My switch from Moment to Hero

[dbpaddler]

I'd love to enjoy typing on the screen. I'd be happy as pie then if something like the Nexus came to Sprint. Definitely eagerly awaiting gen 2 Android phones. I just worry that Sprint hangs its hat on the Moment for their slider Android phone. If they come out with the DTV version, will we be waiting even longer for a 2nd gen slider while something like the Nexus does come out and replace the original Hero? I'd be bummed.

 

[momentoid]

"The Nexus One smartphone might be a fun phone for consumers, but Google is aiming for the business-minded customer with its handset, says Google's Andy Rubin, quoted by Reuters.

Manufactured by HTC, maker of other Android phones (G1, MyTouch 3G, Hero), the Nexus One is a nice addition to the consumer line-up of Android smartphones, but doesn't have the business users at heart due to the lack of a physical keyboard.


Google is planning to address this issue with the next version of the Nexus One (Nexus Two?), which will feature a hardware keyboard....."

Google Nexus Phone to Focus on Business - PC World

 

[sbutch6969]

"The Nexus One smartphone might be a fun phone for consumers, but Google is aiming for the business-minded customer with its handset, says Google's Andy Rubin, quoted by Reuters.

Manufactured by HTC, maker of other Android phones (G1, MyTouch 3G, Hero), the Nexus One is a nice addition to the consumer line-up of Android smartphones, but doesn't have the business users at heart due to the lack of a physical keyboard.


Google is planning to address this issue with the next version of the Nexus One (Nexus Two?), which will feature a hardware keyboard....."

Google Nexus Phone to Focus on Business - PC World

Awesome! Nexus one hardware with a keyboard might be a great thing. Will be a while tho so I a gonna grab my hero for a year and upgrade if necessary. Played with my buddies hero today and noticed it was pretty quick, when I disabled all the crap that was running. Really have to keep any eye on all the apps. I think it makes a bigger difference on the hero then the moment.

Another big thing for me......sound quality of pandora. Hooked his hero up throuh the home stereo and received true mp3 quality. Had the bass notes the moment was missing. Big deal breaker for me.

Happy Sunday yall

 

[dbpaddler]

That's why I'm happy I have my Slacker. I look at Pandora and Slacker on the Moment as just something that'd be nice. But the way the battery is, I wouldn't trust streaming too long unless I was plugged in.

Another big thing for me......sound quality of pandora. Hooked his hero up throuh the home stereo and received true mp3 quality. Had the bass notes the moment was missing. Big deal breaker for me.

Happy Sunday yall

 

[ryu79]

Wow, I did not have that experience. The volume was...eh. The speakerphone sensitivity was terrible. Anytime I talked on speakerphone, the other party constantly had a very difficult time hearing me. It seemed that it also picked up a lot of background noise. Thought maybe it was just my device, but my wife had a Moment as well, and experienced the same poor quality.

Bizarre. I do conference calls from the speakerphone on my Moment and it works great. The clarity in general of my calls is outstanding.

Main thing for me when it came to picking was picking up the Hero and just feeling like it was really breakable/toy like (the one I played with at Sprint was also hella slow, maybe weighed down by widgets they installed to impress people), whereas the Moment just feels substantial and solid. I know for some that feels 'brick like', but for me, it just feels solid and it flies.

 

[momoceio]

One thing that worried me about the Moment vs the Hero is the seemingly lackluster 3d support on the Moment. So, when 2.1 comes out with all it's new 3d requirements...phones like the Moment may not perform as well as a phone such as the Hero which from what I've read has a dedicated Adreno graphics processor. I've heard of a few games that wouldn't run on the Moment because of it's poor graphics power. I don't know how 2.1 will run on either phone until it's pushed out but so far I'm feeling pretty good about the Hero seeing how well it runs the Sense UI which is a bit more graphics intensive then just vanilla android.

