I am a Sprint user, it’s not because I think their network is better than everyone else it’s because up until last October my cousin worked for Sprint. Because of the fact that she worked for Sprint I was able to get onto her employee plan which was a really sweet deal that could not be beat. I am still on a similar plan, discounted because I know a Sprint employee, but unlike the plan I was on it’s no longer dependent on employment. It’s also more expensive, although cheaper than comparative plans from other companies, and when I get a new phone I’ll be locked into a 2 year contract, so my next phone choice needs to be a careful one.
My current phone is the HTC Mogul, while I do like the phone and it was great for when it was released it’s starting to really show it’s age. Not only that but it’s options for backing up my contacts and information on the phone are laughable. It is a Microsoft Windows Mobile phone and thus uses Microsoft Active Sync to sync files and contacts between a computer and my phone. This piece of software was the biggest piece of crap software I’ve ever had the displeasure of using. First off I had problems getting it set up on my computer and then not once but twice it’s deleted contacts. The first time I barely even noticed, it had erased all my business contacts on my work computer and replaced them with my personal contacts. It wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t have that many contacts but the second time it erased all of my personal contacts from my phone and replaced them with my work contacts from my office laptop. That was the thorn in my side that made me never use it again and wish for a phone that was not based on the Windows Mobile OS.
Not long after is when Google’s Android OS first starting coming about, and because I am in love with all things Google i knew that this would be the OS for me. So my initial reaction to Sprint’s CEO stating that he did not believe the Android OS was ready for prime time and would not be bringing it to the Sprint network had me up in arms and ready to leave. I’m glad he changed his mind, he no doubt saw the huge potential Android based phones have for bringing in new consumers and getting existing users to buy new phones.
Now that brings me to my current situation where I’m left having to decide which Android based phone I want to go with. Like so many people out there when the HTC Hero was announced I was ecstatic. I would finally have an Android phone on the sprint network, could seamlessly integrate my phone contacts with my Google contacts and never have to worry about loosing my contacts again. Well then on October 7th, 3 days before the official release of the Hero sprint announces another Android phone by Samsung called the Moment. Now I’m left with a decision and a short amount of time to make it in, which phone should I go with. HTC has 2 other Android phones already out on the market and the Hero has already been released in the UK for several months now. Whereas this is Samsung’s first Android phone so they have less practice and it may not be a great implementation. On the up side the Moment has a slide out qwerty keyboard which is what I’m used to now versus the Hero’s on screen keyboard which I’m not so sure that I’ll enjoy.
| HTC Hero | Samsung Moment | |
| Price | $180 ($429.99 – $150 – $100) |
$180 ($330 – $50 – $100) |
| Screen | 3.2-inch TFT-LCD | 3.2-inch AMOLED |
| Keyboard | On Screen Qwerty | Slide out Qwerty |
| Camera | 5.0 Mega pixel | 3.2 Mega pixel |
| Memory | 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM | 512MB ROM/256MB RAM |
| Processor | 528MHz | 800MHz |
| Storage | 2GB microSD included expandable up to 32 GB |
2GB microSD included expandable up to 32 GB |
| UI | Sense UI | |
| GPS | yes | yes |
| 3G | yes | yes |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g | 802.11 b/g |
It’s a tough call still after looking in detail at all the specifications. I am planing on taking a closer look at the Hero tonight and either deciding if I want to pick it or wait for the Moment to be released. So more on that later.
39 Responses to “Sprint HTC Hero vs Samsung Moment”
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I’m curious what your decision will be, I’ll watch and see if you update or post a new one with your choice.
I am looking at the same two phones and I can’t decide. The 500mhz on the HTC Hero has me a little worried, but only because the Samsung Moment has 800Mhz. Without that to compare it to I’d have to say I wouldn’t really think too much about the 500mhz.
Everything else seems equal or better with the HTC Hero coming out on top… so it is hard to call.
I think I’ll probably go with the HTC as much as I’m sure I’d like the Samsung’s real keyboard and slightly lower price. Specs and other features put the HTC ahead (on paper at least).
I will probably have to wait until both are released and compare them side by side. That means I’ll have to wait another month, but I want to make sure I choose the better phone for my purposes. Who knows, maybe the price of the hero will drop a little by then.
I’ve updated the post. On Friday night I went and took a look at the HTC Hero at BestBuy for the exclusive Reward Zone member preview. It does come with an included 2GB MicroSD card like the Moment which was a concern I had.
It’s a really great phone, the on screen keyboard will take a little bit of getting used to, but I think it’s going to be the phone i’m going with it just seems like higher quality all around.
