HTC sets its Hero free!

In a turnabout move HTC sidesteps all four Australian mobile carriers to launch its Android-powered Hero and Tattoo smartphones unlocked and for outright sale.

In an unexpected and possibly last-minute twist, HTC has sidestepped all carriers and all networks and will offer its new Hero and Tattoo smartphones for outright sale, unlocked, through mass market retailer Harvey Norman.

Earlier information indicated that Optus or one of its network-sharing partners would have the exclusive on both Android-powered handsets, but in what appears to have been a relatively last-minute change, HTC has gone direct to the market.

This is the first time the Taiwanese smartphone supremo has taken the retail-only path, with all of its previous smartphones offered through at least one carrier.

“We just wanted to get these handsets out there” Anthony Petts, HTC’s ANZ Director of Sales and Marketing told APC. Petts said that carrier deals are still under discussion.

“Further distribution channels will be announced in due course. We’re continuing to discuss (the Hero and Tattoo) with operators, but there’s nothing that I can say the the moment.”

Customers will be able to buy the Hero from Harvey Norman for $799 “by the end of November or early December”, with the more consumer-oriented Tattoo available “a few weeks after that” for $599.

The handsets can then be used with the customer’s desired network – either for the best network coverage or the carrier which offers the best deal.

However, given that the Hero covers only 2100MHz and 900MHz as 3G HSDPA bands, this rules out Telstra’s Next G network.

Customers of 3 can use the Hero and Tattoo on 3’s primary but limited-coverage 2100GHz network while customers of Optus and Vodafone can tap into both carriers’ primary 2100MHz and regional 900MHz networks.

HTC Hero launched in Australia

HTC Hero launched in Australia $799 RRP unlocked, no carrier plans? Sold by Harvey Norman?
.. Stay tuned for details.

HTC Hero & Tattoo Australian release announced!

The aptly-named HTC Hero and it's little brother the Tattoo will make their Australian début next week on Optus' dual-band 3G network.

The kick-off, to be held on Wednesday afternoon (18th, November 2009) at swanky Sydney waterside eatery Doltone House, will see the Hero replace the Magic as HTC’s flagship Android phone.

The Hero is quite late arriving to the Australian market, could it be because it is to be loaded with the newfangled Android 2.0 OS?

.. Only 3 sleeps till we find out!


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More Androids head towards Australian shores

A new breed of Androids is about to touch down in Australia as handset makers put the iPhone's dominance to the test with new smartphones built on Google's mobile operating system.

While HTC is the only company to have released Android handsets in Australia, Samsung will unveil its first Android offering next week with the launch of the Icon Galaxy.

The Galaxy taps into the desire to customise and personalise phones and integrate them with applications used elsewhere Tyler McGee, telecommunications vice-president at Samsung Australia, said.

"People are now buying their fifth, sixth or seventh handset, so I'd say, globally, the smartphone category is moving fast into the mainstream," he said.

The Galaxy has an organic LED screen and 5-mega-pixel camera, and 8GB of internal memory (which is upgradeable to 24GB) also helps to boost its smartphone credentials.

The launch of the Galaxy will be followed closely by HTC's Hero, which is due in Australia before October. No stranger to the Android platform, HTC launched the G1 Dream in Australia last February and its HTC Magic followed a few months later.

"We've certainly taken leadership with Android. We believe that in the next 18 months to two years that the cloud [where you store all your contacts and photos etc] will have a determinate factor on what devices you choose," Anthony Petts, HTC's regional sales and marketing director, said.

He said the Hero would offer better functionality and an improved user experience with a new capability, called "scenes", that allows users to group weekday or weekend usage profiles using widgets that are live and intuitive.

"We are continuing to expand the Android portfolio of products and strongly believe end users are looking for different sizes, form factors and keyboards, so we're giving them a variety of choices," he said.

While no other handset makers have formally announced new Android models for the Australian market, Motorola is reported to have two phones close to completion and set for release to some markets in September, although the company declined to provide specific timings.