 

[numus]

One thing that worried me about the Moment vs the Hero is the seemingly lackluster 3d support on the Moment. So, when 2.1 comes out with all it's new 3d requirements...phones like the Moment may not perform as well as a phone such as the Hero which from what I've read has a dedicated Adreno graphics processor. I've heard of a few games that wouldn't run on the Moment because of it's poor graphics power. I don't know how 2.1 will run on either phone until it's pushed out but so far I'm feeling pretty good about the Hero seeing how well it runs the Sense UI which is a bit more graphics intensive then just vanilla android.

100% not true.. the 3d chip integrated into the s3c6410 is suppose to be one of the best 3d accelerator chips put into any android phone (excluding the nexus which i am not positive what chip they put in it).. the 3d chip in the hero is actually not powerful at all IMHO due to the limitations on the hardware accelerator.. it is the lack of driver support that samsung forgot to code into 1.5 that causes the moment to perform subpar..

 

[acp]

100% not true.. the 3d chip integrated into the s3c6410 is suppose to be one of the best 3d accelerator chips put into any android phone (excluding the nexus which i am not positive what chip they put in it).. the 3d chip in the hero is actually not powerful at all IMHO due to the limitations on the hardware accelerator.. it is the lack of driver support that samsung forgot to code into 1.5 that causes the moment to perform subpar..

lol this made my head spin

I was convinced the Hero had a dedicated graphics processor and the Samsung Moment didn't...Where did you get this information? I'm sincerely interested.

 

[globalninja]

I have a solution to people wanting the hero's on-screen keyboard's accuracy and the moments hardware keyboard. Just download the hero's keyboard to the moment I saw a thread somewhere on this forum with a link to the downloads and instructions. I did it to my moment and I couldn't be happier.

 

[numus]

lol this made my head spin

I was convinced the Hero had a dedicated graphics processor and the Samsung Moment didn't...Where did you get this information? I'm sincerely interested.

SAMSUNG's Digital World
3D Hardware Accelerator enables faster graphics performance at lower power consumption

Application processors introduced before the Samsung S3C6410 did not leverage the full capabilities of 3D hardware accelerators. The S3C6410 processor features a built-in, state-of-the-art 3D, 4M triangles/sec hardware accelerator with OpenGL ES 1.1/ 2.0 and D3DM API support. Products incorporating this hardware accelerator in the S3C6410 enjoy the following advantages:

• 3D graphics performance unmatched by software-only implementations
• Reduced board space, since no external 3D graphics hardware is required
• Better load balancing by relieving the CPU from cycle intensive 3D graphics functions
• Lower power consumption due to optimized and dedicated hardware, resulting in longer battery life

Additional S3C6410 Advantages

High-quality video playback is fast becoming a must-have feature for smartphones, portable media players, GPS navigation units, and TV-enabled mobile devices. The S3C6410 provides a cost-effective, low power, high-performance solution for portable designs:

• Built-in hardware and Multi-Format Codec to enhance the multimedia experience: Supports Standard Definition (SD) level encoding/decoding of multiple content formats including MPEG4, H.263, H.264 and VC1, for real-time video conferencing and TV-out.
• Optimized interface for high memory bandwidth requirements: Memory system has dual DRAM and Flash/ROM external memory ports for parallel access. The Flash/ROM ports support NAND Flash, NOR-Flash, OneNAND and ROM type external memory. The DRAM port can be configured to support mobile DDR or standard SDRAM.
• Software support to reduce application design time: Existing applications on Samsung application processor families can be ported to S3C6410 application processors with minimal changes to the BSP. An evaluation board, allowing different operating system support (such as for Windows CE, Windows Mobile, Linux, and Symbian), is provided to reduce application design time.
• Rich peripherals to reduce total system cost and enhance overall functionality: Examples include an 8-bit ITU camera interface of up to 4M pixel (for scaled) and 16M pixel (for unscaled) resolutions; a TFT 24-bit true color LCD controller; a System Manager (for power management); an On-chip USB 2.0 OTG operating at high speed (480 Mbps), etc.
• Memory stacking options for smaller footprints: The S3C6410 can be combined with various memory choices via Package-on-Package (POP) or Multiple-Chip-Package (MCP), which results in higher design flexibility as well as reductions in Bill of Material (BoM) costs, power consumption and board space.

