and I will keep my Pre safely tucked away for when that happens. But until then my Hero is on order and should be here by the end of the week!!

I second that! I had my Pre for a bit, tweeked it to death, did everything possible and got bored. If it was easily customizable (or even mildly customizable) I may have kept it. Couple that with the lack of a beefed up apps library, I turned it back in and got my Hero (30 day return policy). I'm enjoying the Hero thoroughly and I don't seem to be suffering from the bugs many in the forums have mentioned.

 

[uminchu]

I'm currently using the Pre, but seriously considering the Hero. My issue with the Pre is its very boring in my opinion.

I have them both and I think they are both terrific phones. I agree that the Pre is not very tweakable out of the box, and some of the features left out of a smartphone made absolutely no sense at all, at least to me. The tweaks available at PreCentral.net have vastly improved things, especially since they broke through the app memory limitations.

I personally find it easier to navigate the Pre's OS and much easier to keep track of multitasking. I'm still learning Android and the Hero, but I feel like it takes more hunting through menus to locate places or options where the Pre was either one or two taps, or simply type in what you want from a blank screen. If it's on the phone, the Pre will take you there, or at least help you find it.

The Hero has a lot of cool widgets (though some are buggy); the Pre not so much. The Pre's app catalog is growing, and some of the homebrew stuff is excellent, but Android apps are SO plentiful. No Shazam or Shop Savvy type apps available for the Pre so far. No Pre apps that I know of can read or make use of a bar code. That said, one nice Pre advantage is that I can tether my Pre without rooting; if there's a way to do that on a Hero, I have yet to learn of it. The Pre has an excellent free homebrew app for tracking airline flights (even shows you on a map). I've found a whole bunch of Android apps that can track flights in Norway, but only one that tracks US flights, and it costs $4.

I agree that overall the Hero is the more powerful phone. The Pre's flexibility (or lack thereof) can be remedied in updates that so far come at a rate of once to twice a month. IMO, the main two issues holding the Pre back are the lack of apps overall, and the lack of depth thus far in the SDK. If Palm can address those issues, then I think the Pre can be a much more significant player in the smartphone game (just my .02).

 

[IIJBII]

I have them both and I think they are both terrific phones. I agree that the Pre is not very tweak-able out of the box, and some of the features left out of a smartphone made absolutely no sense at all, at least to me. The tweaks available at PreCentral.net have vastly improved things, especially since they broke through the all app memory limitations.

I personally find it easier to navigate the Pre's OS and much easier keep track of multitasking. I'm still learning Android and the Hero, but I feel like it takes more hunting through menus to locate places or options where the Pre was either one or two taps, or simply type in what you want from a blank screen. If it's on the phone, the Pre will take you there, or at least help you find it.

The Hero has a lot of cool widgets (though some are buggy); the Pre not so much. The Pre's app catalog is growing, and some of the homebrew stuff is excellent, but Android apps are SO plentiful. No Shazam or Shop Savvy type apps available for the Pre so far. No Pre apps that I know of can read or make use of a bar code. That said, one nice Pre advantage is that I can tether my Pre without rooting; if there's a way to do that on a Hero, I have yet to learn of it. The Pre has an excellent free homebrew app for tracking airline flights (even shows you on a map). I've found a whole bunch of Android apps that can track flights in Norway, but only one that tracks US flights, and it costs $4.

I agree that overall the Hero is the more powerful phone. The Pre's flexibility (or lack thereof) can be remedied in updates that so far come at a rate of once to twice a month. IMO, the main to issues holding the Pre back is the lack of apps overall, and the lack of depth thus far in the SDK. If Palm can address those issues, then I think the Pre can be a much more significant player in the smartphone game (just my .02).

I agree here. I think both phones are great but it depends on what you want/expect out of a device. My question would first be "What do you want/need your device to do and whats important to you (Actual Keyboard, Apps, etc)." After you define that decide on the right "tool" to do the job. If you start with what you want/need rather then the device it should help decide so you're not unhappy when/if the device doesn't perform to your requirements. Just my thoughts.

 

[headcase]

I have them both and I think they are both terrific phones. I agree that the Pre is not very tweak-able out of the box, and some of the features left out of a smartphone made absolutely no sense at all, at least to me. The tweaks available at PreCentral.net have vastly improved things, especially since they broke through the all app memory limitations.

