HTC Hero fact sheet (pdf)
HTC Hero Competitive and Value Matrix (pdf)
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Sprint’s first device with the Android™ platform available Oct. 11;
Pre-register for HTC Hero today at www.sprint.com/hero
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. & BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 3, 2009--
Sprint (NYSE:S) and HTC Corporation today announced the upcoming arrival
of the much-anticipated HTC Hero™ from Sprint, the first wireless device
offering the combination of the open and innovative Android platform
with the high-speed connectivity of America’s most dependable 3G network1
(EVDO Rev. A.) Offering a rich mobile Internet experience, the
much-anticipated HTC Hero offers synchronization for built-in Google
mobile services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™, Gmail™, and
YouTube™ as well as access to thousands of applications built on the
Android platform.
Beginning on Oct. 11, customers will be able to purchase HTC Hero
through all Sprint retail channels including Web (www.sprint.com),
Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and our national retail partner Best Buy for
$179.99 (excluding taxes) after a $50 instant savings and a $100 mail-in
rebate with a two-year service agreement. Pre-registration begins today
at www.sprint.com/hero.
“The arrival of HTC Hero and the Android platform to Sprint’s network is
an important milestone for our customers and the U.S. wireless
industry,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product
development for Sprint. “With the dependability and coverage of Sprint’s
3G network, HTC Hero users will appreciate a much better experience than
is possible now with any other Android phone operating in the United
States. They will enjoy the robust potential to personalize their
wireless experience as well as the best value in wireless with a Simply
Everything plan from Sprint.”
Access to countless applications
As a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance™, Sprint is actively
engaged with the Android community. Through Android Market™, HTC Hero
users have access to more than 8,000 useful applications, widgets and
fun games to download and install on their phone, with many more to
come. Thousands of developers are working to introduce new Android
applications every day.
ShopSavvyTM, TwitterTM, ShazamTM,
amazon.com®, USA Today®, Flixster®,
PacManTM, CraigslistCheckerTM, and MySpaceTM
Mobile are among the countless well-liked applications already available
on Android Market. Pandora®, the popular personal radio
application, is launching on Android devices and will be available on
the HTC Hero from Sprint.
“Sprint and HTC are helping to drive openness and innovation in the
mobile industry with the introduction of the Android-powered HTC Hero,”
said Andy Rubin, vice president, mobile platforms at Google. “As the
world’s first truly open mobile platform built with the Internet in
mind, Android provides to consumers the same Internet services they have
become accustomed to on their desktop PC. Offering access to thousands
of applications, a suite of Google™ services, and unique personalization
features, the HTC Hero offers a compelling mobile experience.”
Sprint has employed an open Internet approach, and the Sprint
Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party
developers, since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones
in 2001. Application developers will have a chance to learn more about
Android at Sprint’s ninth annual developer conference this fall. The
Sprint Open Developer Conference, Oct. 26-28 in Santa Clara, Calif., is
open to all attendees and will feature information on developing
applications for a range of platforms, including Android.
Developers can register to attend the conference at http://developer.sprint.com/devcon2009.
HTC is a premier sponsor of the conference and will be giving a keynote
address in addition to running several breakout sessions and coding
camps focusing on HTC Hero and the Android platform.
Intuitive, user-focused and fun
HTC Hero is the first U.S. device to feature HTC Sense, an intuitive
experience that was built with a guiding philosophy to put people at the
center and allows the device to be completely customized to the wants
and needs of the user. The device’s seven-panel wide home screen can be
populated with customizable widgets that bring information to the
surface.
HTC Hero users can easily create and switch between Scenes to reflect
different moments or roles in their lives, such as work, social, travel
and play. For example, a work Scene can be easily set up to include
stock updates, work email and calendar, a play Scene could have music,
weather, and a Twitter feed or a travel Scene could offer instant access
to the local time, weather and maps.
“HTC Sense on HTC Hero revolves around three basic principles: Make it
Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected. These principles are based
on the recognition that people want their mobile device to conform to
their needs and wants, easily keep them in touch with the most important
people in their lives, and surprise them with small moments of joy and
delight,” said Jason Mackenzie, vice president of HTC America. “Working
with Sprint to introduce HTC Hero to the US was a natural fit, as both
HTC Hero and Sprint’s Simply Everything plan are designed to give
customers everything they need in a simple package.”
