Mobile

HTC Hero in the flesh!

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief November 20, 2009 · 1 min read

Listen to article

Instagram now lets users reorder their posts on their profile iOS 27 Adds Native Baybayin Keyboard to iPhone: Here is How to Enable It AMD Radeon RX 9070 GRE announced GPD MicroPC 2 with Intel Core 3 N350 announced Nintendo Direct to unveil Switch 2 games for second half of 2026

We’ve finally got one — the HTC Hero, unboxed and in the flesh. Check out the photos after the jump.

htc hero

This HTC Hero came in last night with the Acer Timeline with a price of USD$642 from HKIA, way less expensive than the rumored ~Php40,000 price tag when it’s officially released here in the Philippines next month.

htc hero

The unit came with only 2GB of microSD card but fortunately I got several spare 8GBs around here to replace it. It can support up to 32GB so I’ll have to look around and buy one next week.

htc hero

It’s open-line so after popping in my SIM card, everything’s all set and running. And though I am still working my way around some of the features and functionalities, everything’s smooth sailing so far.

htc hero

Check back in a couple of weeks for the full review.

React to this article:

Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

8,007 Articles

View all posts by Abe Olandres →

58 Comments

drew · 17 years ago

sir yuga,

san niyo po nabili sa HKIA ito? maraming salamat po.

klaydze · 17 years ago

if you can search sa tipidcp they selling this phone for 21k – 30k (bnew). sana makakuha na ako nitong phone na ito. i like this phone lalo na nung nababasa ko yung mga comments about this phone.

hubes · 17 years ago

htc store in sm north tells me stocks might be available starting tomorrow. around 33k daw.

timetravel0123 · 17 years ago

Hi everyone. I have been looking for HTC Hero in Makati for almost a month. I am here for only a week more. Please help me where should I give it a final look? really appreciate it…

rico · 17 years ago

to htc hero users…

what are the BIG advantages of htc hero android 2.0 OS over (nokia n97) symbian touch?

htc hero (android 2) vs nokia n900 (maemo 5 OS)?
any idea which of the two has better platform overall? whats your take?

Hub · 17 years ago

@asdix

I was using 2.9 a few weeks ago, feeling ko kasi mas mabilis yung 2.8 so I reverted back to it. But I’m using teknologists latest kernel and IU radio. Iniintay ko talaga yung android 2.0 update for the htc hero. I also transferred some app cache to sd card (browser,maps,facebook,market,shazam,youtube) to free up some internal space.

asdix · 17 years ago

@hub
out na ang MCR 2.9 with Teknologist’s kernel. mas mabilis na xa. i’m using it along with the new radio, ung IU radio. it’s super fast na now. i think macocompare mo na sa bilis ng iphone to think na it’s multitasking.
try Seven para sa push emails mo and everything’s going to be a bliss tapos may seesmic na ang android ;)

Hub · 17 years ago

Great great great phone, specially if you’re a google services user. Traded my n97 for this phone, best gadget decision I made this year (worst was buying the n97 :). Currently using the modaco 2.8 custom ROM, less lag sa UI, makes the phone more responsive overall. Phonebook integration with facebook and flickr is really cool! 3G connection with globe has been solid so far. And yeah, I love the idea that I have Linux on my phone :)

(Posted this from my hero)

jason · 17 years ago

Is the Hero going to be carried by Smart next month? I ordered an HTC Magic as part of retention. Is it worth the wait?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 17 years ago

@jdgonemad – pampalit sa nawalang iPhone ko.

@calvin – yup, first Android phone ko to.

Calvin · 17 years ago

ganda abe ah! first android mo?

jdGONEMAD · 17 years ago

bigtime talaga si master yuga!

anonymous · 17 years ago

@Andrew – you might be correct with the hardware capability but if you compare the OS to HTC Hero the Android has an edge.

lolipown · 17 years ago

Brian_B’s comments make me want to buy this thing :D

Andew Mercado · 17 years ago

samsung omnia HD has 8MP cam and 720P video record and play back. It has an AMOLED screen 16M Colors. way better than all other smart phone available on the planet.

The Teknisyan · 17 years ago

This is one hot gadget… nice design specially that slight curve design. I sure hope that it will much lower than the rumored 40k. This will most likely be within the 25k to 30k price tag.

The Teknisyan · 17 years ago

This is one hot gadget… nice design specially that slight curve design. I sure hope that it will much lower than the rumored 40k. This will most likely be within the 25k to 30k price tag.

http://teknisyan.blogspot.com

kinto92 · 17 years ago

I got one second hand from ebay UK last month. 300 pounds which is roughly $480 or 24k pesos.

I like this phone over my nokia e75 because of the network capabilities (Full browser baby!). It’ll last you around 3 to 4 days without wifi. But wifi around 1 to 2 days depending on usage.

Another I like on this is the multi-touch capabilities which is wala sa ibang android phones.

Free and Paid Apps work here sa pinas. For Paid apps to be available you need a Smart sim I think. I got an O2 sim when I bought it but it connects to smart for roaming. I’m using Globe for my primary number. But with Free apps solve ka na!

Just a tip to make it snappy. Download nyo yung latest ROM and use a Task Killer.

Brian_B · 17 years ago

That chin would probably hurt in your pocket.

asdix · 17 years ago

yup. it’s just that, pag walang lights or konti ung lights, pangit ung kuha ng hero.
the stock rom with the senseUI is a bit sluggish, pero sobrang active ng android community sa xda at modaco that they made roms which are faster. this is the best phone i’ve had so far.

Brian_B · 17 years ago

It’s a beautiful phone. People should read the Engadget review. They have a lot of praises for the build. It’s probably the best phone as far as hardware. I’m surprised the screen isn’t OLED. I had to go search for the specs again.

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/23/htc-hero-review/

about the camera:

“The Hero’s 5 megapixel camera is pretty darn amazing, we must say. Coming off of most devices with their paltry 3-or-so megapixel entries, it’s a real treat to have an onboard cam which can actually stand in for a proper shooter. While the image quality isn’t up there with dedicated point-and-shoots, it’s certainly leaps and bounds better than the nearest competitor, with”