When Sprint announced plans to carry the HTC Hero this morning, they had a bit of a surprise (albeit one that had already been rumored) in store: it looked totally different than the Hero we’d come to know and love.
The once square edges have been rounded out, and the jutting chin that has been a signature across HTC’s Android lineup thus far has been dropped entirely. Some loved the new look; others responded as if the new HTC Hero had insulted their family and razed their house to the ground. So lets settle this once and for all (as scientifically as is possible in a blog post on the Internet): it’s poll time.
Which HTC Hero do you prefer: the original, Chin-tastic Hero, or Sprint’s shaved down edition?
I, honestly, do not understand how you can completely change the look of a phone, yet keep the same name.
They should have called this one The Villain.
The Villain could be an awesome phone, but it would need to have different internals, as well as a new look.
The Villain would look just a bit cooler than the Hero.
The Villain would do things that the Hero isn’t willing to do, like including a phone phreaking app.
The Villain’s Google Maps would include a default search for the nearest jewelry stores and/or banks.
The Villain would have a proximity warning for any approaching Heroes.
The Villain’s auto-complete dictionary would include all known swear words.
Of course, the Hero would still be a marginally better phone than the Villain, and usually win. But the win would be hard-fought, and only come after a long, drawn out spec comparison, with lots of collateral damage.
Win.
FTW!
My hero is a villain – it does all that and is very teritorial – it hates other heroes near it, if it fails in a fight it will automatically give the “heroe kiss” (chin to nose).
Why walk into a bank looking like a villain and have all the alarms sound when you can walk in and out and still be a hero?
The villain would have a mustache as well.
Followed by the Sidekick; which would be wimpier, but have funny comic relief moments.
The There would be The Freeze. This phone would look like Arnold schwarzenegger, and completely ruin the whole franchise.
An American Hero
Dude, that is brilliant. XD
It is more like a Villain that a Hero!
Yeah… definitely a downgrade design-wise. Is it just the pictures or is the screen actually smaller on the Sprint version?
Pretty sure it’s just the scaling.
In that case, the trackball on the new one looks like it’ll be HUGE.
i was surprised at the results.. i feel like that chin would be super annoying in your pocket
Exactly, I did fall in love with the original but in your pocket it would annoy the crap out of you.
It’s not. You barely notice it
I definetely don’t notice the chin in my pocket, and I usually wear tightly-fitted jeans.
Will it still be teflon coated?
The new one just doesn’t look as well put together. It looses that “pro” look.
The only change that I would have made to the original design, is moving the “Back” button over to the left side.
I need a hero. I’m holding out for a hero ’til the end of the night. It’s gotta be strong. And it’s gotta be fast. And it’s gotta be fresh from the fight. I need a hero. I’m holding out for a hero ’til the morning light
It’s gotta be sure. And it’s gotta be soon. And it’s gotta be larger than life.
Whoa, sorry what?
I like the original, but I will still take whatever ‘droid based scraps HTC wants to throw Verizon’s way.
I bet the Sprint version would be more convenient to use, put in your pocket, etc. But it looks like shit.
I’d need my hands on both styles before i can vote properly
Sprint is notorious for getting phones that are bulky as all hell. Remember the razor then sprint got the Samsung A900 and that was almost like a razor but it was bigger then finally they got the razer after everyone and their grandmother had one. Now sprint is going for the Hero but again they will ruin it by making the phone bulkier and uglier than its original counterpart. SAD SAD day for sprint.
You are not right. My 2.5 years old LG Musiq II is pretty slim and I like it
Take the bottom half and splice it with the older top half. I love the new bottom piece design, but I like the originals top much more.
Such a tough call.
I voted !
58% of voters are right !
I am SHOCKED at the results. I thought it would be a blowout in favor of “The Villain” (c) Nate. I think the chin is a definite turn off, but I also thought the bulge at the bottom of the original RAZR was ugly too and people ate that up so what do I know?
Personally, I agree with the poster that says the original design might pose an issue with being in the pants pocket. The newer Sprint design looks sleeker and more polished. The original just looks like another iPhone pretender. IMHO of course!
Why did they even think of redesigning HTC HERO. It was/is perfect as it is. Stop redesigning, make your own from ground zero and then redesign it as much as you like.
While the original has a great, distinctive look, the buttons are annoyingly small and all feel too similar. The Sprint one still looks very nice, and – for me – the larger, more usable buttons push it over the edge and make it the winner for me. (They’re both nice, though.)
it’s a touch SCREEN phone i could cares about the buttons…in my opinion the original is better and i’d rather spend my money on that
It was a totally sexy phone before, now it looks very unsexy!
The original hero looks like a bastidized g1. The new hero looks like a chinese my touch 3g clone. With that being said, I voted for the original. They should just have made an upgraded g1 with a little fancy flair added to attract the moths. For marketing purposes, people recognize the g1 itself more than the android os.
I like the fact that you guys have named this version the villan and it looks like it’s going to stick….
Anyway, I like the Sprint version because it dropped the “chin” and I like the more rounded look.
Not sure if you ever saw this handset in the US, but after the T-Mobile G1, in the UK we had the ‘Magic’ from HTC – see pic: http://bit.ly/4hw69b
And the ‘Villain’ looks a lot more like the Magic with SenseUI than the ‘real’ Hero…
And the Magic looks cheap and tacky in real life..!
I have the original.
They should really change the name of sprint’s version; and not “villian” as its too cool for it.
