WinMo/TF3D to HTC Hero Transition Master List

[the7thson]

Since many of us have expressed a desire to move from WinMo/TF3D to the upcoming HTC Hero which runs Android with HTC’s Sense UI, I decided to try and compile a master list of items that will help us make the transition smoothly. I hope that the information collected in this thread will help answer questions for anyone that’s looking to make the switch. The general idea is that as a WinMo end-user who uses any/all of the capabilities listed here, we'd like to be able to figure if they are all available on the Hero and exactly how.

Please feel free to chime in if you have verifiable information (please provide links as necessary) that addresses any of the bullet points in the list and I will update this first post to reflect that info and keep it current.

I’ve broken the list down in to 2 major categories, general device capabilities and essential software. Here is a list of what to expect if you’re moving from an HTC winmo device to the HTC Hero:

Device Capabilities:

-MS Exchange support – yes, supported out of the box
-Outlook Syncing – syncs locally to MS outlook.
-Tethering – ?
-MMS handling - ?
-GPS – yes. Use Google maps. Not sure about software for turn by turn directions.
-FM Radio - ?
-Video out - ?
-Music capabilities – compare to TF3D, what’s the default music player? Other options?
-Auto rotation – landscape support, keyboard etc? - yes, supported natively (need to verify this)
-Keyboard/SIP support – multiple languages, different keyboard layouts, customizable?
-Browser - Chrome
-Flash support in browser – yes.
-Backup/restore apps like MS MyPhone, PIM Backup etc - ?
-Task Manager – comes with built-in task manager
-Ability to run multiple apps at once – yes. Also uses widgets


Essential Apps:

-Google maps – support for account sign-in and Latitude and Layers?
-Shazam Music ID or Midomi from Omnia
-Remote Desktop
-VNC
-MS office – view only, no native editing possible unfortunately. Documents To Go is available with editing support, for about $30. They also have free PDF and Office viewers available.
-Adobe Reader for pdf
-MS Live Mobile/Bing app
-Comm Manager like HTC TF3D
-File Explorer
-Multi-protocol like Palringo/IM+
-SMS/text message management like PowerSMS
-RSS reader
-Soft Reset Utility
-Streaming media support?
-Stocks App
-Youtube
-Pandora
-Last.fm app?
-Quik – live video streaming

I really hope that as many of us as possible can contribute to this thread and we can get a comprehensive list going. I'd be happy to add/edit this list as we go.

[miguelfp1]

I'm one of the people who's gonna jump ship to Android as soon as the Hero is available.

As far as MS Office support, Documents To Go is available with editing support, for about $30. They also have free PDF and Office viewers available.

[the7thson]

Originally Posted by miguelfp1

I'm one of the people who's gonna jump ship to Android as soon as the Hero is available.

As far as MS Office support, Documents To Go is available with editing support, for about $30. They also have free PDF and Office viewers available.

Great start, thanks! Updated info in first post.

[150_cav]

first off i've gotta ask, if i buy the sprint hero can i activate it on verizon? i'm pretty sure they are getting the htc tattoo which has scense ui but it reminds me too much of the original htc touch (my first winmo phone)

i haven't gotten to play with a hero obviously, but i did play with a htc magic, actually "myTouch 3g" but its just a name change. anyways i've gotta say it was really quick. it would rotate in text messages to landscape if i turned the phone and it has htc's on screen keyboards. but idk if this is a resistive touch vs capacitive but the on screen keyboard worked way better than the one on my touch pro. also the auto spell was way faster than that on my touch pro, i tried typing so fast the phone couldnt keep up but i actually couldnt think of enough to say.

the browser it uses is chrome, btw

i'm excited about the hero's release in the us but plz someone! can i buy it off sprinton use it on vzw?

[the7thson]

Originally Posted by 150_cav

first off i've gotta ask, if i buy the sprint hero can i activate it on verizon? i'm pretty sure they are getting the htc tattoo which has scense ui but it reminds me too much of the original htc touch (my first winmo phone)

i haven't gotten to play with a hero obviously, but i did play with a htc magic, actually "myTouch 3g" but its just a name change. anyways i've gotta say it was really quick. it would rotate in text messages to landscape if i turned the phone and it has htc's on screen keyboards. but idk if this is a resistive touch vs capacitive but the on screen keyboard worked way better than the one on my touch pro. also the auto spell was way faster than that on my touch pro, i tried typing so fast the phone couldnt keep up but i actually couldnt think of enough to say.

the browser it uses is chrome, btw

i'm excited about the hero's release in the us but plz someone! can i buy it off sprinton use it on vzw?

Thanks for the info, i've updated the 1st post accordingly. I wish i had an answer to your vzw question but I don't unfortunately

[150_cav]

well i went and poked around and i found a site and it said to active cdma phones you need the serial number which is true and if the phone isnt in the networks database then they cant active it which is bad news for vzw users, unless the htc desire is the hero which i'm willing to bet my touch pro that the desire is the crappy tattoo. it almost makes it worth switching networks.......