HTC Hero’s development focused on how real people use their phone,
resulting in small but important touches to accentuate the mobile
experience. HTC Hero can be silenced by simply turning it over. It
offers an advanced smart dialer for quickly accessing contacts with just
a few letters or numbers and a dedicated search key that automatically
searches for only information relevant to the current function. When
pressed in the mail application, the search will be for text within the
mailbox, while a press of the same key from the browser will initiate a
Google search.
Industry-leading features
HTC Hero features an integrated 5.0 MP camera and camcorder. It also
offers easy access to personal and business e-mail, instant messaging
and text messaging through POP, IMAP, and Exchange Active Sync accounts.
It is the first Sprint device to offer HTC Footprints™, an application
experience that enables the user to chronicle their special moments by
capturing a digital postcard on their phone. Once captured, Footprints
provides the ability to take notes and an audio clip of that favorite
restaurant or special place while identifying its specific location. In
addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS coordinates,
Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or
area.
HTC Hero is a full-featured smartphone with Wi-Fi capability, a 3.2-inch
capacitive touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom capability and a fingerprint
resistant coating, integrated GPS navigation, and trackball navigation.
Additional features include:
-
Stereo Bluetooth® 2.0 Wireless technology
-
accelerometer, light sensor and home screen widgets for improved
usability
-
multimedia capable with microSD slot (32GB capable, 2GB included)
-
Sprint TV® with live and on-demand programming
-
NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup MobileSM
-
easy access to social networking sites, including Facebook®,
Flickr® and Twitter
-
visual voice mail for quick and easy access to specific voice mail
messages
HTC Hero requires activation on a pricing plan offering unlimited data.
Sprint’s Simply EverythingSM plan provides unlimited
nationwide calling, texting, e-mail, social networking, Web browsing,
GPS navigation, Sprint TV, streaming music, NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR
Sprint Cup Mobile and much more for only $99.99 per month. That’s a
savings of $1,200 over two years vs. a comparable AT&T iPhone®
plan2. Sprint Everything Data plans with unlimited messaging
and data start at just $69.99 for 450 minutes with unlimited night and
weekend calling starting at 7 p.m. (All price plans exclude Sprint
surcharges and taxes.)
The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches
more than 271 million people, 18,652 cities and 1,838 airports. The
Sprint Networks (inclusive of data roaming) have more than twice the
coverage of AT&T’s current 3G network and more than 20 times the
coverage of T-Mobile’s current 3G network, both based on square miles3.
Sprint is the only wireless carrier to offer Ready Now service with
trained retail associates to work one-on-one with customers to
personalize their HTC Hero, set up features and demonstrate how it works
before the customer leaves the store. Customers have the choice of
sitting down with a Sprint retail associate at the time of purchase or
they can schedule an appointment for a later time at www.sprint.com/storelocator.
About HTC
HTC Corporation (HTC) is one of the fastest growing companies in the
mobile phone industry and continues to pioneer industry-leading mobile
experiences through design, usability and innovation that is sparked by
how the mobile phone can improve how people live and communicate. The
company is listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange under ticker 2498. For
more information about HTC, please visit www.htc.com.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline
communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers,
businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including
two wireless networks serving almost 49 million customers at the end of
the second quarter of 2009; industry-leading mobile data services;
instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a
global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company’s customer-focused strategy
has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction
scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
1 “Dependable” based on independent, third-party drive tests
for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength
for the top 50 most populous markets from January 2008 to May 2009. Not
all services available on 3G and coverage may default to separate
network when 3G unavailable. Coverage may not be available everywhere.
Customers should refer to sprint.com/coverage for details.
2 Savings based on publicly available information comparing
AT&T Nation Unlimited plus required iPhone data plan and optional
unlimited text messaging totaling $149.99/month for AT&T as of
publication date, excluding taxes, surcharges and fees. iPhone is a
registered trademark of Apple, Inc.
3 Coverage comparison based on publicly available information
as of 4/01/09 inclusive of Sprint roaming partners. Based on square
miles. Coverage comparison based on publicly available information as of
4/1/09 inclusive of Sprint roaming partners. Based on square miles.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6042086&lang=en
Source: Sprint Nextel
Sprint
Michelle Leff Mermelstein, 703-592-7504 (Media)
Michelle.Leff@Sprint.com
or
HTC
Public Relations, 425-638-7000 (Media)
htcpr@wagged.com