Note: This is a very basic writeup of the 3d capabilities.. if you go into the techincal files it has a lot more specs but it isn't a light read...

 

[aclark414]

Main thing for me when it came to picking was picking up the Hero and just feeling like it was really breakable/toy like (the one I played with at Sprint was also hella slow, maybe weighed down by widgets they installed to impress people), whereas the Moment just feels substantial and solid. I know for some that feels 'brick like', but for me, it just feels solid and it flies.

I have never felt that my Hero feels breakable. Now, I definitely don't think the Moment feels breakable either. Maybe it just feels that way to you because of how much lighter the Hero is?

 

[numus]

I have never felt that my Hero feels breakable. Now, I definitely don't think the Moment feels breakable either. Maybe it just feels that way to you because of how much lighter the Hero is?

IMHO.. it isn't that it is going to break by just holding it... but it feels like they used a thinner plastic in the case which some people worry decreases the amount of stress it can withstand (from a short drop for example)

 

[sbutch6969]

Had to follow up with everyone......we'll the wife and I made the switch officially from the Moment to the Hero this weekend....and I haven't looked back. The issues I had with the Moment (Pandora, Lack of Accesssories, etc.) are no longer issues. Streamed Pandora for 4 hours yesterday and had 1 small glitch of a second - but music kept playing. No interruptions and the sound quality was perfect. (Not lacking the bass that both my wifes and my moment did.) Currently putting together a car docking station for my phone and there are many options to choose from....this was important to me as well.

Do we miss the moment? Nope....Was the Moment a good phone....absolutely. If just didnt cover all of the bases I needed covering. For others, I am sure my issues might not be a big area of concern.

As far as speed....I definitely think the moment does a better job of handling a heavier workload then the Hero....BUT....it is so easy to manage this piece of it with any Task Manager. As long as I dont have 2 apps streaming and 15 others working in the background, the heros speed matched the moment across the board. (FOR ME!)

Not to drag this on.....Wife and I are very happy with our switch over to the Hero. It was the right move for our specific needs. All of you looking to make a decision between the two phones, should make a list of strengths and weaknesses for your own taste, and then make the decision.

Thanks to everyone for the great discussion, learnings, etc. This forum is priceless.

 

[dkjones96]

Reasons I am considering the switch....
Pandora, LastFM, Slacker....all missing Bass...I am a huge audio buff and need my phone to stream music. While the moment will stream it, the buss is muffled. You wont be able to tell when playing through the phone speaker but when you listen through an adaptor to your car or home stereo, it is VERY noticeable. Friends Eris sounded flawless. Wife has the moment as well and it sounds the same. In addition, the moment has a hard time staying connected, will change the song in the middle of the tune and often emits a "garbled" sound.

I hadn't used Pandora or anything like that on the phone but you are right about the lack of bass. I had only been playing music videos and such which all play great. Hmm.

 

[GoldenBlaze]

There really isn't a need for the flaming posts. Both phones are great in their own way. Its all about personal preference and for some the Hero works better than the Moment and vice-versa. I like them both and if I could have 2 phones on my one phone line, I would own both.

 

[Bigjohn]

Paddler, you need to calm down and get over yourself...anyways, the Nexus is the best Android phone available right now and the iPhone is probably the best phone period. For more info about either, please go to google.com...as for the Moment, since this is the Moment's forum, it is the best that Sprint has to offer right now. The Hero is another Android option with Sprint--see the Hero forum for more info, or google.com...

Thanks for sharing your opinions, and since you know everything I think I'll drop my moment in the toilet and go buy an Iphone and increase my family cellphone bill by 200% and drop my call quality by 25% just to have one!

NOT

Moment, with it's 800mhz processor, is an awesome phone. Nexus = pricey, and I'm not sure that processor will provide that much improvement, and it's certainly going to consume battery like nobody's business...

