The HTC Hero was T3’s gadget of the year in 2009; so to say we’ve been eagerly waiting for it is an understatement. Instead of a few lazy tweaks like some manufacturers, HTC’s made significant changes to produce a far superior handset.
First impressions are impressive. Constructed from a single piece of aluminum, with a rubberised battery SD card cover and camera section, build is fantastic – it really feels like a quality product. This is a handset you’d be proud to show off, in contrast to the drab Google Nexus One. The Legend is exactly the type of product we’d expect if Apple were to transfer its unibody laptop design to a handset. There’s no trackball, instead you get an optical joystick, which looks sleeker, but we barely used it.
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More on HTC
– HTC Legend video review and hands-on
– HTC Desire video review and hands-on
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HTC has upgraded the processor from a 528 MHz to 600 MHz processor and the difference is instantly noticeable. Windows load quickly and you can open several browser windows, listen to music and run several apps without any sluggishness. Running Android 2.1 you get support for Microsoft Exchange, otherwise it syncs seamlessly with Hotmail and Gmail accounts.
Beating the competition
What set the Legend apart from the Nexus One is the combination of HTC’s fantastic Sense interface and multitouch, making the whole experience incredibly fluid. Customise seven homescreens with widgets, shortcuts and favourites, and within seconds you can check the weather, update your Facebook status and view pictures, without digging into menus. A quick tap of the home button now brings up the new Leap screen, giving an overview of all seven simultaneously.
When browsing pull and pinch controls are a cinch. Even highlighting text is a breeze. See a joke or quote you like, press down and move pins to select, before copying, sharing or even looking it up in Wikipedia.
Whether it’s BBC.co.uk or more complex websites like T3.com, web pages load quickly and Flash support surpassed the Nexus One and the iPhone 3GS. Videos on T3.com look pretty good, they’re not too blocky and the sound is loud enough for a few people to listen.
A highlight is Friend Stream, which syncs your Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts, much like MotoBlur. It’s fantastic to have all your social networking contacts in the same place and means you don’t have to swap between Facebook and Twitter apps, but lists can be a bit sluggish to scroll through.
At 3.2inches the AMOLED screen is small, with a lower resolution than the Nexus One (480×320 to 800×480). But it’s so bright you barely notice. Movies from the onboard camcorder look very clear, even if you’re viewing from the side.
With moderate browsing, a few photos, calls and texts, the battery drops right down to about 25% at the end of the day, which isn’t terrible, but as with any smartphone, hit the browser hard and you’ll end up charging it every night.
Multimedia maestro
Our main criticism of the Hero was multimedia and while the Legend is an improvement, but the music player feels very much like a secondary feature. It’s fine for using on the train on the way to work, but lacks features you’d find on a dedicated music player – you can’t even adjust the EQ. The headphones are ok, but aren’t very comfortable for too long, although the 3.5mm jack means you can swap them easily enough.
The 5MP camera is pretty good for quick snaps though if no match for the Sony Ericsson Satio. The LED flash is a welcome addition, we took a few shots indoors in dim light results are grainy, but not bad. You can tweak White Balance, ISO and Exposure Compensation and add filters though. Video footage isn’t bad though, certainly fine for uploading to the web.
Despite 512Mb memory, you can’t take a picture or play music without using a MicroSD card and there’s no news yet on what card it will be supplied with.
On paper the Legend might not match the Nexus One’s and its 1Ghz processor for power, but that doesn’t matter. It’s quicker than the Hero and thanks to HTC Sense and features like Friend Stream; it’s a far slicker and easier to use then its Google rival. Factor in the gorgeous build and the HTC Legend is the best Android handset available.