This whole fiasco reminds me of when someone else “helps clean” your desk by rearranging everything. Though messy, everything WAS perfectly setup for your usage. Now it’s uncomfortable because it’s reorganized.
Wow, the villian is a no brainer for me. The chin on the G1 is just terrible (imho). I was looking forward to the samsung’s android but now i may stick with HTC.
Wow. Sprint destroyed it. The original design was sleek and a real competitor in the phone market. The Sprint version is garbage. I wouldn’t even consider swapping carriers for that POS. I was excited about this phone, too. It would have done Android some good if they left the design alone. I hope the phone fails for sheer stupidity.
I’m hoping the Hero comes to Telus, been holding off on a Touch Pro 2 because of it. However, if the Telus handset doesn’t have the chin then I’ll pass, the removal of it makes it look awful
I like the look of the old hero however just realized that it probably wouldn’t fit in my pocket well
Nice work. But I’m crazy about HTC Hero Sprint. You’ll got its outstanding prices here…
http://www.justcompareit.com/s~q-HTC-hero.aspx?ag=3
People, you really need to see the Hero and touch it.
The angle of the chin is very small, and sticks out less than 2cm. I was worried like everyone else, but pleasantly surprised when I saw it.
The chin is just not that big! The phone itself is very compact and sleek, the chin works well with the overall design. No issues at all with pockets, honestly!
Good God why does everyone get the Hero but Verizon/!?! It’s the only network that works by me. Damn you Verizon!!
I think original.
ccna ccent
I like both – if you can deliver in matte black! That golden shine is for sissies.
This new version Hero is way to ugly to even consider buying. I am not surprised people prefer the old version. Sorry but Sprint Marketing = Epic FAIL!
I like the original, the chin on the G1 never bothered me. The Villain looks like sprint wanted something that looked more like an iphone.
The Real Hero vs The Super Hero debate is really a debate about TMob vs Sprint and will take my chances with Sprint 3G/4G nationwide!
I’ll tell you that – the chin has saved my hero’s screen from scratching when it fell on asphalt.
Seriously. The chin only improves the usability of the Hero. A complaint about the pocket-unfriendliness of it is like saying that the iphone was too big for pockets when it first debuted. Once everybody has used it, they realized that it was not the case.
But if you don’t like the look of the sexy chin then I would understand. The same can be said about the iphone.
The Villain got a chin lift.
Who wants something bulging from your pants?
So…basically its a Magic with a hero rom on it..couldve done better than that sprint.
Everyone – get over the chin issue! Take the word of EVERYONE that owns a chinned Hero – when we say that it really is a NON-ISSUE. U don’t notice it at all – and it makes it fit in ur hand perfectly when typing (typing fast) in landscape on the hero’s amazing keyboard.
Sprint hero looks just like the magic and umpteen other OLD phones – whereas orig hero looks sleek, new and just damn good! No contest – original wins!
Not sure why everyone keeps thinking this is a chin/no-chin debate. If they only removed the chin and left everything else the same, we wouldn’t be having this vote.
Sprint killed SIMPLY EVERYTHING that we loved about the phone aesthetically…rectangular/sharp angles–gone, interesting/new color schemes–gone, physical buttons in a stylish non-symmetrical layout–gone. These are the things that made the Hero.
Now it’s rounded with no character, and has brushed metal against charcoal gray plastic…such a silly and unnecessary fail Sprint marketing/design team.
I hate the new design. It looks like a pda from the late 90’s.
Viva la Hero.
Posting from my Hero BTW.
Absolutely mate! Well said.
Also posting from my Hero – my current favourite bit of gadg by far.
I prefer the original HTC Hero instead of Sprint’s Version because the original version has more battery talk time (7 hours) unlike sprint’s version (4 hours). You can even check it out on http://www.phonearena.com and besides the original version looks much better than sprint’s version. I was very disappointed when I seen sprint’s htc hero, they should have left the phone the way it was.
Greg, what are you guys doing with this data? Sprint employees are linking this article in threads on the sprint community forums, in reaction to customer complaints for them to voice their opinions. Was this poll in someway sanctioned/asked for by sprint, and are they actually concerned with the horrible press their redesign is getting?
Nope – purely out of personal interest.
Sprint really dropped the ball on this. The Hero had standout design, fantastic feel, and unique materials. Now it’s been cheaped out. Sprint had a chance to distance themselves from T-Mobile in the Android space, but have now settled for a ‘me too’ type of handset. I *specifically* didn’t get the iphone because I wanted to see/buy the Hero in the white teflon. I’m not even due for an upgrade! Way to go Sprint. I used to wonder how just great phone service could continue to lose customers. Now I know for sure. Idiotic, incompetent management. That’s how. Sheesh. Time to show a flash of brilliance and bring back the original design!
+1
I’ve been noticing more complaints spread all over the internets (guilty as well). We need to take them to the source, Sprint’s “suggestions” forum.
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/21864;jsessionid=26F2AA1551579C4C8EA0A1ED84320ADB.app2jive1?tstart=0
I own a hero (wht) and the more i play with it, the more i like it, top of the line,wish tmobile usa had it so i could get 3g, o.g model is better than sprint,just wish i knew why HTC does not include camera flash on their phones? It should b a std feature….other than that this is the best phone including size,perfecto
I was waiting so freaking long for this EPIC phone to come out and i get all excited that its coming out oct 11th and i went to go look at it and the new style looks bad! VERY bad !