"Motorola can confirm that we will be launching Android handsets but can't disclose any details at this time," it said.

Like the iPhone, one of Android's key selling features is the mass of third-party applications being created for the platform. The Android market now has 8000 applications for download and the fact that these can be built on open-source technology has made it a popular platform among developers.

Petts said Android applications delivered a unique level of depth, integrating tightly with functions such as cameras and maps, exemplified by the popular Sky Maps application, which can locate a position using the GPS to map out constellations visible from a particular location.

But interesting applications may not be enough to win over the mainstream smartphone market, Robin Simpson, a research director at Gartner, said.

"Success in the smartphone market is all about usablity and cool design. Google doesn't control the hardware so if phone makers don't come up with the good designs, that will make the platform less attractive."

Software Update Fixes the HTC Hero's Only Real Problem

Well, this changes things. Right after it came out, Matt from Gizmodo called the HTC Hero "tragically flawed."

Why? Because the otherwise fantastic Sense UI was realllly slooooow.
HTC, presumably run by competent, rational human beings, has fixed this. The new update, illustrated above, shows the now beautifully fluid UI experience.

Well done HTC!

HTC Hero unboxing video and Sense UI overview

Take a look at the above unboxing review, the HTC Hero looks to be a great piece of Android goodness. Hmm... wonder when it's going to be available in Australia...

HTC Hero running Android and Sense UI leaks from HTC's own website

As we prepare for HTC's official launch event today, we're starting to see some details appear on HTC's own website of the much rumored Hero.
Through some URL trickery, we've managed to unearth several details that confirm the previous rumors. Hero includes the new HTC Sense widget-based interface that puts at-a-glance info right up front on the home screen where it belongs. A new Scenes profile feature lets you transform your phones focus from business to weekend mode. Viewing your contacts shows the usual data in addition to the interactions you've had through social networking status updates and photos from the likes of Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Twitter. A dedicated search button searches the phone as well as services like Twitter. In fact, like Palm's Pre, the HTC Hero seems ready to fully integrate your local data with all your subscribed social media sites. The biggest deal here, however, might just be that HTC is touting this as the first Android device to support Flash out of the box.

Inside you'll find Qualcomm's MSM7200A proc running Android at 528MHz, 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM, 3.2-inch TFT-LCD with 320 x 480 pixel rez, 900/2100MHz HSPA and Quad-band GSM, trackball, GPS, 802.11b/g WiFi, 3.5mm audio jack, G-sensor, compass, and 5 megapixel auto-focus cam with microSD expansion. It's all there baby. The White version of the device has an industry-first Teflon coating (right, just like your pans) to keep things clean and grime free. Multi-touch and anti-fingerprint coating too. Hero arrives in Europe in July with T-Mobile and Orange, Asia later in the summer, and North America even later in 2009.

HTC Hero spotted in the wild..

.. the next Android phone?

Not content to bring out one of the phones of 2009 in the HTC Magic, the Taiwanese company has been showing off the HTC Hero, its next Android offering.

After hinting at such a device in its leaked 2009 line-up, the Hero has finally surfaced in the real world, and looks like it's following the G1 and Magic lineage we're now used to, thanks to the inexplicable lip at the bottom.



But it has one thing the Magic and G1 don't have, and that's a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is something the world has been hankering after in an Android phone for ages (and something Samsung is bringing in a couple of months with the i7500).

It seems to borrowing the angular stylings of the HTC Diamond range from the blurry pics sent in (which you can see more of over at CodeAndroid), but has ditched the trackball we've grown to love on the previous two Android offerings.



This really does look like the real deal, and in many ways makes perfect evolutionary sense, especially as HTC has promised more Android handsets this year. If we were to have a guess, it would be that this phone is equipped with a more powerful processor and better camera, especially as HTC has told TechRadar that's going to be a big focus (excuse the pun) for the future.



Word is that we'll be seeing this little beauty in the next four or five months, which is certainly enough to get excited over, especially as the HTC Magic performed so well in a recent review.