I personally find it easier to navigate the Pre's OS and much easier keep track of multitasking. I'm still learning Android and the Hero, but I feel like it takes more hunting through menus to locate places or options where the Pre was either one or two taps, or simply type in what you want from a blank screen. If it's on the phone, the Pre will take you there, or at least help you find it.

The Hero has a lot of cool widgets (though some are buggy); the Pre not so much. The Pre's app catalog is growing, and some of the homebrew stuff is excellent, but Android apps are SO plentiful. No Shazam or Shop Savvy type apps available for the Pre so far. No Pre apps that I know of can read or make use of a bar code. That said, one nice Pre advantage is that I can tether my Pre without rooting; if there's a way to do that on a Hero, I have yet to learn of it. The Pre has an excellent free homebrew app for tracking airline flights (even shows you on a map). I've found a whole bunch of Android apps that can track flights in Norway, but only one that tracks US flights, and it costs $4.

I agree that overall the Hero is the more powerful phone. The Pre's flexibility (or lack thereof) can be remedied in updates that so far come at a rate of once to twice a month. IMO, the main to issues holding the Pre back is the lack of apps overall, and the lack of depth thus far in the SDK. If Palm can address those issues, then I think the Pre can be a much more significant player in the smartphone game (just my .02).

Ditto -- excellent summary.

 

[esanger02]

yes yes yes

 

[gbp]

Have both Pre and Hero, both are nice.

In terms of ease of use and functionality Pre is better. Also It has the physical keyboard.

Hero really shines with the screen , bigger and more readable.
The expendable SD card slot , voice dialing , visual voice mail and camcorder functionality are not present is Pre.


Biggest gripe on Hero is the browser performance and lack of Yahoo mail integration

BTW the camera is slow in between shots compared to Pre.

 

[hoopsdavis]

Have both Pre and Hero, both are nice.

In terms of ease of use and functionality Pre is better. Also It had keyboard.

Hero really shines with the screen , bigger and more readable.
The expendable SD card slot , voice dialing , visual voice mail and camcorder functionality are not present is Pre.


Biggest gripe on Hero is the browser performance and lack of Yahoo mail integration

BTW the camera is slow in between shots compared to Pre.

I guess my main concerned would be which is better for business. In my opinion, the Pre isn't a business phone, seems more like a phone teens would enjoy more. I honestly enjoyed the Pre for a couple weeks and got bored with it. The Pre has great potential and I'm sure in the furture it'll improved, but for me, today its just not gettinng the job done.

 

[DaveW5150]

About to go from Pre -> Hero

I've had my Pre for 20 days, and before that an iPhone 3G for a year. I like the pre and all, but the UI is a bit sluggish, even with no apps running, just scrolling apps! I hate the build quality, and the keyboard, well, my thumbs are too big for no auto-correct.

Just got back from the Sprint store to actually test out the Hero... love it! Very snappy and customizable. I bought the Pre at Best Buy, so I'll need to return it there once they get them back in, but I can hardly wait.

Almost forgot, the Hero feels so solid! I love that!!!

 

[gbp]

I guess my main concerned would be which is better for business. In my opinion, the Pre isn't a business phone, seems more like a phone teens would enjoy more. I honestly enjoyed the Pre for a couple weeks and got bored with it. The Pre has great potential and I'm sure in the furture it'll improved, but for me, today its just not gettinng the job done.

IMO, Pre is much better than Hero for business. Because you have the keyboard
And then there are multiple email accounts Exchange, Yahoo, Gmail and hotmail (Hero doesn't allow yahoo email).

Then there is this good doc viewer for PDF, office documents. You can even save them as new files from emails or websites. Everything about Pre is , "Slide the phone keyboard, start typing".
Swipe back and forth to see the open windows. Which gives a perspective of the open apps.

With Hero , the keyboard is good , but its virtual , some times there is lag.

But the screen on the Hero is much bigger ( I know the difference is .1 inch , but the size is measured diagonally).

