Video: HTC Hero Android mobile phone breaks cover

Posted by Rhiain Morgan on Wed 24 Jun 2009

Action Hero

HTC are rolling out the Android phones faster than British Wimbledon drop-outs and the latest in line following the T-Mobile G1 and the HTC Magic is the HTC Hero.

- Check out the hands-on video to your right

Taking inspiration from the HTC Touch Diamond 2 and it's disguise of WinMo with TouchFLO, HTC has stepping things up and created a Picasso-esque paint job over the Android OS with its HTC Sense.

Much like TouchFLO the new OS includes seven completely customisable homescreens, but unlike its predecessor this can include live feeds of apps like Twitter and Facebook along with glance-view weather email and pretty much anything you want to have a quick beak at.

Using the Android software and stretching its little legs like never before HTC has also shaken things up when it comes to keeping in touch. Much like the Palm Pre and its stream viewing of your messages, emails and so on, within Hero every contact page will display text messages, call log, and email history. Facebook updates and links directly to the Facebook photo server are also within one touch access- never again will you have to log onto Facebook on your mobile.

With the complete overhaul of the Android software HTC has also made some changes to the hardware too. Measuring in at 112mm x 56.2mm x 14.35mm it's more of a Magic than a G1 and the QWERTY keyboard has been well and truly snubbed. Other updates include the juiced up camera to 5-megapixels, the inclusion of a 3.5mm jack and a larger screen at 3.2 inches. Working up to a fanfare the Hero is also the first mobile phone to include internet Flashplayer on a mobile phone. Phew.

This latest incarnation looks set to be stonker of a phone and check out our video for the full rundown of features and to see the Hero in action. Expect to see the OS disguising more Andorid and WinMo phones in the future.

The phone is out in early July and will be carried by T-Mobile and Orange in the UK. On T-Mobile the handset will be free with a £40 a month contract.

Ways to get more out of your Google Android in 2009