New to HTC, new to Android

[uberdrums]

Hi there, my first post!

I have a Htc hero arriving on tuesday. Really looking 4ward to getting it, haven't had a smartphone. In fact my last phone was SE W810i. Which, to me, has been a brilliant phone....but I have taken the plunge and got the Hero on Orange.
So Im new to smartphones and new to android. Sorry if my questions are a bit painful to read/answer.

My questions;

What would current users recommend to do I should do first to get the most out of it??

I have heard about battery draining quickly, should I install a 3rd party txt app? Is there anything else I should do to reduce battery drain? Or is this something that has been taken care of in the firmware update?

Does Shazam come pre-installed? If so, does this cost for positive track ID's? Or is it data charges?

I plan on using 3g Watchdog to monitor my internet usage, is this the best or has anyone got a better alternative?

I think that is about it. My main question is; what should I do first.

Sorry if these questions have all been asked before.

Thanks for taking the time to read, look forward to hearing from you all. Will let you know how I get on!

 

[zacspeed]

1. Turn it on

2. Turn it off

3. Shazam isn't pre installed (or at least it wasn't on mine)

4. I use NetCounter to manage my 3G useage, seems to work fine for me.

Hope you enjoy the phone mate

 

[uberdrums]

which button turns it on?

no, I got that I should probably start with turning it on! But thanks for the reminder!!

I was more looking for advice about battery drain, on this forum there have been various posts about it. Im just wondering if the fixes still apply, or if it has been sorted out with a firmware update?

I want to make sure that I get the most out of it as quickly as possible as I only have 7 days to try it. Then I am stuck with it.

thanks for the reply!

 

[zacspeed]

Just a few tips I've come accross whilst on here:

Turn off the Always-on mobile data connection.
Always keep Wi-Fi off when not in use

 

[Slug]

I was more looking for advice about battery drain

I want to make sure that I get the most out of it as quickly as possible as I only have 7 days to try it. Then I am stuck with it.

Take it from me, you'll thrash the life out of the battery in the first few days anyway as you play with the handset and get to know all the features.

 

[Nighthaunt]

My battery life seems to be pretty good - lasts all day and then some. I use the standard HTC messaging app and all I've done is turn WiFi off using the switch widget on the home screens.

Layar is pretty impressive, shopsavvy is amazing, try google listen for podcasts.

Regards

Alex

 

[uberdrums]

Thanks for the reply's! Im really looking forward to getting it.
I am looking forward to Gameboid and Scummvm..

I was also wondering about flash compatability. There is an mp3 website called beatport, would this work?? Could someone try for me? Should I post in the Android forum rather than this one?

Thanks

 

[Nighthaunt]

If its www.beatport.com then having just tried it on the Hero it doesn't work with the flash element - on the PC it appears that when you first visit the site it tries installing some components onto the browser - I would guess that as its unable to do this with the Hero's browser is why it fails.