Hero by HTC

HTC Helping You

2010-02-02T16:51:21Z

HTC has expanded their offering of support resources so you can make the most of your Hero phone! You should check out their product support page for the Hero - it has dozens of frequently asked questions and good answers.

They've also opened a new discussion forum specific to the Hero on the Sprint network. While there's not much traffic there yet, and I haven't seen any direct information from HTC, it's another avenue to find out ways to make your wireless experience the best it can be! We've added a widget to the Overview page showing the last five posts from the HTC forum, so you can see what's going on over there too.

Convert 3gpp audio from your Hero to play on your PC

2009-11-26T01:44:54Z

Just downloaded an app, MyMemo, from the Android Marketplace. Amazingly cool app - lets you create text, voice, drawing and photo notes and email them around. However, the audio recorded on the phone is in the 3GPP spec AMR-NarrowBand (AMR-NB), which not much can play back. At least nothing on my Mac (VLC, QT7, QTX).

The folks at VLC say that AMR-NB is patent-encumbered so there's not much support. They did point out one third party alternative software that can transcode your 3GPP audio and video files into something you can play back on your Mac or PC, Mobile Media Converter

Mobile Media Converter appears to be safe, with no spyware, adware or trojans on the Macintosh version. It's simple to use, appears to support a wide variety of oddball 3GPP formats and outputs to most popular video and audio formats. You can use it to transcode the videos or audio off your phone to standard MP4 or AVI files. Appears you can even use it to grab the FLV video files from YouTube. It's a plain little interface but it works. Check the screenshot for the UI and list of supported codecs.

You can directly download Mobile Media Converter from MikSoft.net - just choose your platform: Windows, Linux, or Mac

http://www.miksoft.net/mobileMediaConverterDown.htm

Hero by HTC Firmware Update for Sprint Nov 2009 (1.56.651.2)

2009-11-25T23:35:28Z

THIS IS THE SAME INFO SARAH POSTED! No new update has been released. She just left me in charge for the weekend, and well, I'm out making duplicate posts.

Just reposting as a blog post 1) cause I'm lazy, 2) there's a bug in the forum code that is keeping 'stickied' threads from being stickied, and 3) blog posts have better SEO.

A software update is available for the HTC Hero.

You can initiate the update from the Settings, About Phone, System updates, Firmware update.

Feature Updates and Enhancements

HTC Hero Software Enhancement SW 1.56.651.2 provides feature updates and enhancements to address the following:
•    Improvement to camera picture quality
•    DST (Daylight Savings Time) issue addressed
•    Unable to receive SMS due to full memory
•    Memory leak when Bluetooth is in connecting state
•    3.5mm mono when not using headset with mic
•    Dialer application causing excess battery draw

Important note: Dedicated Mute/Speaker buttons have been added to the Talk screen

Verification of updates:
To verify you have the updated build after the update:
1.    Press Menu, Tap Settings
2.    Flick Up, Tap About Phone
3.    Scroll up and check Software version: After update 1.56.651.2

Business Technical Training for the Hero by HTC

2009-10-12T19:11:28Z

Sprint is offering a series of training events targeted at business customers for the Hero by HTC. While this event is targeted at Business customers, anyone is welcome to dial in.

The Sprint DSS Technical Trainers welcome you to learn to touch your way to features, programs, and information on your HTC Hero™. We will show you how to access and manage multiple email accounts and create a phone that’s just right for you. Join us in one of our HTC Hero training sessions where we will go over basic setup, use, and a series of tutorials on device functionality.

The training is every day, starting at 3PM Eastern time (GMT -4). See the attached PDF file for more information, how to register and how to connect.

Download the Flyer (PDF, 190kb)

Revo? RevA? Which Is It?

2009-10-12T18:04:14Z

There's been quite a bit of discussion here and on other sites about the network indicator not showing RevA, but only showing Rev0. We just got word back from the product team - it's a visual display bug.

We recently discovered that Sprint's HTC Hero is showing a static message which reads CDMA - EVDO Rev.0 in its status settings whether or not the device is on Rev A speeds. In most cases, the device is performing on Rev A speeds even if the message reads Rev 0. This UI message error is not impacting the performance of the device in any way and will be corrected with the next maintenance release.

This jives with the speed test results posted in our forums - customers and employees are seeing full RevA speeds (1400kb/sec, sub 200ms ping times).

Sorry for the hassle - but we're on it and it'll be fixed soon.

Thanks for your interest!

Will

Hero FAQ's from the Sprint team

2009-10-10T16:23:58Z

After playing with the Hero for a few days, folks at Sprint came up with a few questions - not many really; it's a boring phone and just works. (boring phone is boring - and amazingly functional)

What happens when I power the phone on?

When you turn on the phone for the first time, you are provide a touch screen tutorial and you will be given options to let you quickly set up various accounts, such as Google Account, Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and other email accounts.

Do I need a Google account to buy apps from the Android Marketplace?

Yes, you must have or create a Google account in order to download from the Android Market

Do I have to consent to the Google location service agreement?

Yes, you must consent to Google location service to automatically update the World Clock; to use the Weather app and to use Sprint Navigation. (They all use GPS location or time signals)

I heard a reminder while I was on a call, but I don't see it. Where'd it go?

When using the phone, your phone will prompt you if you have another call on the other line (you can pull the phone away from your face to see who it is) or if you have a reminder set (e.g., you will hear the same noise; however, you will not see the reminder when you pull the phone away from your face). After you disconnect from the phone, your reminder will pop-up.

Mute - where is it? (we live on conference bridges. I'm on one as I type this. 3,000 minutes a month. Mute is critical)

When on a conference call, you can mute the phone by selecting the back button to wake up the phone and then Menu. From Menu, you can select Mute. To unmute, follow the same steps and select unmute. (sorry, no hardware mute button, no fast mute switching a-la Blackberry). (admin: Someone make an app for that!)

Rev0 - I thought it was RevA:

See this blog post about it. (it's a display bug)

When will we get a maintenance release (MR) or Android 1.6 / 2.0?

Sprint is committed to providing the best experience on your Android phone, and that means fixing bugs and providing upgrades to the latest software. However, we don't comment on future releases or unreleased software. Keep an eye on the forums for the latest news, updates and information when we have a firm release date for fixes or upgrades.

Hero Tips - Moving widgets

2009-10-10T16:13:18Z

As I was playing with the phone today I was having problems moving widgets from one panel to the next - I found it easier to just delete the widget and recreate it on the screen I wanted it on.

Turns out that fat trackball has a good use: Moving widgets!

[A] nifty use for the trackball was being able to switch between panels, which makes for quick panel-editing if you decide all your widgets would look better on the other end of the panel spectrum. Just press down on a widget, wait for the phone to go into edit mode, and then scroll the trackball to switch panels while the widget’s still up in the air. Beats dragging each individual widget to the edge of any given panel and waiting for the panels to change themselves.

From MobilitySite.com, HTC Hero Review

The concept of panels (cards? panes? spaces?) plus user configurable widgets makes this a tweakers dream. You can build your own custom UI from wallpaper to buttons to application views. And with seven cards to drop things into you can completely information overload your phone!

Fun times . . .