HTC Hero with T-Mobile in America

[Codexx]

Hey, I'm a bit new around here, and to cell phones in general, only having just got my first smart phone a half a year ago, a BlackBerry Storm. I could only watch with envy as T-Mobile got and Android phone and Verizon didn't.

Well, my girlfriend is, unlike me, on T-Mobile, and after doing some research, have discovered that the HTC Magic falls short of what she wants. Fortunately, the HTC Hero manages to meet her biggest requirements. But we've run into the issue of her being on T-Mobile, which doesn't (currently) carry the HTC Hero in the US.

My question then, is if there are any known plans to bring the HTC Hero to T-Mobile in the US, and if not, is there any way to import one and get it to function properly?

 

[quantumrand]

There aren't any plans for T-Mobile to offer tha Hero. You can get a European Hero to run on T-Mobile's network very easily, but you wont get 3G, only EDGE (about 240kbps max).

There is, however, the Samsung Behold 2 which is expected to come to T-Mobile probalby at the end of November. Or you could grab the Moto CLIQ coming out soon on T-Mobile also. There's also the Samsung Galaxy on Newegg.com that is compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network, but it's basically the same phone as the Behold 2.

If your girlfriend has strict requirements for her next phone, I'd recommed against importing a European Hero since she'll be limited to the EDGE network. EDGE is still fast enough for video/music streaming, but 3G makes it a bit nicer. Also for browsing, 3G will load a page a good 2 times faster in most cases.

 

[Codexx]

I assume this is a hardware issue and not something that can be easily fixed?

I'm pretty sure she's more concerned about the camera and the audio jack than much else. The fact that it has a touch screen is also exciting, but I'm mainly the one pushing her towards Android.

Is the speed loss so bad that it will cripple the phone? Outside of Google Maps and the occasional web page, I doubt she'll use it for much more than calling, texting, listening to music, and taking pictures, so unless the speed loss will somehow effect those, I'm not sure it's such a major drawback.

 

[mind2find]

Dude, so you know, once she gets an Android, I guarantee she is not going to continue just looking at the occasional web page. There is so much internet functionality (read: joy) to be had on these phones, that once she has the device, she will almost certainly start doing those things a LOT more. Just sayin'... You'll want 3G.

Personally, my approach is to not buy _Anything_ until early December. There are so many Android phones coming out in the next 2 months that if you buy now, you will undoubtedly watch as cooler phones or better holiday deals come out days later...


(An Aside: Are you smart-phone designers/developers/testers listening? You are missing a major UX and Usability population. The Girls! Come on, you all know you're target-marketing these phones toward 20 & 30-something males, but you can't have blinders on. Note how @Codexx above states that his girlfriend is more concerned with the audio jack (for one) than anything else. Have you ever watched a bar-tender use an iPhone? She queues up her album and then Plugs It Into The Bar's Stereo! You know what she doesn't do? She doesn't go rifling through her purse for her mini-USB to 3.5" audio-jack adaptor. She doesn't even know what that is! (No offense intended here. Many girls know what this is, and many guys don't, but I'm chasing a point.) And if she does know what it is, I guarantee she sure as hell doesn't want to worry about keeping it on her! Girls should be much closer to 50% of the market if you want your device to come close to the iPhone in market acceptance. And that's that. </rant>)

 

[Codexx]

Alright, thanks for all the help. One last thing though: Would you happen to know of any phones announced thus far that have the 3.5mm audio jack, a 5 MP camera, run Android and are planned for T-Mobile? I've already waded through a sea of phones to notice the Hero, perhaps there's one I've missed? I'll have her take a look at the Moto Cliq, but I'm not sold on it yet, and I don't know if it has the audio jack.

 

[mind2find]

You'll want the Samsung Behold II. 5MP cam, 3.5mm audio jack, supposedly beautiful bright low-battery-drain AMOLED screen, etc. etc. If I had to buy a phone in the next month (?) that would be it.

 

[Codexx]

Looks like we'll wait on getting the phone until December She's not convinced the CLIQ is right for her, despite it probably being the best "social" phone I can find. Unfortunately she found the Samsung Behold II to be "fugly". I agree with her, but she's also concerned with appearances where I'm not. So I guess we're waiting for the December line-up. Thanks for all the help, though.