I will still check out the Moment when it is released and if I like it more I will likely return the Hero and pick up the Moment.
An important thing to note is the only thing the Moment has going for it is the higher processor, but keep in mind a faster processor doesn’t always mean better.
I have the same dilemma as you — both phones look great and I simply can not pick one or the other just yet.
The estimated battery lives for the phones are also very different. Sprint estimates the Hero’s battery life at 4 hours of talk time, while Samsung lists the Moment at 5.5 hours. That’s over 25% more, despite a faster processor, which I think is significant, since latest reports show the Hero’s battery life is only mediocre.
The camera on the Hero is also not very good either. Despite it having a 5MP camera, pictures are often blurry with poor colors. No reviews on the Moment just yet, but Samsung has a history of equipping their phones with excellent camera optics.
Also of note is that the Moment will not support multitouch — at least until it’s integrated into Android. HTC has enhanced their version to support multitouch for both the onscreen keyboard and the web browser. This is an important feature for many out there. For me, multitouch is nice for the web browser, but required for an onscreen keyboard. Since the Moment has a physical keyboard, it really doesn’t matter much — at least for text entry.
I did end up getting the Hero on Sunday when it was released, spent a decent amount of time talking to a Sprint employee about it and he seemed rather knowledgeable. He stated, that in his opinion that the HTC Hero is a higher quality phone. Which I can agree with due to the fact that HTC has experience making Android phones and the Sense UI is amazing. Not to mention the base price of the Hero is $100 more than the Moment, but they both cost the same amount after rebates.
I have noticed that the Hero’s battery life is not that great and I think a lot of that has to do with the amount of applications you run on it. I need to find a better way of managing the running applications and killing them when I don’t need them running because a lot of them are always on using your data connection to check for updates.
One other thing to note that the Hero will have a smaller form factor because of the fact that it uses an on screen keyboard. I don’t know that it will be that much of a difference but it’s hard for me to see there not being at least some, only so small you can go with either piece and keep the phone strong enough for normal wear and tear.
I will be writing a review on the Hero after I have some more time to play around with it fully and use it day to day, I still may end up returning it for a Moment on the 1st if I just think it’s going to be a better phone overall.
Looking at the comparison, I would honestly pick the Moment, the keyboard would be nice, and the extra processing power, but the real selling point is the AMOLED screen. Ideally that should decrease the power-draw of the screen, increasing battery life.
Phonearena.com posted a review on the Hero. The last page mentions a Sprint patch which gave a 40% increase in battery life. I have no idea if this patch has already been included, or is something that must be obtained from Sprint. Here’s the link: http://www.phonearena.com/htmls/HTC-Hero-CDMA-Review-review-r_2284-p_4.html
Don’t know about a patch, but I have found that there are some default settings that can be changed in order to increase battery life.
http://www.gamaze.com/blog/2009/08/improve-battery-life-for-the-android-based-htc-hero-smart-phone/
I’ve taken most of the steps on there and i’ll see if it ends up helping at all. If not i’ll have to look into other options, I know you can force some applications to close but there is no easy way to do it. That’s one thing I miss about my Mogul already is it took two clicks to close all open applications.
Found this blog looking for comparisons as I’m struggling with the same. Just to add to the discussion, while Adobe has announce a full flash 10 player for Android in early 2010, it is “baked” into the Hero. I’m leaning Hero, but excited that there are now options. http://www.adobe.com/devnet/devices/articles/htchero.html
Hey there – thank you for the comparison between the two phones. I own an HTC Hero myself. I prefer on-screen keyboard so the Samsung Moment is out of the question for me.
However, I am trying to find the better phone for a friend. I noticed near the bottom you were talking about the patch – the patch they are talking about is a monster firmware update for Android. The HTC Hero was released with Android 1.5. Even though few people know, Android 1.6 is already out and available – BUT not for the HTC Hero. The hero has a lot of additional features that are not integrated into the original android OS so they must be added before the update is realed for it. These features include the ability to connect to a MS Exchange server for corporate email.
One of the huge additions for the update includes a battery monitor which shows you all the applications that are running and how much battery power they consume. You can read a lot more about it here:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-1.6-highlights.html
So there seems to be some more information on the HTC Hero’s poor battery life. A friend of mine who also purchased a Hero put me in the direction of this post on the Sprint forums:
http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/23043?start=0&tstart=0&reqsorting=dec
Seems if you text it forces your phone to stay awake forever, which causes the processor to run and drain your battery even faster.