Oh, and you can't have it on sprint.

So...

John

 

[cammy]

I'm going to the sprint store to xchange the moment for the hero, my biggest problem is the airplane mode. I feel like samsung put a beta product and marketed it as the final version and I got screwed. I love the moment but I didn't pay 300 to get a device that I have to worry about working. If the hero poses the same problems, I'm just going ovver to att with a new nexus one!

 

[dbpaddler]

If your only issues are the firmware glitches, I would hold out till the end of your 30 days in hopes the maintenance release is released so you can give it a fair shake.

And you didn't get screwed. Hero had its own issues but got a MR rather quickly. Most smartphones these days are released with glitches and require a MR soon after release. Some have the MR waiting for them when they are released because it wasn't cost effective to open up the boxes and update them before leaving the factory. It's just the way it is. Can't cover every base in testing before it hits the streets, and sometimes real world use is the only way to determine a problem because you just can't account for everything during beta testing.

 

[mengy007]

I'm going to the sprint store to xchange the moment for the hero, my biggest problem is the airplane mode. I feel like samsung put a beta product and marketed it as the final version and I got screwed. I love the moment but I didn't pay 300 to get a device that I have to worry about working. If the hero poses the same problems, I'm just going ovver to att with a new nexus one!

I don't know if this will help you but since I loaded the custom rom, I haven't had any issues including the airplane mode issue. I understand it should work perfect out of the box but just giving my 2 cents.

 

[tatonka_Hero]

If your only issues are the firmware glitches, I would hold out till the end of your 30 days in hopes the maintenance release is released so you can give it a fair shake.

And you didn't get screwed. Hero had its own issues but got a MR rather quickly. Most smartphones these days are released with glitches and require a MR soon after release. Some have the MR waiting for them when they are released because it wasn't cost effective to open up the boxes and update them before leaving the factory. It's just the way it is. Can't cover every base in testing before it hits the streets, and sometimes real world use is the only way to determine a problem because you just can't account for everything during beta testing.

the question here would be, what are the chances of Samsung actually sending out a MR anytime soon? From what I understand, they don't exactly have a good track record of supporting their phones...

 

[numus]

the question here would be, what are the chances of Samsung actually sending out a MR anytime soon? From what I understand, they don't exactly have a good track record of supporting their phones...

Samsung report's their phones fine.. One reason they aren't releasing an MR release is because they probably aren't allocating any resources to 1.5 development... If you were a company and were working on a 2.1 recode, would you waste some talent (even the worest dev) to work on 1.5 bugs and fix them, or would you allocate that resource to 2.1 dev and get it out faster then before? So they take a loss of the people who aren't willing to wait for the release, but to them it is a small percentage (for every 1 person that switches from moment to hero there are probably atleast 1 person that buys a new moment).. The phones are CHEAP to produce (the screen is only 50 bucks to buy a consumer replacement.. that should tell you how much the screen alone costs the OEM factory).. Processors are incredibly cheap to produce and purchase, all the money goes into developmental research to produce the chip...
Meanwhile you have a dev community that is working on getting everything working for the consumer side (not a samsung sponsored community mind you)... If i was a business person, and knew there was a group of people hacking t he phone and succeeded to do it and succeeded to fix some problems, i wouldn't worry about releasing an "offical" update... But that is just me, i am not a multimillion dollar CEO.. i am a state employee

As for the hero.. You might think a lack of notification light on the moment is bad.. i think the lack of a proximity sensor is much much worse.. I will never buy a phone that doesn't properly lock the screen when i am actually using it as a phone.. plus the fact it doesn't have a flash, has a Qualcomm MSM 7200A chip and has a ball (one thing i hated about my curve, since the ball WILL jam..)

 

[Mw182006]

Yeah I hope the update to 2.1 makes things a lot smoother, but after only having the phone since Friday I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the Moment. There are some quirks to get used to if you're new to smart phones, and if you don't do your research going in to things then I could see how people would get frustrated (ex. lack of led notifications, gps issues, etc). Some of these issues that have been posted make me wonder if people have taken a look at the apps they've installed and see if they may be the cause of the issue.

