Android is my Hero

I’ve had my Hero for over a month now and have logged quite a few hours of phone usage, including many apps from the market place. Overall, I really like the phone, although there are definitely some nagging bugs and issues I hope HTC and Sprint address with updates in the near future. I am really looking forward to Android 2.0, as that update addresses a few of these (speed, as well as battery and task management) on it’s own.

Pros

  • Great call quality and reception
  • Lots of great apps and games, with more being added every day
  • Sense UI looks way better than default Android skin
  • Generally good on-screen keyboard. It’s finicky sometimes, but generally a lot better than I expected and on par with the tests I’ve had on an iPhone.
  • Customization - this alone could eat up hours of phone usage, as you can tweak and customize so many aspects of the phone.
  • Good build quality and feels like a high quality device in your hand.
  • Camera quality is good. Not awesome, by any means, but way better than any phone camera I’ve used. Video is on par with the Flip camera I have, so that is one less device I need to carry around.
  • Web browser is great.


Cons

  • Apps get corrupted more and more frequently (lose ‘friendly’ name and icon; occasionally crash)
  • Without a task manager, can get laggy and slow
  • When you get a call, it only rings one or twice on my end, so there’s a delay in indicating the call. I usually miss most calls I get, unfortunately. You have to be really fast. Tends to happen more frequently when you have the ringer on… vibrate isn’t too bad.
  • Home screen clock and weather are slow to update some times.
  • Some default apps run in background, despite not being used (i.e. Mail, even though I only use Gmail app), which contributes to lag.
  • Headset jack doesn’t get recognized and/or doesn’t output audio in stereo. There’s a widget you can install as a workaround until this issue is fixed, so it isn’t huge. Annoying though.
  • Too little on-board memory. You can’t install apps to the SD card, so you have a finite amount of space you can use. I’m getting close to that limit, so that means getting rid of apps when I do… I really hope Google changes it’s mind on this issue. I’ve read that it’s mainly to combat piracy, but I hope they would at least give us the option to install free apps to the SD card.

All in all, I feel like it’s probably the best device on Sprint. (Sorry Palm, I *want* to like the Pre.) The biggest test, in my mind, was my wife… who told me last night she loves her phone. She’s definitely not into phones, gadgets, or tech like I am and the fact that she said that says a lot about this phone and Android — I think Android could really take off, if it can win over non-geeks like her.

Here are some of my favorite Android Apps, so far:

  1. NewsRob
    An RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader.  Much better experience than using the Google Reader website via the browser. All the features of the site and also ties in with phone based apps, like Twitter clients, SMS, email and even Delicious bookmarking (if you install Bookmarking for Delicious app.)  If you use Google Reader, a must download.
  2. Astrid
    The best to-do app for Android. Even syncs with Remember the Milk, if you use that site.
  3. Last.fm
    Actually prefer this app over Pandora, as the few stations I’ve done through Pandora tended to play the same handful of artists over and over. Last.fm tracks all your listens to your account and combines with your iTunes/iPod listening habits if you have Last.fm installed on your computer. The “Recommended” station has been great so far and very few duplicate artists. The app was buggy and froze up a lot initially, but recent updates seemed to improve quite a bit. You can’t go wrong with Pandora, but I prefer this app for more consistent variety.
  4. ShopSavvy
    Basically, you scan barcodes when you are out shopping and find the best online deals. You can also create wish lists from the items you scan to save them for later.  Great app, with the potential to save a lot of money.
  5. Handcent SMS
    Initially downloaded this to help fix the battery issue with the Hero, but it is a much better SMS app than the default Android/HTC one… LOTS of customization (even on individual conversation basis.) A must download, especially if you have the Hero.
  6. Listen
    I love this podcast app (from Google) when it works. For some reason it keeps reverting to an older version that does not work very well, but when it does work it is a great, free podcatcher.
  7. Twidroid
    Twidroid and Swift are the best Twitter apps for Android, so you can’t go wrong with either. Twidroid seems a little better though, so I would recommend downloading it over Swift. Both are worth watching future updates to see what improvements are made, however.
  8. HandyCards
    Scan your reward and club cards, so all you’ll need is your phone when you are out shopping! Simple app, but very useful.
  9. CardioTrainer
    Haven’t used this a ton, but it’s great for tracking any exercise you do. When you are outside with GPS on, it tracks and maps your route, along with the standard steps, calories, time, distance. I’ve even used it on the elliptical and it’s very accurate compared to the elliptical tracking. App can also play your music playlist automatically while you are working out.
  10. Games:  Gem Miner, Abduction, Nesoid Lite, Robo Defense, Tangram Lite
    Tons of old school-esque games available. I’ve only been able to play a few (the above, plus a handful), but it’s refreshing to be able to pick up a game for a few minutes, instead of having to devote hours to a console game. Definitely gives me a gaming fix and fits well with my current lifestyle.

Update: Also, forgot about two beta apps that are very promising:  Evernote and MLB At Bat (which had a very quick preview during the World Series - can’t wait to try it out next season.)

Update 2: A recent OTA update for the Hero fixed some of my problems and seemingly reduced lag too, so even better!