We've been asked not to reveal the URLs, but we can assure you we've seen this official support screen pictured above with our own two eyes, which means that the HTC
Hero is all but confirmed
in a juicy CDMA blend for Sprint. How (or if) that'll affect the availability of the US 3G version unlocked or on any carrier is unclear, but given
Hesse's huffy language regarding Pre exclusivity, we wouldn't be surprised if they've got this one locked down for a while as well. We've seen a similar support page for an Alltel-branded
Snap, so if you're still tied up in one of the carrier's legacy divested markets and you've been pining after the Snap (and
Ozone) on Sprint and Verizon, fear not -- your own version is on the way. We'll admit, if you had asked us a few months back what American carrier would get HTC's highest-end Android phone to date, Sprint wouldn't have been our first guess -- but hey, good for them. If you can't win the coverage battle against the Big Red juggernaut, may as well try to win the exclusive hardware battle, right?
[Thanks, Adam]
posted Aug 4th 2009 5:10PM
I'm on it ASAP! Way to go Sprint!
Where's the line, I'd like to stand in it.
now i knew a few months ago the hero was coming to telus. now im starting to wodner if it is the cdma version or the hspa version for the network
@ Steve: Believe me there will be no line for new activations or phone purchases. This is Sprint.
The only line you'll find at a Sprint store is for those trying to pay their bills with cash because they were denied one of those "no checking account required," debit cards or or some other bill related problem. ;-) Beleive me, I work for Sprint.
We were all told to get ready for myriads of Pre buyers but it's still slow as ever. Boost is what is selling hot for us now.
Everyone talks alot of trash about Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile.. soo.. what is a "good" carrier to have ? Verizon? I JUST finished my 2yr contract with my Helio Ocean.. which.. for all intensive purposes.. has been a good phone to me for the last 2 yrs. I have been waiting for the right Android device to come out, one that fits my personal preferences for style and functionality.. But again, it means picking a phone AND a carrier.. and there doesn't seem to be a hands down .. everyone says "this" carrier is the best.. If the HERO could be on any carrier.. what would you guys choose ?
Sprint, cus I like Sprint. I've not been wronged by them yet in the 7 years I've been with em. Also was your Helio Ocean thru Helio or Virgin? Cus you know Virgin mobile is riding on Sprints CDMA network. Which means that if you were happy with its service, you'll most likely be happy with Sprint service.
Also I dont know about the only people lined up at sprint are payments. My local Sprint store which is our areas service center is busy ALL the time. I mean the sign says what the people are there for, Tech, Sales, whatever. A lot of them say Sales on it. Dude, I went there at 10am one time and there were people waiting outside to chat with someone, probably for repairs. :)
One thing I found funny was there is a Sprint store in the same area that is owned by a secondary dealer, they get barely any business but have great sales staff so I always go there, on Pre launch day me and my wife got out of bed at like 10:30am store opened at 8am, the store got 18 Pres and we still were able to get one for her(2nd to last one). But i got to say, I like Sprint for the same reason I like Sams Club, I get decent service, good prices, and I usually dont have to wait in line(cept if i needed to go to the repair center).
Yea..ive been with Sprint since 96. I dont think youre with sumbody that long going into the Sprint Store for every little thing. In fact, i only go in the stores to look at phones....but i always and can only get mine through telesales unless i buy off contract.
@jrun
Everytime my contract expires i sit back and say.."Im leaving Sprint cuz they dont have any phones" but i stick it out and they come up with sumthin to get me to extend. Since Hesse has taken over Sprint is REALLY gettin off their ass about getting phones. I would get the Hero For Sprint....The plans are the cheapest and the coverage is as good in some places better than Verizon. If It were on At&t youd pay more money for no reason...on Verizon you would have great coverage but the phone would seem handicapped and still cost would be an issue. T-Mobile already has the G1 & My Touch but their 3G coverage is nowhere near as developed.
@melanie
I don't know what state you work at and what city but because your store is slow doesn't mean all sprint stores are, in Phoenix, AZ the nearest sprint store is always full of people its always about a 20 minute wait time to talk to a sprint representative and the att store right down a block is always empty. It makes me think how is att gaining customers and sprint losing them because what I see is people buying more sprint phones than att but that doesn't mean anything as you saw the Q2 results.
There are some areas where sprint hardly sells and other areas where sprint sells the most it just depends where you live, when the hero comes to stores here in Phoenix, AZ there will be lines just like they were for the pre.
Than I will be the only one in line. Your coments sound very stereotypical. In Ann Arbor There is a fair market share but most snobbs go for the ifone. I personally am looking forward to the android movement.
Where is your store? We are selling out of Palm Pre every week. We don't do a lot of pre-paid here in St. Louis. We do have the crazy bill payers, I love em. We do have a line for the payment machines every morning.
This phone can't come out soon enough. I took back my Pre a few weeks ago. Right now I've switched back to my wife's old LG Fusic, while I wait and decide on a smartphone. It's going to be torture waiting on this device.
What made you return the Pre? Just curious..
My bet is on loose slider hinge. Thats whats happening to my wifes.
