The HTC Hero / T-Mobile G2 Touch Android smartphone review

T-Mobile G2 Touch:
Physical Aspects:
The HTC Hero is a rather striking handset, currently available in either white or graphite color schemes in the UK, with a characteristic ‘kink’ in its body, giving it a distinctive chin at the bottom. In the UK, the color you get depends on the network you choose. Orange UK are exclusively offering the graphite version, whereas T-Mobile UK are offering the white/silver version that we have, but are calling it the ‘G2 Touch’.

Being the white version, our handset has the matte white finish that is coated with Teflon to help keep it clean. However, ours had pink marks on it straight out of the box, and ones at the HTC release event were tarnished as well, so it clearly doesn’t make the phone dirt-proof, just dirt resistant. The graphite version doesn’t have this coating, but due to the back and bottom area being black, it doesn’t actually need it. One curious side-effect of the finish on our white device is that the phone feels as if it’s made of a ceramic material.

The Hero is, by today’s touchscreen handset standards, a pretty average-sized phone, and measures in at 112mm x 56.2mm x 14.35mm (4.41in x 2.21in x 0.57in). It appears slimmer than it actually is, due to heavily sloped edges that also make it feel nicer in the hand. It’s not exactly a lightweight, at 135g (4.76oz), but it feels quite robust. The first thing you’ll notice about the HTC Hero, aside from the chin, is its 3.2″ capacitive touchscreen display that has a HVGA resolution (320 x 480 pixels). Bright sunlight legibility is pretty average with this display. Above the display is the earpiece grille, which has an ambient light sensor on one side and a notification LED on the other.

The are only six hardware buttons on the device, not including the clickable trackball or the volume rocker. The call send, home, menu, and call end buttons are all lined-up below the display on the silver fascia of the phone. The search key and back key are both contained within one larger button that resides on the chin of the phone, next to the trackball. The trackball itself is located dead centre in the chin and has the ability to illuminate for notifications, usually unleashing a barrage of flashes for a new message or incoming call.

The rear of the Hero features the lens for the device’s 5 megapixel autofocus camera, although it’s still missing any sort of flash, which is a shame. The rear is otherwise pretty spartan, with only a couple of holes for the loudspeaker and the lanyard fixing. At the bottom of the handset is HTC’s ExtUSB/mini-USB port for charging and data, plus a microphone pinhole. Atop the device is just the 3.5mm headphone port and a small slit for removing the rear cover with a fingernail. The rear cover will need to be removed for access to the microSDHC slot that is hidden beneath. The left side of the phone features a large volume rocker that is pretty much flush with the side of the phone, and the right side is completely bare.

TeleNav GPS Navigation Service for T-Mobile G1 Android phone

T-Mobile G1 owners will soon be able to use the feature-rich TeleNav GPS Navigator.  TeleNav made the official announcement this morning that their award winning software will be released on February 24th via their website, and will be available in the Android Marketplace later this year.  Android Community was given the opportunity to test out the program in advance of its release.

While the G1 comes preloaded with Google Maps, that app certainly falls short if you’re looking for the full PND experience on your phone.  Street View and directions are useful, but they’re no substitute for spoken instructions and dynamically-tracking maps.

The GPS Navigator displays directions in full color 2D and 3D maps with voice and on-screen turn-by turn directions in both landscape and portrait orientations.  I decided to literally take the program on a test-drive.  The database has a large, easy to search listing of businesses, restaurants, gas stations (which you can sort by price), shopping, entertainment, lodging, hospitals, services, etc.  You can do your search by entering a specific address, by voice or by text.  I found the voice recognition to be a bit buggy, so I opted to use the text entry method.

I decided to do a search for local restaurants.  It immediately brought up a list of nearby restaurants, indicating their distance from my current position and rating.  Once I chose one, I had the option to call the restaurant, rate it, drive to it, map it or save it to favorites.  I chose to drive to it and within a matter of seconds I had on screen directions to get me where I was going.  I found the GPS to be accurate to within about thirty to forty feet.  At one point, I purposefully made a wrong turn, and the program quickly recalculated my route for me.

One of my favorite aspects is the ability to go into the “My Stuff” file and create commute alerts.  You can enter specific routes, indicate the days and times during which you travel them and it will send you a traffic alert via email to warn you of congestion.  If you are already in route, and a traffic situation occurs, you will receive both a verbal and on-screen notification, with an option to find another route.

TeleNav offers current weather conditions and a five-day forecast for your present location, or any other location that you choose.  Another nice feature is the ability to sync your phone with your online account at www.telenav.com.  There you can add contacts, addresses and even spots to share with friends.  You can also pre-plan your trip online and then send it to your phone, bypassing the on-device text or voice entry altogether.  There are additional plug-ins available for download, including a TeleNav button with which you can highlight an address on the web, click the button and have it send that address to your phone.

Overall, I found the program to be very responsive, accurate and useful.  It is one that I can see myself using frequently, being a commuter in a large city, as well as a frequent traveler.  It can provide users with traffic information, maps, where to dine and lodge, movies, weather reports, and more all in one package with a very friendly user interface.

TeleNav is available for a free 30-day trial at http://www.telenav.com/gps-navigator/t-mobile-g1-phone.  After the trial period is over, you can continue the service for a subscription fee of $9.99 per month.