I’m thinking of switching from my Curve to either the Hero or Moment. I know of the differences: keyboard, processor, camera flash, HTC Sense, Flash Lite, multitouch, and AMOLED screen. This post has also informed me about the battery life issues. The hardware differences favor the Moment (keyboard, processor, camera flash, AMOLED screen). It seems full Flash support is coming to many phones within a few months. Will the Hero and Moment get that upgrade as well? And what about multitouch .. the Moment is supposedly getting that?
Here’s a great smartphone comparison on Google Docs/spreadsheets. I’m not sure how accurate it is, but definitely very informative and helpful: http://bit.ly/JEwGt
Anyone else switching from the Curve to one of these phones? I’m curious what the experience will be going from a nice keyboard on the Curve to the Hero.
And how do they compare on video recording capabilities?
I’m assuming most Android phones will get the Flash update when it becomes available. Battery life issues are going to be prevalent in any smart phone I would say, I only have to charge my phone once a day with average use so it’s not that bad for me, i’m sure the Moment isn’t going to have great life spam unless you turn Google Syncing off.
My Girlfriend actually had a Curve 8310 prior to getting the Hero, she likes the hero a lot more, but there are things that she misses from her curve just as there are things I miss from my previous phone which will hopefully get added at some point in time.
The on screen keyboard is not that bad, it may seem daunting as you are accustomed to a hardware keyboard. But so was I and it’s rather easy to use. Plus I’ve gotten pretty fast at typing on it, probably faster than I ever did on my Mogul just because I let it auto correct for me when I hit the wrong keys.
That’s the one thing about it’s that nice, if you are typing a 4 letter word and get two of the letters wrong it can still figure out what you meant based on it’s internal dictionary and using keys that are around the ones pressed.
As far as video recording is concerned i’m not sure, the Hero does take pretty good video not sure how it would compare to the moment though. I can only assume the Hero is going to be a little bit higher quality because of the fact it’s a 5MP camera vs the 3.2MP.
From what I’ve looked into, all Android phones currently out or coming soon will be able to upgrade to the newest Adobe Flash 10 in early 2010. That will be a huge positive for the phones mentioned in this discussion because it will open up video, games, and other animated content that wasn’t previously available to smartphone web users.
The battery life is clearly superior for the Moment, and I’d agree with previous comments that the Moment’s edge comes from the hardware. Taking a look at the two phones, the Hero’s sense UI and customizable screens make it polished and personal in a way that the Moment just can’t match.
I’ve been frustrated by my Samsung Instinct’s touchscreen, UI, and text messaging app, but I think the versatility provided by Adobe, Android Market, and the new sense UI from Android 1.6 (Donut) really makes Moment worth it by Q1 2010 and has me persuaded to trust myself with another Samsung for my next phone. The Hero is shiny and pleasant to look at, but in the age of frequent updates and downloads, the hardware, a.k.a. the limit of a smart phone’s capability, is what really counts.
Also, if you been keeping up with reviews and have any concerns about the Moment’s physical QWERTY, I may be able to help ease your woes. One of my previous phones was the Samsung SCH-i760, and despite having a terrible name, it had the absolute best physical keyboard I’ve encountered yet.
Aside from the “better” processor on the Moment, I noticed that the Hero has a bit more RAM.
HERO: 512MB/288MB ROM/RAM
MOMENT: 512MB ROM/256MB RAM
I imagine the performance, if it’s anything like a computer, will be affected more by the amount of RAM available rather than the processor… anyone care to comment?
Well, I bought the Hero nearly three weeks ago the day it came out. I must say it is really one killer phone. Yes, the ram is a little higher than the moment which does favor the Hero. Also, it is said the sense UI makes Android run better. The Qualcom processor was used in the android phones for a reason and it is great in the Hero. I love to multi task and had to take it out to it’s max.It is fast and it will take a first time smartphone user at least a week to get to know it in and out. This is one crazy phone! Lots of great apps too and extra apps through htc inlike Moment which has only the Android. I too thought about both, but after a few weeks with the Hero, you’ll love it because it’s just plain fun. I love the personalization capabilities. The screen is better in the Hero too contrary to what most say. The AMOLED burns lighter at a cool white. No problem with that, but it gives a blue off all the time. The blue color sucks. Once you notice it, you’ll hate it or so it is said in the following review of the moment. His conclusion was if you can’t decide , to go with the Hero, better overall. I cannot find the link right now and I really must get to bed. I’ll post it when I find it again.
I had the same decision as everyone probably had on sprint. Which android device to choose, i personally think the tech savyy people(like myself)will pick the Hero, but the other ones that go for look and style(AMOLED/physical keyboard)would pick the Moment just because it looks cool, but like i said, i picked the Hero because it is just a more powerful device and The Sense UI is magical! And that is the reason why the Hero is such a success, so people who like showing off, choose the Moment, but people who like Power/More Concrete UI, choose the Hero.