 

[techgeek32#WN]

Hero over the Pre

The Pre is NOT a business device. The keyboard requires very small fingers and is cramped, no word recognition. Docs to go doesn't allow editing yet and Android's does. Browser is a couple of seconds faster but that is only because flash is loading on the Hero. Once the pages are open they work equally and the bonus is that the Hero auto resizes pages so you can read them instantly and don't need to pinch and zoom on every page like the Pre. There is NO Outlook sync with the Pre, you are forced to use Gmail or Exchange and that implementation is poor. No external storage on the Pre and are limited to 8GB. Media player is better on the Hero and Pandora is as well. Hero connects to more bluetooth devices than the Pre and doesn't have the connections issues as the Pre. The screen on the Hero has truer whites as the Pre has a more yellow tint.

The Hero is not perfect. You must manage open programs to keep the phone from slowing down and there is limited viewing of Outlook contact notes. Still uses mini-USB which is old technology.

The bottom line is that build quality on the Pre is terrible and if you are looking for a phone to last for 2 years the Pre definitely won't. I have had 10 since June and all of them have been defective within a few days. WebOS will improve and once they get a new build the Pre should be an excellent alternative by next summer, but if you need something right now that meets the needs of the business and casual user you can't go wrong with the Hero.

The Palm Pre camera is much better than the Hero. I don't know why but for some reason every picture on the Hero comes out cloudy or fuzzy. They clear up a bit after you edit them but it gets old after a while. Hopefully there will be a fix for the camera down the road.

 

[showson1]

I personally got the Pre near launch and have LOVED it, but have always wanted an Android device once it matured a bit.

Well, I got the Hero to try for 30 days and after the first day I was SURE I was going back to the Pre.
After spending a few days with the phone and seeing the power of this thing, it's just simply amazing and I don't think I'll be going back to the Pre.

There are some things I like better on both devices, but the Pre just looks like a toy compared to the Hero, IMO.

 

[zeravla531]

I also have had both.

A lot of good opinions have been expressed above by people who have also had/have both.


I echo a lot of what they have said. Here's what my personal experience is, and take into effect i have only had the Hero a week, i had the Pre for 3 months.

Hero Advantages:

-Build Quality... FAR & AWAY better than the Pre. The Pre is plastic, twists, and feels cheap. The Hero feels solid, especially when you have been using the Pre for months. And the glass screen has a much better feel than the plastic screen on the Pre (i think it's plastic)

-Battery Life.... FAR & AWAY better than the Pre. I use my phone i'd say moderately. I text 30ish times a day, a few emails, moderate web browsing, sometimes music/podcasts. With an extended battery on the Pre (Seidio 1350mah), my Pre would BARELY make it through the day, sometimes it would require a charge before the day was over. And if you were ever in a low coverage area, forget it, your battery is as good as dead. The Hero, with the same usage, lasts easily throughout the day and then some.

-App Store - 10,000 vs. 150. 'nuff said.

-Widgets - i never used Widgets before, but i love them. I love having a constantly updating Facebook widget, weather, Calwidgets, etc.

-Scenes - technically with a lot of stuff on the Pre, you can just leave the card up and swipe back and forth, but the scenes are completely customizable to have anything and everything on there. The customization is just incredible, and way beyond what the Pre is capable of.

-Misc - Hero has text forwarding, video camera and LED notifications, and the Pre does not.

Pre Advantages:

-Multi-tasking: The Pre KILLS the Hero in this. Yes, you can multi-task on the Hero, but not anywhere near the ease and fluidness of the Pre. Also, with the Hero, you kind of have to moderate what stays open a la Windows Mobile. With the Pre, you know exactly what is running and what is not.

-Gesture Area: I really miss this a lot. The Gesture area, once you start to using it, was second-hand, to go back, forward and switch applications

-Keyboard: I do prefer a physical keyboard, and yes the Pre had what some say is a small keyboard, but i never had a problem plugging away on it. The Hero's virtual keyboard is really responsive and the error correction is great, but it still cannot beat a physical keyboard.

-Camera: I do not know why, but the Pre's camera (which has flash) was the best camera i have ever used on a phone, hands down.

-Notifications: They are similar, but the Pre's notification system was a lot nicer and easier to use and more intuitive.

-Pandora/Music: It stayed at the bottom of the screen for easy access if you were on another program



With all that being said, for me, right now, the Hero is a better fit for me with the apps, build quality and customization the Pre sorely lacks. Future iterations of webOS will no doubt be fierce competition, but that is in time. For now, i am sticking with the Hero.