HTC Hero for Sprint Preview

UPDATE: This preview was based on limited experience with this smartphone. A full review, based on extensive time and testing, can be found at: HTC Hero for Sprint Review

Sprint is getting a specially-modified version of the HTC Hero on Oct. 11. Brighthand already published a review of European version of this Android-based smartphone (you can read it here), but the new one will have a different design.

HTC gave me a preview of this upcoming version, and I recorded a video discussing the new hardware and software. I also wrote up my first impression of this device.

Video Preview

First Impressions
I had less than an hour with the upcoming CDMA version of this smartphone, but that was time enough to get a good idea of what it will offer, especially as it's a modified version of a device I've already been using.

BUILD & DESIGN

Sprint did not ask for radical changes in the Hero, but a cosmetic redesign. The original version, available now in Europe, has a prominent "chin" below the screen (see here). Sprint's version has had chin-removal surgery.

In adition, the current model has square corners, while the upcoming one will be much more rounded, especially along the bottom edge.

The trackball on Sprint's model will also be larger, making it easier to be more accurate.

The area around the trackball has been redesigned, too. Four of buttons have been put on a single sheet of thin metal that flexes when you press them.

The final major change is mostly internal: Sprint asked for a higher-capacity battery.

Aside from these, the current version and the upcoming one are practically identical. Like its European brother, Sprint's will have a 3.2-inch, HVGA, capacitive touchscreen, and lack a hardware keyboard.

It will also include a microSD card slot with support for 32 GB cards, a GPS receiver, a 5.0 MPx camera with video recording, plus a digital compass and a gravity-sensor.