I had a tough decision to make as well. Out of all of the sprint phones that I have had over the years the hero has been my favorite. My favorite up until now that is. The moment is in by far. The speed is impecable and it just shines more than the hero. For everyone who is in love with the sense UI I am positive that it will be ported into a rom that wll be able to function on the moment. The screen is awesome and is much brighter and clearer than the hero. The camera on the moment is also better it shoots clearer pictures and videos and the flash is awesome
Well I got the hero about a month ago. I too like this phone but hate the battery life even after getting handcent app for messaging and turning off htc messageing notification the battery life is a little better but still very poor. I can’t stand the keyboard it drives me nuts. The camera is junk good luck getting any good pics unless your taking a pic of a statue outside in perfect lighting. The phone looks and feels good but function wise I hate it. Going today to swap it for the moment…..
I am so confused more then ever.. Hero or Moment….. Reading reading reading and just as I am convinced to go with the Hero, someone else trashes it and I am back to the moment! HELP ME OFF THIS RIDE!!!!!!
Does the moment have visual voicemail like the hero?
I got the moment the day before it came out and hadn’t anything to go on but appreciated the hardware. having a full qwerty hardware keyborad was important to me as i find if there isn’t an option for a compact qwerty keyboard on the screen, it can be difficult to quickly text someone. as for the question above, yes, the moment does have visual voicemail. i really like the moment but kinda feel like its missing quite a bit. for most of my complaints, i can find apps to fix, but it still feels a little naked. i do like that the camera has a flash and the pictures actually come out higher resolution than i expected. speaking of resolution, the images onscreen are amazing! the optical joystick is awesome, as opposed to the ball everyone is used to. and i love how responsive the screen is. battery life is decent as long as you don’t leave your bluetooth on all day and you definitely wanna download the advanced task killer from the market. i hate to say, but at this point, i’m still debating wheter or not to go back and get the hero.
The thing that practically sealed the deal for me is that I got dust under the screen of my Hero (which I’ve had for three weeks). Did some quick research and noticed there were quite a few people who were having bad luck with this and having to deal with multiple returns and exchanges. Don’t get me wrong. Loved the Hero and the latest firmware update fixed all the major annoying bugs but the prospect of having to lose my phone to get the dust cleaned out of it every few months really was a letdown. The Moment did feel faster and with apps that can add home screens and the prospect of having 1.6 or 2.0 running on that processor some time in 2010 seems like a nice one. There are issues with the Moment (battery and assisted GPS) but those are just software issues; nothing like getting annoying dust under your screen just because you keep your phone in your pocket.
Wow. Great feedbak from both sides but I too am still confused on which phone to get. I already have a blackberry for work so do I get the hero as a phone for fun? I need a phone were I can text and send/receive a lot of emails but I am concerned that the screen on the hero will limit me in this area making it frustrating to communicate in this fashion. On the flip side, I did purchase the phone for my teenage son, who loves it. We have even challenged the hero against my sisters iPhone and the comparison on the Hero helds its own. I was very impressed. My only concern is the lack of the keyboard…wonder if they htc has plans of coming out with an option 2 that has the keyboard. Similar to the HTC Pro 2…love that phone…hate that is is windows! Love the look, feel of the Pro 2 but hate the windows apps bc it runs TOO slow (thinks just like an outdated computer) and of course the price. Hero actually looks higher end to me but that keyboard is a real selling point for me right now. Not sure what to do now and I have played with them both.
I use my hero to communicate through E-Mails all the time, in fact it is the only device that is set up to directly receive e-mails from the address I have set up on this domain. Just like when web browsing when you are browsing e-mails you can zoom in and out on blocks of text to be able to read it easier.
I personally thought the software keyboard would be the biggest drawback for me but in reality it ended up not being bad at all. There is some feedback when you press a key so it really works for me.
HTC makes great phones, there is no question about that, the Sense UI in the Hero is second to none currently. I loved my HTC Mogul and would have still been using it had it not been running Windows mobile.
That is the fedback I needed. I think I will get the Hero and try it for a few weeks. A Sprint rep demo’d his phone for me and he was typing as if he had a keyboard. I was impressed but doubted my ability. I think if I can learn to type of the Treo Pro (which has really small buttons but has windows too) then I should be able to type on the Hero. I just wasn’t sold on the Moment but the it was the only Sprint Android with a keyboard. It is definitely not a must have. Hero it is!