Back to the OP though, In my opinion it's an apples to oranges comparison. You've got a touch screen phone with a highly touted interface vs. a slider with a focus on hardware. Sure they're both Android phones on Sprint, but they cater to different tastes. Eventually we'll get the best of both worlds (at least I hope), but knowing Sprint and their history of being slow to bring new phones to market, I couldn't hold my breath any longer.

 

[Grandmasterlarry]

Hey look another useless thread. I wonder what the total count is of threads started about switching from the Moment... You switched thats awesome that means you shouldn't be post here anymore... BYE! WE DONT CARE!

 

[tatonka_Hero]

As for the hero.. You might think a lack of notification light on the moment is bad.. i think the lack of a proximity sensor is much much worse.. I will never buy a phone that doesn't properly lock the screen when i am actually using it as a phone.. plus the fact it doesn't have a flash, has a Qualcomm MSM 7200A chip and has a ball (one thing i hated about my curve, since the ball WILL jam..)

I dunno, I have NO problems without a proximity sensor. I've never accidentally hit speakerphone or any of the other buttons while on a call. I also couldn't care less about a flash. I don't need to take pictures in the dark lol. The chip certainly doesn't appear to be everything, since my loaded down Hero runs my Mom's nearly stock Moment into the ground, and I'm sure it still will when HTC's 2.1 with Sense comes out and compares to stock 2.1. I've also had the Hero since mid-October, carry it in my pocket all the time, and still have no problems with the trackball...and my pockets aren't exactly clean considering I live and work on a farm. I cannot stand that goofy optical trackball (or whatever you want to call it) on the Moment, and neither can my Mom.

I certainly wouldn't be able to stand not having an accurate battery meter out of the box. As far as I'm concerned, if Samsung can't even get a simple battery meter right the first time, how do I know they're going to support the phone at all? Especially if they don't do a MR within a couple months of the phones release to fix the small problems that will inevitably occur (bad battery meter is by no means a small problem).

 

[numus]

I dunno, I have NO problems without a proximity sensor. I've never accidentally hit speakerphone or any of the other buttons while on a call. I also couldn't care less about a flash. I don't need to take pictures in the dark lol. The chip certainly doesn't appear to be everything, since my loaded down Hero runs my Mom's nearly stock Moment into the ground, and I'm sure it still will when HTC's 2.1 with Sense comes out and compares to stock 2.1. I've also had the Hero since mid-October, carry it in my pocket all the time, and still have no problems with the trackball...and my pockets aren't exactly clean considering I live and work on a farm. I cannot stand that goofy optical trackball (or whatever you want to call it) on the Moment, and neither can my Mom.

I certainly wouldn't be able to stand not having an accurate battery meter out of the box. As far as I'm concerned, if Samsung can't even get a simple battery meter right the first time, how do I know they're going to support the phone at all? Especially if they don't do a MR within a couple months of the phones release to fix the small problems that will inevitably occur (bad battery meter is by no means a small problem).

Yes chip is everything.. that is like comparing a intel pentium 4 running windows xp, vs a core 2 duo running windows xp but restricted to driver support from windows 98 se... Core 2 duo is obviously superior, except that it currently is being restricted down.. Try using somethign actually optimized to the s3c6410 chipset (like zefs kernel) and not the native Kernel optimized to no chipset vs the HTC kernel (which natively from HTC was optimized for the Qualcomm MSM 7200a chip) and then do a comparitive analysis...
Seriously why are you on the moment forum trying to bash the moment and say the hero is superior when you obviously don't know what you are talking about in the end..
Because the battery meter is a small problem.. took me 24 hours to fix when i actually sat down to look at it and recode it..
Seriously go back to the sprint hero forum and be spoon fed whatever the hell you want to think... but unless you are a dev, don't quote what is "wrong" with the moment and what is a "big problem" because you obviously have no idea