HTC announces the Hero – the best Android phone yet

It’s being billed as the first ever fully customisable Android handset. The HTC Hero with HTC Sense will allow users to amend almost every aspect of their setup.

Tech Digest has had its hands on the phone and it has to be said that it is a lot more simple and natural to navigate than its predecessors. It’s actually soft to touch and appears to be quite durable. It’s even contoured to perfectly fit a face during a call. It’s slightly chunkier than the HTC Magic at 14.3mm thick.

Tech wise there is a 3.2-inch, 320 x 480, HVGA touchscreen that supports multi-touch and pinch whilst browsing. It has a compass, AGPS and a gravity sensor.

There’s no more need to constantly wipe the screen clean too – the Hero includes an anti-fingerprint screen that is also smudge resistant. A welcome inclusion is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Browsing should be improved with the inclusion of Flash and there is also a search button that explores everything from your apps to your Twitter feed.

The Sense feature allows for widgets that push content, different customisable content profiles called scenes and it also combines all communication channels into one screen. That means Twitter, Facebook, flickr and the like can all be accessed from one screen. Sense also allows users to link Facebook information, like photos and status updates, directly to contacts.

The white finish has a Teflon coating – this is a first in the smartphone world and will help keep the Hero fresh and clean.

More spec info:

• Qualcomm MSM7200A processor running at 528MHz

• 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM

• 900/2100MHz HSPA and quadband GSM

• 802.11b/g Wi-Fi

• 5-megapixel auto-focus camera with microSD expansion – but no flash

The HTC Hero was announced today at a launch event in London and should be available in July on T-Mobile and Orange. Expect a full review on Tech Digest some time soon.

HTC Hero