Sprint and HTC announced that a Sprint version of the HTC Hero Android smartphone will be available for purchase on October 11 of this year. The HTC Hero was originally released as a GSM and UMTS device, but the Sprint 3G CDMA version gets a look of its own - even though it maintains the same HTC Sense-based user interface, with its 7 sliding home panels and slick Facebook and Twitter integration.
This is an important step for Android, since it marks only the second carrier in the U.S. to offer an Android-based smartphone. This is in spite of the fact that Sprint is a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance(INFO), the group that backs the open source smartphone OS.
Among the HTC Hero's many features are the large, half-VGA resolution capacitive touchscreen display, its 5 megapixel autofocus camera, and its trackball controller for those rare times when you just don't wish to use a finger - even though the touchscreen has a fingerprint resistant coating. The Hero also features a real 3.5mm stereo headphone port and a microSDHC(INFO) memory card slot that allows for up to an additional 32GB of storage space.
Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo support is also on-board, as is a suite of Sprint's services that includes Sprint TV and NFL Mobile Live. Visual voicemail and GPS navigation are supported on the Hero, as well.
One aspect of the Hero's Sense UI that is sure to garner attention is its multi-touch support, which offers gestures like pinching and stretching for zoom control in its full HTML capable web browser. Full support for email is available, including Exchange Activesync, which includes calendar and contact synchronization. The Hero is also the first Sprint device to sport HTC's GPS-powered Footprints system.
The HTC Hero on Sprint costs US$179.99 with 2 year contract, after a $50 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. The phone requires an plan with unlimited data, which starts at $69.99 per month with 450 minutes of talk time included.
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