I’ve been wanting to replace my old phone, a Nokia N92. But wanting is not enough, I need to save money for it. I’m not a fun of credit cards so if I do want a new phone, I will have to pay it in cash. The HTC Hero is one of my prospect phones.

I saw my roommate using an HTC phone. I got curious because she said it was expensive. It looks nice and handy. But the features are very important for me.

As I was searching the mobile phone stores, I came across this beautiful baby, the HTC Hero. I asked a saleslady for a briefing of its specs and features. Below are the specs and features of the HTC Hero:
1. Its processor is Qualcomm MSM7200A 528 MHz
2. It can run Google Android 1.5 Operating System
3. It has a 512 ROM and a 288 RAM
3. It has a 3.2 inch oil-resistant capacitive screen at an amazing 320×480 pixels
4. It is a 3G phone with an HSDPA of 7.2Mbps
5. Internet surfing is easy with its WiFi 802.11 b/g
6. It has a Bluetooth 2.1
7. Internal GPS
8. It has a 5MP camera
9. It has a 3.5mm audio jack

The HTC Hero handset is build with a combination of brushed metal finish and a smooth rubbery surface. It is different from an ordinary phone because the bottom part of the phone is bent inward. Maybe this is designed so the mic will be closer to your mouth when making calls. The HTC Hero’s thickness is 14.4mm and it weighs 135g. The handset has several HTC Widgets and Android Widgets that allows a user to turn on or off the settings for 3G, Wifi, GPS and Bluetooth very quickly. Helps you save on data charges and prolongs battery life. Speaking of battery, the 1350mAh battery of the HTC Hero can last for 2 days with casual internet and phone calls only. But it will only last 1 day if applications like Twitter , Gmail and facebook will be left open.

The HTC Hero can run multiple applications all at the same time. If it slows down when a lot of applications are open, the Task Killer widget can be very helpful.

Let’s now discuss the downside of the HTC Hero. If you love to take pictures, this is not your type of phone. Though it has a 5-megapixel camera, it takes poor photos on low light or non-stationary subjects. It doesn’t have a large internal storage so you need to purchase a 16GB microSD for more storage space. It doesn’t have an FM radio tuner and a front camera for 3G video calls.

The HTC Hero’s official suggested retail price is Php 33,999, with a free 2GB microSD card.

Watch HTC Hero Video Review