The pre looks very nice but I am interested in an android phone for it's google voice implementation and also for it's google maps implementation. The browser on the pre is great though and it's available now :)
Holding out for the hero myself though, and sprint plans are the least expensive for what you get so I don't have many complaints except it would be nice to not have to pay the $5/mo for calling google voice (i mean home).
http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/8877/htchero.jpg
Found the URL. Confirmed this page is real.
lol, considering HTC's history and what we've heard from the Hero, that FAQ topic is AMAZING :)
C'mon Verizon when are you going to wake up and smell the coffee, yes people do want a good network, you have already established that but they want style an freedom from there phones. When are you going to get it, 1 yr ago nobody even thought about palm, seriously now their a major player because of one phone. At&t is racking up cause of the Iphone when are you going to get, you constantly piss me off and I am a fan boy but I just can't keep watching you make the same mistakes over and over!
Verizon has no fewer rumored handsets than Sprint or any other carrier right now, and Verizon's are no more or less rumors than theirs either. Motorola Sholes (Android), which fortunately is supposed to look far better than the pics we've seen of an early prototype. Touch Pro2, Diamond2, Storm 2, etc, etc, etc.
Not to mention the Verizon Pre, and Verizon iPhone. The first being somewhat confirmed rumor, and the latter being speculation by many, but completely possible.
The page wasn't very difficult to find. I found it in 2 minutes of tweaking URL's.
lol why even try tweaking the URL? just google it, it's one of the first links.
The only sucky thing as this point is to wait until October (as rumored by engadget) for the Hero's release.
So I asked this over at the main engadget and just got rude replies.
Ever since I started to read engadget every day I have seen a billion posts about HTC or the Hero specifically. But the thing is I had never heard of HTC or hero, I don't know anyone with an HTC phone, and I still don't know what the big deal is.
So is it some payolla scandal or is there an actual reason to be writing about the company and the phone so much? What is the big deal?
And before you ask me to google them I have already, I am just trying to get an answer of why the site keeps mentioning HTC.
The reason you're getting rude replies is because HTC is the largest manufacturer of both Windows Mobile- and Android-powered smartphones in the world.
Sorry, dude that you got rude replies but or real HTC has been in business for a long time. What people may not realize is that for the longest HTC up until the last few years didn't have phones here in the US under their own name. I'm not sure when they made this change, I wanna say at some point in 2006...
And Nokia is the world's largest manufacturer of mobile phones...but I don't see 3 posts a day about them or one of their phones on engadget.
My question has really yet to be answered. Why is this company and this phone such a big deal on the site? The Hero, at best, has mixed reviews. And none of their phones has been a huge hit yet HTC continues to get near-constant exposure here.
And for the record, even if my question for context had been silly(it wasn't)...that is no excuse for rudeness. I'm surprised a site contributor would suggest that.
Now I see why you got the response you did...HTC makes fantastic phones period, if you don't know get familiar..The reason you may not hear about Nokia on this site is because they have practically abandoned the US as far as handsets. A few high end ones maybe, but I think most Nokia handsts hear are imported and will cost over 500 buck to use here. Secondly, Nokia aparently isn't a huge CDMA fan, a CDMA carrier here in the states is the largest provider.
And I'm surprised you'd suggest that we're being paid off by HTC. Even?
If you arent informed about a subject you ask questions and learn about so you can make educated guesses and inferences about that subject. You dont assume wild claims and pull statements out of your ass.
HTC introduces more smartphone models than anyone. You can take any two other manufacturers and combine them and HTC should still easily have more phones released in the past two years. Htc has even made phones for OTHER manufacturers. Sony's flagship phone the X1 and Palm's 2nd phone the Treo Pro are made by HTC. When you have a company that makes specific models for three platforms Wm Smartphone, Wm pro, and Android; and makes specific models for virtually every carrier in the world they will have the most news. Look at how big there 2009 roadmap is... http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/01/12/htcs-2009-haul-seemingly-leaked-packs-all-sorts-of-gorgeous/
Gee that's odd!!! Ok, I get this phone is listed in the Support section of the HTC website. But why is it shown for Canada l Select Country???
nokia may be the worlds largest manufacturer of phones but there smart/touchscreen phone division is smaller where as HTC is all about smart-phone touch and non-touch , you do see news about nokia's, there may be some biased towards HTC phones yes, but they are releasing there new stuff to the public to hype up there products. also HTC for the us market has penetrated every major carrier. on the other hand nokia has not (meaning there smart phones), if you go anywhere else in the world nokia and htc are well known brands but in the us thats not the case. and to answer your question about non of there phones not beeing huge hits, that is because they are not marketed by the carriers or manufactures and if you go to any carrier to buy a new htc phone you may drop between $2-400 on it and some people might not want to do that. and yes there may be some exceptions to pricing.
I am so happy that I don't have to switch carriers for this phone. The HTC Hero is the only phone I've ever looked at online and said I would be willing to leave Sprint for and Sprint is getting it! Awesome.
You think I could get this phone and keep my $30/mo SERO plan?
@andnoemorething, get a life and stop riding my jock. I understand you think Sprint is worthless but I'm not that crazy about this or any othersite to create name just to spam, grow up little girl.
backbeat has returned with a new name
@ Miguel: You know, (not attacking you by any means, just using what you said to also get my point across to others who don't know) CDMA can roam on CDMA. I could care less about VZW's coverage (I have Sprint), because you can always roam, since you get it free with Sprint. I can roam on VZW all day long if I please. And since I have the Tour, I can use a GSM network of my liking (at&t or T-Mobile).
But yeah, I'm confused about which phone to get myself. Samsung "Q" with the keyboard, OR Hero with Sense UI. Wish HTC could sell that to Google to use across all platforms..
I would rather HTC not sell their Sense UI to google rather license it out to all manufacturers and Os's.