I’ve had the moment for 10 days now and it is by far the best phone I’ve ever played with (outside iphones). I read all the reviews and did lots of reaserch and I feel much better about my decision after reading all of this. My only concern is battery life and it sounds like the hero is worst so good for me! Thanks for the interesting read guys!
[…] and full touchscreen). But my colleague at work Mike Merrell told me that the Moment was crap. And I trusted him. He even said to wait for the Google Nexus […]
I had a hero for about 2 weeks and ended up going and trading it in for the moment. The hero was a good device but I have to say that the moment is a better one. I found I liked the screen better, and the QWERTY keybord on it was great to type on (oh and I found an app that gives you the same keybord you get on the hero to use on the moment}. The big reason that I even took the hero back to test out the moment was the faster processor. I recently read that google and sprint were going to be puting out the 2.1 upgrade for both phones, and after much research about verizons droid because it was the first phone to be releases with 2.0 I found there to be a lot of complaints about it’s sluggish speeds and it turns out it is being run by a 500 mhz proc (it’s actually like 550 or 575 something like that) where as I doubt that it is the same proc htc is using in the hero. I can’t see performance being that different. So the 800mhz should make the moment a little more upgrade friendly. (Oh and google must think it needs a faster proc too considering that they made htc put a 1ghz proc in the nexus one htc made for them} Where as both these phones have certain perks over the other and niether one of them are by any means bad phones, I would have to say that the samsung moment is the better of the two.
hey so i have a blackberry tour in veryy verry good condition Ive had it for like two weeks is it possible for me to trade this in so i may get a sprint htc hero??
where did you find the app to for the keyboard.. ?? what is called??
This is true. I did extensive research on both phones and I am a big texter, and the Qwerty board was a must have for me, as I was accustomed to it via the Samsung rant. I use the online keyboard as well and have found there are way more errors when using the online keyboard as it is extremely easy to hit the wrong keys. Plus, I know Samsung is a solid company and they make excellent products and I stand by them. Not sure who HTC is or how long they have been around.
My wife has the Moment and she LOVES it. I just got the Hero yesterday. Her issues are: the camera is SLOW. Good luck taking action pics. Buildings will be fine but anything moving….. The Hero takes much faster pics but the quality I would say is slightly below those taken on the Moment. As for the flash. I’ve lived w/o it. Nice to have but I guess it’s not a deal breaker for me. I have not had the Hero long enough to comment on battery life but on the Moment it’s my wifes single biggest issue. It sucks but it’s the cost of doing business with a smart phone. My issues with the moment is it’s size. My wife has a purse but I’m looking at summer when I have shorts on….where do I put that beast? The hero seemed much more pocketable. And..the slide keyboard worries me…the sliding mechanism is just another thing to break or become lose. I don’t need a physical board so long as the on-screen one is well done and on the Hero so far it seems to be just fine.
Honestly,unless the camera flash is a MUST have I can’t really see any reason why one is THAT much better than the other. I liked the sleekness of the hero. I wish the Hero had the optical pad instead of the ball but I guess really what we need is the best of the Hero + the best of the moment into one phone. I would say my wife gives her Moment a 98/100 with camera lag and battery life being her only 2 issues. So far I love the hero,wish it had an optical pad and a flash would’ve been nice. Like I said earlier…the size of the moment was my biggest issue being a guy. I don’t want to have to carry a backpack around all summer just for my phone.
I picked up the Moment a few months ago and it is rock solid. Easily the best phone I’ve ever had. I didn’t go for the hero because I owned a HTC Touch Pro and couldn’t stand it.
I actually gave the HTC touch up after only a year for the moment and it was certainly a good decision.
how do you just go in trade in phones i have a brand new blackberry tour can i trade this in or what to get the hero????
Does the moment have a group setting for the contacts
How do you get your phone go silent when you receive a text or email. my phone want stop
you have 30 days with a 35$ restocking fee from when you get your phone -sorry
I always wanted a Mogul but it was that extra $100 I didnt want to spend. I went from a Rumor to a Htc Touch from that to the Diamond Touch and now I have the Moment. My problem is that it doesnt play videos on websites and it seems like all of the phone are like that. The moment has its flaws but I dont think I can deal with a camera without a flash again!
I was going to go for the Hero since I had 30 days to return it and trade it in but I think I’ll keep my Moment for the moment untill I find a phone better that plays videos other then face book or youtube. I say these phones should play everything on every website considering how much we spend on them. Hero has No key board and thats what sucked on my Diamond touch. Envying my sisters HTC Touch pro over my Diamond led me to the Moment. So far so good!
Sprint probably needs to get the iPhone on the line now or should I get on the line of the iPhone lol.